Beautiful! Ideal for the the armchair cloudwatcher., 04 Sep 2008

This is a fantastic book and I was glad I bought it. The foreword is very informative and well written and doesn't boggle the reader with too much science. This book is ideal for those armchair cloud watchers who know a bit about clouds but need to further their knowledge. This book is an essential guide to cloud identification and provides some stunning photos of the clouds themselves. The book is also handy for being able to forecast the weather as you will soon get to know the cloud types and the associated weather that comes with them.



The sky's the limit, 27 May 2008
Recently I found a book that I could only dream of as a child, but which didn't seem to exist. Then I was fascinated by the weather and wanted a book classifying the cloud types with the correct names, symbols and pictures to demonstrate. Richard Hamblyn's "The Cloud Book" does all these things. The beauty of the photographs means it easily qualifies for the coffee tables of the less geeky among us, while neatly illustrating the text for the cloud afficianado. It is not often that you can say a book is perfect in all respects, but may be this is one.

Beautiful! Ideal for the the armchair cloudwatcher., 04 Sep 2008

This is a fantastic book and I was glad I bought it. The foreword is very informative and well written and doesn't boggle the reader with too much science. This book is ideal for those armchair cloud watchers who know a bit about clouds but need to further their knowledge. This book is an essential guide to cloud identification and provides some stunning photos of the clouds themselves. The book is also handy for being able to forecast the weather as you will soon get to know the cloud types and the associated weather that comes with them.



The sky's the limit, 27 May 2008
Recently I found a book that I could only dream of as a child, but which didn't seem to exist. Then I was fascinated by the weather and wanted a book classifying the cloud types with the correct names, symbols and pictures to demonstrate. Richard Hamblyn's "The Cloud Book" does all these things. The beauty of the photographs means it easily qualifies for the coffee tables of the less geeky among us, while neatly illustrating the text for the cloud afficianado. It is not often that you can say a book is perfect in all respects, but may be this is one.

Pretty pictures but not much else, 30 Dec 2008
I bought this book expecting to learn about and marvel at snowflakes. Well, the pictures are amazing and there is plenty to marvel at - but I didn't learn much. The book has plenty of photographs of different types of snowflakes interspersed with quotations, but there is little information about the magic of how they're formed.

Beautiful! Ideal for the the armchair cloudwatcher., 04 Sep 2008

This is a fantastic book and I was glad I bought it. The foreword is very informative and well written and doesn't boggle the reader with too much science. This book is ideal for those armchair cloud watchers who know a bit about clouds but need to further their knowledge. This book is an essential guide to cloud identification and provides some stunning photos of the clouds themselves. The book is also handy for being able to forecast the weather as you will soon get to know the cloud types and the associated weather that comes with them.



The sky's the limit, 27 May 2008
Recently I found a book that I could only dream of as a child, but which didn't seem to exist. Then I was fascinated by the weather and wanted a book classifying the cloud types with the correct names, symbols and pictures to demonstrate. Richard Hamblyn's "The Cloud Book" does all these things. The beauty of the photographs means it easily qualifies for the coffee tables of the less geeky among us, while neatly illustrating the text for the cloud afficianado. It is not often that you can say a book is perfect in all respects, but may be this is one.

Pretty pictures but not much else, 30 Dec 2008
I bought this book expecting to learn about and marvel at snowflakes. Well, the pictures are amazing and there is plenty to marvel at - but I didn't learn much. The book has plenty of photographs of different types of snowflakes interspersed with quotations, but there is little information about the magic of how they're formed.

Informative and Invividual - Excellent read , 08 Oct 2008
This is a good book for anyone interested not just in disasters, but in the Weather & Climate of the British Isles.

It is easy to read, irrespective of your level of knowledge on the subject, and is very well researched.

It is written in an individual, sometimes amusing, but always informative style

Highly recommended


its helped me with my exams!, 24 Sep 2007
philip edan has helped me to understand alot more about weather and has got me interested in taking the study of weather patterns further! he has mainly helped me with my geography exams!

Beautiful! Ideal for the the armchair cloudwatcher., 04 Sep 2008

This is a fantastic book and I was glad I bought it. The foreword is very informative and well written and doesn't boggle the reader with too much science. This book is ideal for those armchair cloud watchers who know a bit about clouds but need to further their knowledge. This book is an essential guide to cloud identification and provides some stunning photos of the clouds themselves. The book is also handy for being able to forecast the weather as you will soon get to know the cloud types and the associated weather that comes with them.



The sky's the limit, 27 May 2008
Recently I found a book that I could only dream of as a child, but which didn't seem to exist. Then I was fascinated by the weather and wanted a book classifying the cloud types with the correct names, symbols and pictures to demonstrate. Richard Hamblyn's "The Cloud Book" does all these things. The beauty of the photographs means it easily qualifies for the coffee tables of the less geeky among us, while neatly illustrating the text for the cloud afficianado. It is not often that you can say a book is perfect in all respects, but may be this is one.

