Book Review

Andrew Dessler challenged Eli to expand his book list to the wood chip pile, but for this we require the help of mice. The baby bunnies have gone through Amazon looking for textbook like objects about atmosphere and climate. Below is what was found. Additions and suggestions are always welcome (Andrew CANNOT vote that his book is the best of all time). Tomorrow we will have a bunch of atmospheric chemistry books, an area where Eli is more familiar and confident. Arbitrarily only those books published after 1/1/2000 were included.

Not very many of these books have Amazon reviews. If you have a copy of one, or have read it, please chime in. At the end there will be a list of recommendations at various levels that will be linked from the sidebar. It would be exceptionally good to have some for middle and high school students. This is just a beginning.

Global Warming: Understanding the Forecast [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)
by David Archer (Author) $49.95
· Paperback: 208 pages
· Publisher: Blackwell Publishing Limited; 1st edition (November 1, 2006)
Global Warming : Understanding the Forecast is a comprehensive introduction to all aspects of global warming. Written in an accessible way, and assuming no specialist prior knowledge, this important book examines the processes of climate change and climate stability, from the distant past to the distant future.This book examines the greenhouse effect, the carbon cycle, and what the future may hold for global climate. Drawing from a wide range of disciplines, it not only summarizes scientific evidence, but also economic and policy issues, related to global warming. A companion website provides access to interactive computer models of the physics and chemistry behind the global warming forecast, which can be used to support suggested student projects included at the end of each chapter. Global Warming : Understanding the Forecast provides an essential introduction to this vital issue for both students and general readers, with or without a science background.

The Physics of Atmospheres (Paperback)
by John Houghton (Author) $46.80
· Paperback: 336 pages
· Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 3 edition (December 15, 2001)
In the third edition of The Physics of Atmospheres, John Houghton has revised his acclaimed textbook to bring it completely up-to-date. The book provides a comprehensive concise description of the physical processes governing the structure and the circulation of the atmosphere. New chapters have been introduced on topics of strong contemporary interest such as chaos and predictability and climate change. The chapters on global observations (especially through remote sensing) and numerical modeling have also been substantially extended.

An Introduction to Atmospheric Physics (Paperback)
by David G. Andrews (Author) $60.00
· Paperback: 240 pages
· Publisher: Cambridge University Press (August 31, 2006)
This advanced undergraduate textbook clearly details how physics can be used to understand many important aspects of atmospheric behavior. Coverage presents a broad overview of atmospheric physics, including atmospheric thermodynamics, radiative transfer, atmospheric fluid dynamics and elementary atmospheric chemistry. Armed with an understanding of these topics, the interested student will be able to grasp the essential physics behind issues of current concern, such as the enhanced greenhouse effect and associated questions of climate change, the Antarctic ozone hole and global ozone depletion, as well as more familiar processes such as the formation of raindrops and the development of weather systems. This introductory textbook is ideal for advanced undergraduates studying atmospheric physics as part of physics, meteorology or environmental science courses. It will also be useful for graduate students studying atmospheric physics for the first time and for students of applied mathematics, physical chemistry and engineering who have an interest in the atmosphere.

The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate (Paperback)
by Andrew E. Dessler (Author), Edward A. Parson (Author) $39.99
· Paperback: 200 pages
· Publisher: Cambridge University Press (January 23, 2006)
Climate variability has become the primary environmental concern of the 21st Century. Yet, despite the scientific community's warnings of the imminent dangers of global warming, politicians world-wide have failed to agree on what to do about this potentially devastating environmental problem. This introductory primer informs scientists, policy makers and the general public by clarifying the conflicting claims of the debate.

Complete Idiot's Guide to Global Warming (Paperback)
by Michael Tennesen (Author) $14.78
· Paperback: 352 pages
· Publisher: Alpha (April 6, 2004)
The time is right for this comprehensive guide separating the facts from the fiction about global warming-and how it affects ecological, sociological, and economic environments worldwide.
Features explanations of the meteorological variables of climate change, such as El Nino and the ozone layer
Covers Earth's past warming and cooling cycles, and how human activity has affected this natural pattern
Includes up to date discussions of the Bonn and Kyoto treaties

Science Explorer: Weather and Climate: Interactive textbook (Hardcover)
by Michael J. Padilla (Author) $21.30
· Reading level: Ages 9-12
· Hardcover
· Publisher: Pearson Prentice Hall; CD-Rom edition (January 2002)

Climate Change: A Multidisciplinary Approach (Paperback)
by William James Burroughs (Author) $39.40
· Paperback: 316 pages
· Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 1st edition (October 29, 2005)
Level - HS/College educated
This volume provides an up-to-date presentation of climate change and its implications for society. Burroughs, an expert on the subject, begins with balanced coverage of the physical principles of the global climate, its behavior on all timescales, and the evidence for and consequences of past change. He then reviews the methods used to measure climate change and the statistical methods for analyzing data. A comprehensive guide, the volume also explores the causes of change and how this behavior can be modeled. The final sections discuss predictions of future climate change and the economic and political debate surrounding its prevention and mitigation. This is a valuable undergraduate textbook for a wide range of courses, including meteorology, oceanography, environmental science, earth science, geography, history, agriculture and social science. It will also appeal to a wider general audience of readers in search of a better understanding of climate change.

Climate: Into the 21st Century (Hardcover)
by William Burroughs (Editor) $55.00
· Hardcover: 240 pages
· Publisher: Cambridge University Press (August 25, 2003)
Toward the end of the twentieth century, it became evident to professionals working within the meterological arena that the world's climate system was showing signs of change that could not be adequately explained in terms of natural variation. Since that time there has been an increasing recognition that the climate system is changing as a result of human industries and lifestyles, and that the outcomes may prove catastrophic to the world's escalating population. Compiled by an international team formed under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), Climate: Into the 21st Century features an unrivalled collection of essays by the world's leading meteorological experts. These fully integrated contributions provide a perspective of the global climate system across the twentieth century, and describe some of the most arresting and extreme climatic events and their effects that have occurred during that time. In addition, the book traces the development of our capabilities to observe and monitor the climate system, and outlines our understanding of the predictability of climate on time-scales of months and longer. It concludes with a summary of the prospects for applying the twentieth century climate experience in order to benefit society in the twenty-first century. Lavishly illustrated in color, Climate is an accessible acccount of the challenges that climate poses at the start of the twenty-first century. Filled with fascinating facts and diagrams, it is written for a wide audience and will captivate the general reader interested in climate issues, and will be a valuable teaching resource. William Burroughs is a successful science author of books on climate, including Weather (Time Life, 2000), and Climate Change: A Multidisciplinary Approach (2001), Does the Weather Really Matter? (1997) and The Climate Revealed (1999), all published by Cambridge University Press.

A Textbook in Environmental Science (Hardcover)
by V. Subramanian (Author)
· Hardcover: 238 pages
· Publisher: Other (May 22, 2002)
Covering all aspects of interaction between man and the environment, A Textbook in Environmental Science addresses issues related to air, water, and soil pollution and their cyclical nature. It introduces students to the concept of biodiversity in relation to the dangers posed to the diversity of flora and fauna. Global warming and climate change are outlined in sufficient detail. Environmental impact assessment is discussed using coal based thermal power plant as a case in point with a brief outline on environmental audit.

The Discovery of Global Warming (New Histories of Science, Technology, and Medicine) (Paperback) by Spencer R. Weart $10.54
· Paperback: 240 pages
· Publisher: Harvard University Press; New Ed edition (September 30, 2004)