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Of nature's weapons, tornadoes are among the most unforgiving, and here's an unforgettable portrait of these storms and one extraordinary man who challenged them—and produced the first-ever photographs snatched from a rampaging twister's black heart. Tornado chaser Tim Samaras, working with master storyteller Stefan Bechtel, author of Roar of the Heavens, has created a page-turner with narrative force and scientific substance.
In the first of five you-are-there accounts, Tornado Hunter opens with a moment-by-moment description of the 2003 catastrophe that engulfed Manchester, South Dakota. The authors evoke the doomed town and its people; the dark menacing funnel; and Samaras's fearless advance into the whirlwind's core to deploy the ingenious equipment he devised. They interweave the tornado chaser's passion, the fascinating science of the storms themselves, and six decades of progress in predicting and recording their onslaught—an art beholden to Samaras's own groundbreaking inventions.
Tim Samaras's 2004 article in National Geographic became one of the most widely read in the magazine's history. This powerful book is destined to blast its way onto bestseller lists everywhere.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
May 19, 2009 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781426205804
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781426205804
- File size: 825 KB
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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June 1, 2009
Adult/High School-This is an informative and entertaining account of the people, science, and history surrounding nature's most violent and unpredictable force. "The Wizard of Oz" notwithstanding, here DOROTHY is the fictitious tornado probe from the movie "Twister", TOTO stands for "Totable Tornado Observatory," The Tinman is a steel-encased photographic probe, The Wicked Witch is an aerial tornado surveillance mission, and The Flying Monkey is a tornado video downlink. It's pretty obvious that tornado chasers are quite partial to Oz. The authors admit they hunt tornadoes for the rush, but also to gather additional information needed to create more accurate warning signals, hoping to give people more time to prepare and get to safety. They note, too, that more is unknown than known about tornadoes. A glossary is interspersed throughout the chapters, and specific steps for a successful survival plan and suggestions for an annual family drill are included. Whether teens actually chase and find a tornado or simply enjoy or fear them from afar, this book offers all the information needed to weather these most dangerous natural occurrences."Joanne Ligamari, Twin Rivers United School District, Sacramento, CA"Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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