Pretty pictures but not much else, 30 Dec 2008
I bought this book expecting to learn about and marvel at snowflakes. Well, the pictures are amazing and there is plenty to marvel at - but I didn't learn much. The book has plenty of photographs of different types of snowflakes interspersed with quotations, but there is little information about the magic of how they're formed.

Informative and Invividual - Excellent read , 08 Oct 2008
This is a good book for anyone interested not just in disasters, but in the Weather & Climate of the British Isles.

It is easy to read, irrespective of your level of knowledge on the subject, and is very well researched.

It is written in an individual, sometimes amusing, but always informative style

Highly recommended


its helped me with my exams!, 24 Sep 2007
philip edan has helped me to understand alot more about weather and has got me interested in taking the study of weather patterns further! he has mainly helped me with my geography exams!

Good Sound Book, 28 Nov 2008
Like Chris Tibbs articles in Sailing Today , this is easy to read and very informative. It provides a good base of weather knowledge and should be a must for any nautical bookself

An invaluable book for all sailors., 23 Mar 2004
This is the most up to date and comprehensive weather book on the market.I am a qualified Yachtmaster Instructor, and every year have students to whom the weather aspect of the Yachtmaster Course creates a real headache. This excellent book by the RYA has been voted by my students a real winner. It manages to get the point over clearly on what is a very technical subject. The drawing are really good,clear and easy to follow. Well done Chris Tibbs and the RYA.

Beautiful! Ideal for the the armchair cloudwatcher., 04 Sep 2008

This is a fantastic book and I was glad I bought it. The foreword is very informative and well written and doesn't boggle the reader with too much science. This book is ideal for those armchair cloud watchers who know a bit about clouds but need to further their knowledge. This book is an essential guide to cloud identification and provides some stunning photos of the clouds themselves. The book is also handy for being able to forecast the weather as you will soon get to know the cloud types and the associated weather that comes with them.



The sky's the limit, 27 May 2008
Recently I found a book that I could only dream of as a child, but which didn't seem to exist. Then I was fascinated by the weather and wanted a book classifying the cloud types with the correct names, symbols and pictures to demonstrate. Richard Hamblyn's "The Cloud Book" does all these things. The beauty of the photographs means it easily qualifies for the coffee tables of the less geeky among us, while neatly illustrating the text for the cloud afficianado. It is not often that you can say a book is perfect in all respects, but may be this is one.

Pretty pictures but not much else, 30 Dec 2008
I bought this book expecting to learn about and marvel at snowflakes. Well, the pictures are amazing and there is plenty to marvel at - but I didn't learn much. The book has plenty of photographs of different types of snowflakes interspersed with quotations, but there is little information about the magic of how they're formed.

Informative and Invividual - Excellent read , 08 Oct 2008
This is a good book for anyone interested not just in disasters, but in the Weather & Climate of the British Isles.

It is easy to read, irrespective of your level of knowledge on the subject, and is very well researched.

It is written in an individual, sometimes amusing, but always informative style

Highly recommended


its helped me with my exams!, 24 Sep 2007
philip edan has helped me to understand alot more about weather and has got me interested in taking the study of weather patterns further! he has mainly helped me with my geography exams!

Good Sound Book, 28 Nov 2008
Like Chris Tibbs articles in Sailing Today , this is easy to read and very informative. It provides a good base of weather knowledge and should be a must for any nautical bookself

An invaluable book for all sailors., 23 Mar 2004
This is the most up to date and comprehensive weather book on the market.I am a qualified Yachtmaster Instructor, and every year have students to whom the weather aspect of the Yachtmaster Course creates a real headache. This excellent book by the RYA has been voted by my students a real winner. It manages to get the point over clearly on what is a very technical subject. The drawing are really good,clear and easy to follow. Well done Chris Tibbs and the RYA.

Beautifully presented and more than just a diary, 26 Nov 2007
This would be a great item for weather enthusiasts of any age or ability. Each double page of the log has spaces for your readings from 7 days for three years so interannual comparisons can easily be made. It doesn't matter when you start taking your readings either (i.e. it doesn't have to be 1st Jan) as you'd just cycle through the book from whenever you start.

As well as the log, there are many great photos and explanations of various weather events throughout the book. It's certainly attractive enough to be incorporated into your daily routine for 3 years. I bought it as a gift but I think I will get myself a copy too!

Beautiful! Ideal for the the armchair cloudwatcher., 04 Sep 2008

This is a fantastic book and I was glad I bought it. The foreword is very informative and well written and doesn't boggle the reader with too much science. This book is ideal for those armchair cloud watchers who know a bit about clouds but need to further their knowledge. This book is an essential guide to cloud identification and provides some stunning photos of the clouds themselves. The book is also handy for being able to forecast the weather as you will soon get to know the cloud types and the associated weather that comes with them.



The sky's the limit, 27 May 2008
Recently I found a book that I could only dream of as a child, but which didn't seem to exist. Then I was fascinated by the weather and wanted a book classifying the cloud types with the correct names, symbols and pictures to demonstrate. Richard Hamblyn's "The Cloud Book" does all these things. The beauty of the photographs means it easily qualifies for the coffee tables of the less geeky among us, while neatly illustrating the text for the cloud afficianado. It is not often that you can say a book is perfect in all respects, but may be this is one.

Pretty pictures but not much else, 30 Dec 2008
I bought this book expecting to learn about and marvel at snowflakes. Well, the pictures are amazing and there is plenty to marvel at - but I didn't learn much. The book has plenty of photographs of different types of snowflakes interspersed with quotations, but there is little information about the magic of how they're formed.

Informative and Invividual - Excellent read , 08 Oct 2008
This is a good book for anyone interested not just in disasters, but in the Weather & Climate of the British Isles.

It is easy to read, irrespective of your level of knowledge on the subject, and is very well researched.

It is written in an individual, sometimes amusing, but always informative style

Highly recommended


its helped me with my exams!, 24 Sep 2007
philip edan has helped me to understand alot more about weather and has got me interested in taking the study of weather patterns further! he has mainly helped me with my geography exams!

Good Sound Book, 28 Nov 2008
Like Chris Tibbs articles in Sailing Today , this is easy to read and very informative. It provides a good base of weather knowledge and should be a must for any nautical bookself

An invaluable book for all sailors., 23 Mar 2004
This is the most up to date and comprehensive weather book on the market.I am a qualified Yachtmaster Instructor, and every year have students to whom the weather aspect of the Yachtmaster Course creates a real headache. This excellent book by the RYA has been voted by my students a real winner. It manages to get the point over clearly on what is a very technical subject. The drawing are really good,clear and easy to follow. Well done Chris Tibbs and the RYA.

Beautifully presented and more than just a diary, 26 Nov 2007
This would be a great item for weather enthusiasts of any age or ability. Each double page of the log has spaces for your readings from 7 days for three years so interannual comparisons can easily be made. It doesn't matter when you start taking your readings either (i.e. it doesn't have to be 1st Jan) as you'd just cycle through the book from whenever you start.

As well as the log, there are many great photos and explanations of various weather events throughout the book. It's certainly attractive enough to be incorporated into your daily routine for 3 years. I bought it as a gift but I think I will get myself a copy too!

lovely reference book, 18 May 2008
This book is a great for those who have a 'beginner' interest in clouds, as it is mostly pictorial. I bought it as a gift for my boyfriend and he has great fun trying to identify what types of cloud are in the sky.

Such a dreadful shame, 26 Dec 2007
A beautiful book. I received a copy for Christmas (at my specific request!). I'm so sorry I can't give it the 5 stars it ought to have. Why? Because the quality of the photographic printing so often leaves a lot to be desired. I just don't believe that so many of the photos were, in their originals, as grainy as they have been reproduced. Even the paper feels rough! Pages 94/95 are just one example of many. I have loved clouds for decades and was really hoping for a set of photographs of coffee table standard. I am very disappointed. However, I would far rather have the book than not - and in spite of my criticism.

Wonderful, 27 Sep 2007
A marvellous book, pictures are wonderful, only minor niggle is that the author quotes figures in miles otherwise a wonderful book with the pictures taking pride of place, pity there isn't a DVD to show movement.

Superb!, 25 Dec 2006

Any aviator would tell you about the importance of the need to have a thorough understanding of the different types of clouds, how they are formed, and most especially, what they are telling us.

Look up in the sky and you'll see that each and every bit of cloud is telling us a different story, in addition to the spectacle you see right before your eyes.

Needless to say, it would be most foolish of any pilot not to fully understand the implication of the different types of clouds whilst on the ground, before a flight, as well as whilst in the air.

My interest in the clouds started a few years ago due to a near-miss air accident whilst learning to fly GA aircraft. My instructor and I nearly got sucked into the clouds, due to the fact that he, my instructor, being the pilot in command, failed to maintain the specified distance from the clouds whilst flying under VFR. Needless to say, we were lucky to get out of the way of the swelling cumulus which seemed to be coming after us as we were about to be sucked in. Phew, never again with a cloud suck!!

Having that bad experience and now flying the most personal form of aircraft, I searched around for a good book about the clouds. Luckily, I stumbled on this one and then decided to buy it.

Wow, what a book! This is a must-have for all pilots as well as anybody that's interested in the clouds. All credits to its author, Dr John A. Day, for his exposition of the subject like no other. He is indeed, the 'Cloud doctor'.

The author does not ramble on about the different cloud types, (that, indeed, would be most boring), rather, he gives a very short introduction to a particular type of cloud as well as the cloud family to which it belongs. This is then followed by photographs, more photographs and indeed more photographs.

Regarding each and every type of cloud, there's a very small but most important insert, showing its key characteristics, such as group, name, base, top, air mass stability, buoyancy, moisture content, temperature, frontal lift and precipitation type.

The key thing that sets this book apart from all the others out there is, its simplicity as well as the many photographs on each and every type of cloud formation that there is out there. So, so many photographs, you wouldn't believe it.

The best part is that most (if not all), of the photographs were actually taken by the author, who worked in the aviation industry until his retirement.

If you really need to understand the clouds, this is the book for you. It is a great book, bar none, in my humble opinion. Here's what I'd advice you to do inorder to get the most out of the book:

1. Firstly, read through the book from cover to cover.
2. Next, re-read it slowly and pay more attention.
3. Finally, close the book and leave it on your desk.
4. When you wake up from bed in the morning, just look out of your window and look at the sky. See if you can identify the type of cloud formation you see up there.
5. Can you identify the type of cloud? If so, what are its characteristics? If not, quickly refer to the book that's on your desk. Can you identify the cloud now after referring to the book? The photographs are all there for you to see. Do this as many times as possible until you really get to know the clouds. This is a must.
6. Are you a pilot? If so, after identifying the cloud, what would you say are its implications for flying? You really ought to get to grips with this aspect 'cos it's most crucial.

This is a superb book. Buy it if you can manage to get hold of it 'cos it sells like hot cake.



Ibiduo Chris Berepiki.









A tribute to the mutable majesty of clouds, 30 Aug 2006
John Day - or 'Cloudman' as he is known to thousands of Americans, both through his pioneering website and his visits to schools around the country - is truly the doyen of international cloud scholars. This book is the culmination of decades of research and reading, and is full of all manner of wit and wisdom concerning clouds, 'the patron goddesses of idle men', as the dramatist Aristophanes described them. The photographs, many of them taken by Day himself, are outstanding, and do much to bring the book to glorious life, showing how the sky really is an enormous free outdoor cinema screen. What a lovely book.

Beautiful! Ideal for the the armchair cloudwatcher., 04 Sep 2008

This is a fantastic book and I was glad I bought it. The foreword is very informative and well written and doesn't boggle the reader with too much science. This book is ideal for those armchair cloud watchers who know a bit about clouds but need to further their knowledge. This book is an essential guide to cloud identification and provides some stunning photos of the clouds themselves. The book is also handy for being able to forecast the weather as you will soon get to know the cloud types and the associated weather that comes with them.



The sky's the limit, 27 May 2008
Recently I found a book that I could only dream of as a child, but which didn't seem to exist. Then I was fascinated by the weather and wanted a book classifying the cloud types with the correct names, symbols and pictures to demonstrate. Richard Hamblyn's "The Cloud Book" does all these things. The beauty of the photographs means it easily qualifies for the coffee tables of the less geeky among us, while neatly illustrating the text for the cloud afficianado. It is not often that you can say a book is perfect in all respects, but may be this is one.

Pretty pictures but not much else, 30 Dec 2008
I bought this book expecting to learn about and marvel at snowflakes. Well, the pictures are amazing and there is plenty to marvel at - but I didn't learn much. The book has plenty of photographs of different types of snowflakes interspersed with quotations, but there is little information about the magic of how they're formed.

Informative and Invividual - Excellent read , 08 Oct 2008
This is a good book for anyone interested not just in disasters, but in the Weather & Climate of the British Isles.

It is easy to read, irrespective of your level of knowledge on the subject, and is very well researched.

It is written in an individual, sometimes amusing, but always informative style

Highly recommended


its helped me with my exams!, 24 Sep 2007
philip edan has helped me to understand alot more about weather and has got me interested in taking the study of weather patterns further! he has mainly helped me with my geography exams!

Good Sound Book, 28 Nov 2008
Like Chris Tibbs articles in Sailing Today , this is easy to read and very informative. It provides a good base of weather knowledge and should be a must for any nautical bookself

An invaluable book for all sailors., 23 Mar 2004
This is the most up to date and comprehensive weather book on the market.I am a qualified Yachtmaster Instructor, and every year have students to whom the weather aspect of the Yachtmaster Course creates a real headache. This excellent book by the RYA has been voted by my students a real winner. It manages to get the point over clearly on what is a very technical subject. The drawing are really good,clear and easy to follow. Well done Chris Tibbs and the RYA.

Beautifully presented and more than just a diary, 26 Nov 2007
This would be a great item for weather enthusiasts of any age or ability. Each double page of the log has spaces for your readings from 7 days for three years so interannual comparisons can easily be made. It doesn't matter when you start taking your readings either (i.e. it doesn't have to be 1st Jan) as you'd just cycle through the book from whenever you start.

As well as the log, there are many great photos and explanations of various weather events throughout the book. It's certainly attractive enough to be incorporated into your daily routine for 3 years. I bought it as a gift but I think I will get myself a copy too!

lovely reference book, 18 May 2008
This book is a great for those who have a 'beginner' interest in clouds, as it is mostly pictorial. I bought it as a gift for my boyfriend and he has great fun trying to identify what types of cloud are in the sky.

Such a dreadful shame, 26 Dec 2007
A beautiful book. I received a copy for Christmas (at my specific request!). I'm so sorry I can't give it the 5 stars it ought to have. Why? Because the quality of the photographic printing so often leaves a lot to be desired. I just don't believe that so many of the photos were, in their originals, as grainy as they have been reproduced. Even the paper feels rough! Pages 94/95 are just one example of many. I have loved clouds for decades and was really hoping for a set of photographs of coffee table standard. I am very disappointed. However, I would far rather have the book than not - and in spite of my criticism.

Wonderful, 27 Sep 2007
A marvellous book, pictures are wonderful, only minor niggle is that the author quotes figures in miles otherwise a wonderful book with the pictures taking pride of place, pity there isn't a DVD to show movement.

Superb!, 25 Dec 2006

Any aviator would tell you about the importance of the need to have a thorough understanding of the different types of clouds, how they are formed, and most especially, what they are telling us.

Look up in the sky and you'll see that each and every bit of cloud is telling us a different story, in addition to the spectacle you see right before your eyes.

Needless to say, it would be most foolish of any pilot not to fully understand the implication of the different types of clouds whilst on the ground, before a flight, as well as whilst in the air.

My interest in the clouds started a few years ago due to a near-miss air accident whilst learning to fly GA aircraft. My instructor and I nearly got sucked into the clouds, due to the fact that he, my instructor, being the pilot in command, failed to maintain the specified distance from the clouds whilst flying under VFR. Needless to say, we were lucky to get out of the way of the swelling cumulus which seemed to be coming after us as we were about to be sucked in. Phew, never again with a cloud suck!!

Having that bad experience and now flying the most personal form of aircraft, I searched around for a good book about the clouds. Luckily, I stumbled on this one and then decided to buy it.

Wow, what a book! This is a must-have for all pilots as well as anybody that's interested in the clouds. All credits to its author, Dr John A. Day, for his exposition of the subject like no other. He is indeed, the 'Cloud doctor'.

The author does not ramble on about the different cloud types, (that, indeed, would be most boring), rather, he gives a very short introduction to a particular type of cloud as well as the cloud family to which it belongs. This is then followed by photographs, more photographs and indeed more photographs.

Regarding each and every type of cloud, there's a very small but most important insert, showing its key characteristics, such as group, name, base, top, air mass stability, buoyancy, moisture content, temperature, frontal lift and precipitation type.

The key thing that sets this book apart from all the others out there is, its simplicity as well as the many photographs on each and every type of cloud formation that there is out there. So, so many photographs, you wouldn't believe it.

The best part is that most (if not all), of the photographs were actually taken by the author, who worked in the aviation industry until his retirement.

If you really need to understand the clouds, this is the book for you. It is a great book, bar none, in my humble opinion. Here's what I'd advice you to do inorder to get the most out of the book:

1. Firstly, read through the book from cover to cover.
2. Next, re-read it slowly and pay more attention.
3. Finally, close the book and leave it on your desk.
4. When you wake up from bed in the morning, just look out of your window and look at the sky. See if you can identify the type of cloud formation you see up there.
5. Can you identify the type of cloud? If so, what are its characteristics? If not, quickly refer to the book that's on your desk. Can you identify the cloud now after referring to the book? The photographs are all there for you to see. Do this as many times as possible until you really get to know the clouds. This is a must.
6. Are you a pilot? If so, after identifying the cloud, what would you say are its implications for flying? You really ought to get to grips with this aspect 'cos it's most crucial.

This is a superb book. Buy it if you can manage to get hold of it 'cos it sells like hot cake.



Ibiduo Chris Berepiki.









A tribute to the mutable majesty of clouds, 30 Aug 2006
John Day - or 'Cloudman' as he is known to thousands of Americans, both through his pioneering website and his visits to schools around the country - is truly the doyen of international cloud scholars. This book is the culmination of decades of research and reading, and is full of all manner of wit and wisdom concerning clouds, 'the patron goddesses of idle men', as the dramatist Aristophanes described them. The photographs, many of them taken by Day himself, are outstanding, and do much to bring the book to glorious life, showing how the sky really is an enormous free outdoor cinema screen. What a lovely book.

Excellent study of the real cause of the current warming, 13 Nov 2008
Fred Singer, Research Professor at George Mason University in Virginia, and Dennis Avery, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in New York, have written a thorough account of the causes of global warming. Their work is backed by a lengthy list of references from refereed and peer-reviewed science journals.

They show that over the past million years the earth has been through 600 cycles of warming caused by regular changes in the sun's radiance. Each cycle lasts about 1,500 years and the temperature varies from 20C above the mean to 20C below it. The sun's radiance has increased by 0.050C per decade for the last 25 years and we are about 150 years into a moderate warming cycle.

This is the only explanation for the modern warming that is backed by physical evidence, from ice cores, fossilised pollen, core stalagmites and seabed sediments.

They demolish Michael Mann's famous hockey-stick graph - used by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and by US billionaire Al Gore in his movie. This graph purported to show that the 20th century was uniquely hot. But two experienced statisticians, Stephen McIntyre and Ross McKitrick, studied Mann's data and concluded that they did not produce the claimed results due to "collation errors, unjustifiable truncation or extrapolation of source data, obsolete data, geographical location errors, incorrect calculation of principal components and other quality control defects."

The early 15th-century warming was hotter than the 20th-century warming, refuting the claim that the 20th century's record CO2 emissions caused unprecedented global warming. Antarctic ice cores show a strong correlation between temperature changes and CO2 levels, but CO2 levels rise about 800 years after temperatures rise. So temperature changes cause CO2 changes not vice versa.

Greens promote baseless fears, for example, "the oceans will rise by a metre by 2010." No, the most likely rise is ten centimetres, according to the International Union of Quaternary Research's Sea Level Commission. Al Gore wrote in 1992, "global warming is expected to push temperatures up much more rapidly in the polar regions." No, the Antarctic has been cooling since 1966; temperatures at both poles are lower than they were in 1930.

"A million species will be lost." No, there will be more species because higher CO2 concentrations help plants, and therefore other species, to accept higher temperatures without harm. "There will be more frequent and fiercer storms." No, a warmer climate is more stable and has fewer storms. "Millions will die from warming." No, fewer people die from excess heat than from excess cold. "Warming will reduce crops." No, it encourages growth in food crops, as do warming's increased rainfall (2% up in the 20th century) and increased CO2.

Solar and wind power is between four to ten times as dear as fossil-fuel and nuclear power. Shifting to `renewables' would mean converting hundreds of millions of acres of forest and wilderness to wind farms, solar panel arrays and biofuel crops. But since global warming is not dangerous and is not manmade, we don't need to cut our use of indispensable fossil fuels.



Very controversial - will have environmentalists spitting, 19 Oct 2008
This book has two central assumptions, namely, that global warming is happening, but that this is not caused in any way by human activity. Secondly, the authors argue that global warming is not such a bad thing, because a slightly warmer planet is actually better. From old people saving money on heating bills to rare animals being able to extend their normal range thanks to hotter weather, global warming is not such a bad thing.

The authors argue that there have been a number of occassions throughout history when the temperature of the planet has risen and fallen. To prove this, they cite two sources. The first is the records in tree rings and the ice core. The second is the writings of ancient civilizations, which described sudden changes in the climate, without necessarily knowing it. He mentions how the Vikings on Greenland noted a sudden drop in cold, which ultimately led to the end of their settlement there as ice bergs made the sea lanes impassable.

The book also makes an incendiary claim. That green charities, pressure groups and researchers are claiming humans cause global warming for two reasons. Firstly, because there is so much money available in terms of donations from the public if the public can be alarmed enough. Secondly, because government research grants are now so large that many scientists keep their reservations about what is really behind climate change to themselves so as to keep the funding rolling in.

I met the author whilst working at the European Parliament, and found his book to be extremely well written, and the man himself to be very pleasant and a great speaker. This book is strongly recommended.

No-punches pulled refutation of man-made global warming theory, 06 May 2008
Singer and Avery suggest that there should be no binding constraints on human emissions of greenhouse gases until three things can be demonstrated:

1. That greenhouse gases are certain to raise global temperatures significantly higher than they rose during previous natural climate warming cycles;
2. That such a warming would severely harm human welfare and nature;
3. That rational human actions could actually forestall whatever warming may occur.

In short, they do not think that the "global warming alarmists", including the IPCC, have been able to meet any of these requirements.

Singer & Avery pull no punches in this book of four parts. The first describes the discovery of the 1,500-year (or, strictly, 1,470 year +/- 500 year) cycle of warming and cooling and the evidence for it both from historical sources and scientific investigation - temperature proxies such as tree rings, marine deposits, habitation patterns, ice cores and sea levels, even stalagmites and fossilised pollen. Temperatures are not yet as warm as they have been in the relatively recent past - long before man was having any significant impact on the atmosphere - when mankind seemed to be thriving. In the second, they rubbish the evidence that human activity, and in particular the production of CO2, is causing any temperature change; they are particularly scornful of computer modelling and the political re-writing of the various IPCC reports. In the third section, they attack what they see as groundless fears about the effects of warming - the sort of thing that Al Gore put into "An Inconvenient Truth". The fourth section concludes by saying that Kyoto is pointless whichever way you look at it, unless you are Putin, looking to be able to sell billions of dollars worth carbon credits (based on Russia's 1990 industrial economy) but not now necessary to Russia or European leaders hoping to restrain the US's faster growing economy.

The 1,470 year temperature cycle was discovered by Willi Dansgaard and Hans Oeschger, and the research independently validated by Claude Lorius, based on ice-core research in the 1980s and 1990s. D, O & L did not explain a causal link more sophisticated than that it was due to the sun, and Singer & Avery credit Henrik Svensmark with identifying the link between solar activity, cosmic rays and cloud formation (as explained in Svensmark's "The Chilling Stars"). This solar cycle is thought to be caused by a combination of two previously identified solar cycles: the 87-year Gleissberg cycle and the 210-year DeVries-Suess cycle, but the theory does not get much more sophisticated than that. In short, there does not yet seem to be a theoretical explanation as to why the sun triggers a 1,470 year cycle, nor why it should be +/- 500 years (which does seem quite a lot to a layman like me), but the cycle is based on a great deal of consistent, and planet-wide, empirical evidence. Singer & Avery cite many sources to show that the Roman and Medieval Warmings and the Dark Ages and C16 - C18 "little " ice ages were planet-wide.

Singer & Avery suggest that it would be prudent to consider that mankind is contributing to the (slightly) warming Earth, but that the vast majority of the relatively mild (but greatly overstated) warming is being caused by solar events completely outwith man's ability to control. This may be just as well, as they are highly sceptical about the practical effectiveness of many so-called alternative energies - although they do not go into detail about the practical problems to the extent, for example, that Booker and North do in "Scared to Death". Even nuclear fission, they think, would only be of temporary help, and in the long term, when fossil fuels run out or we are choose to stop using them, we had better hope that we have cracked nuclear fusion. This, ironically, is the same conclusion reached by James Lovelock of the Gaia theory!

This book is at its best in its detailed statement of facts in support of there being significant natural climate variation, and in pointing out the weaknesses in some of the data presented by global warming alarmists. (Some of the facts, based on historical interpretation, would probably be rejected by scientists as insufficiently quantifiable, but they seemed worthy of conclusion, to me, in support of quantifiable data.) Otherwise, I have to admit, I was a little disappointed by it, because I seemed to have read many of their arguments in greater detail elsewhere: Svensmark on the solar/galactic effect, Bjorn Lomborg on the economic consequences of an over-reaction, Booker and North on the limitations of alternative energies as they currently exist, Patrick Michaels on the reasons why scientists find themselves acting, unscientifically, to support a developing "paradigm".

This book is, nevertheless, 260 tightly-argued pages demonstrating that there is no "global warming consensus" that man made global warming is out of control. If, for example, you are alarmed by the arguments of the "consensus" and wish to explore some of the arguments of the "sceptics" then you could do a lot worse than starting here.


Refreshing climate change arguement, 02 Jan 2008
This is a well written book, full of facts that the author lists using verified evidence, both physical from all corners of the world to historical records. Singer uses the current political driven climate change comments - then one by one uses verified facts to show the actual state of the planet.

Not having any background in science, but just an ordinary person who for a number of years had to study weather patterns due to my job, I have never subscribed to the political driven climate change 'religion' we are now all being asked (without question) to accept (and pay higher taxes on!); it is refreshing to see a book showing facts - real verfiable facts (a thing politics seems to omit with it's scare mongering money self esteeem driven politicians!)

Singer argues, and shows proof of past warmings in the last 2000 years in particualr and further back in history. The Roman Warming period ( 2000 years ago) Singer shows with verfiable facts that Greenland was over 5 degrees hotter than today (HOWEVER....the ice cap remained - polar bears in the artic didn't die out and sea levels didn't inundated the planet!) The same occurred during the medieval period. All this (and more) can be found in this book and in numerous other publications and websites..........all who use physical evidence to prove such facts.

The warm cold, warm cold cycles Singer advocates are all backed up by physical evidence, but whether he is 100% right, well we weren't there in times gone past but he argues it well and very convincingly. He also shows that in the past C02 has been a lot higher, astronomically higher than todays levels.....even before man appeared (why are we getting the blame then?)

He argues well the politically driven IPCC public reports which have been now causing a lot of controversy in the USA.........and he is not the first to say this by a long way.

I'm suprised in today's politically driven world that he was allowed to publish a book that blows apart this modern religion being forced up on us, but he has and it's an excellent read.

Well done, an excellent read and it really does make you open your eyes to what actually is warming the planet..........and every planet in the solar system at the same time, at the same rate.

For those who will no doubt feel a heart attack coming on at my coments, just remember that the same political bodies of so called 'experts' were telling us that in the early 1970's we were most certainly in the grip of an ice age........they were wrong then.

Singer uses a lot of evidence from the Arctic which in the summer of 2007 made world headlines due to the amount of shrinkage.....it was terrible, the bears will die, the world will drown etc etc (dribble). Why then did the same people not report that the ice coverage in Dec 07 had grown to the greatest on record since satellite imagery began in 1970??

The man made global warming robots are very good at scare tactics...which Singer exposes the use of this deceptive tactic well. (Tell 'em a bit, but leave other parts and and wow! Explosive headlines!) But the bigger picture.......well, that doesn't fit the new religion......does it?

Amazing .., 09 Dec 2007
There is a cycle and every scientific on earth know that. The problem is that humans are dirupting this cycle. What are the proof? Well, samples of the atmosphere frozen into the south and north pole giving us, so far, only 600 millions years of climate history.. And it has always been the same, going up and down at the same time and reached the same minimum and maximum.

However, in the last centuries we have disrupted this cycle and just made it worse. Humans are able to adapt but not that quickly and not for changes that will be harsher than the extremes of the last 600 millions years. Nobody wants to stop climate changes but everybody should try to attenuate the negative effect we have on it

Now you can try to help or you can read books funded by the CEI... (EXXON and others) but remember that, so far, no scientifics on earth has ever backed up their theories... Who wil you chose to believe? Your government (all of them: right or left) or researchers that will not benefit of the outcomes of their research if they are wrong?

"Climate change is the ignored player on the historical stage," writes archeologist Brian Fagan. But it shouldn't be, not if we know what's good for us. We can't judge what future climate change will mean unless we know something about its effects in the past: "those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it". And Fagan's story of the last thousand years, centered on the "Little Ice Age," reminds us of what we could end up repeating: flood, fire, and famine--acts of God exacerbated by acts of man.

For all that he takes a broad--a very broad--view of European history, Fagan's writing is laced with human faces, fascinating anecdotes, and a gift for the telling detail that makes history live, very much in the style of Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror. When Fagan talks about the voyages of Basque fishermen to American shores (probably landing before Columbus sailed), he puts in the taste of dried cod and the terrifying suddenness of fogs on the Grand Banks. The Great Fire of London, what it was like when the Dutch dikes broke, the Irish Potato Famine, the year without a summer, ice fairs on the Thames, and volcanoes in the South Pacific--Fagan makes history a ripping yarn in which we are all actors, on a stage that has always been changing. --Mary Ellen Curtin

Beautiful! Ideal for the the armchair cloudwatcher., 04 Sep 2008

This is a fantastic book and I was glad I bought it. The foreword is very informative and well written and doesn't boggle the reader with too much science. This book is ideal for those armchair cloud watchers who know a bit about clouds but need to further their knowledge. This book is an essential guide to cloud identification and provides some stunning photos of the clouds themselves. The book is also handy for being able to forecast the weather as you will soon get to know the cloud types and the associated weather that comes with them.



The sky's the limit, 27 May 2008
Recently I found a book that I could only dream of as a child, but which didn't seem to exist. Then I was fascinated by the weather and wanted a book classifying the cloud types with the correct names, symbols and pictures to demonstrate. Richard Hamblyn's "The Cloud Book" does all these things. The beauty of the photographs means it easily qualifies for the coffee tables of the less geeky among us, while neatly illustrating the text for the cloud afficianado. It is not often that you can say a book is perfect in all respects, but may be this is one.

Pretty pictures but not much else, 30 Dec 2008
I bought this book expecting to learn about and marvel at snowflakes. Well, the pictures are amazing and there is plenty to marvel at - but I didn't learn much. The book has plenty of photographs of different types of snowflakes interspersed with quotations, but there is little information about the magic of how they're formed.

Informative and Invividual - Excellent read , 08 Oct 2008
This is a good book for anyone interested not just in disasters, but in the Weather & Climate of the British Isles.

It is easy to read, irrespective of your level of knowledge on the subject, and is very well researched.

It is written in an individual, sometimes amusing, but always informative style

Highly recommended


its helped me with my exams!, 24 Sep 2007
philip edan has helped me to understand alot more about weather and has got me interested in taking the study of weather patterns further! he has mainly helped me with my geography exams!

Good Sound Book, 28 Nov 2008
Like Chris Tibbs articles in Sailing Today , this is easy to read and very informative. It provides a good base of weather knowledge and should be a must for any nautical bookself

An invaluable book for all sailors., 23 Mar 2004
This is the most up to date and comprehensive weather book on the market.I am a qualified Yachtmaster Instructor, and every year have students to whom the weather aspect of the Yachtmaster Course creates a real headache. This excellent book by the RYA has been voted by my students a real winner. It manages to get the point over clearly on what is a very technical subject. The drawing are really good,clear and easy to follow. Well done Chris Tibbs and the RYA.

Beautifully presented and more than just a diary, 26 Nov 2007
This would be a great item for weather enthusiasts of any age or ability. Each double page of the log has spaces for your readings from 7 days for three years so interannual comparisons can easily be made. It doesn't matter when you start taking your readings either (i.e. it doesn't have to be 1st Jan) as you'd just cycle through the book from whenever you start.

As well as the log, there are many great photos and explanations of various weather events throughout the book. It's certainly attractive enough to be incorporated into your daily routine for 3 years. I bought it as a gift but I think I will get myself a copy too!

lovely reference book, 18 May 2008
This book is a great for those who have a 'beginner' interest in clouds, as it is mostly pictorial. I bought it as a gift for my boyfriend and he has great fun trying to identify what types of cloud are in the sky.

Such a dreadful shame, 26 Dec 2007
A beautiful book. I received a copy for Christmas (at my specific request!). I'm so sorry I can't give it the 5 stars it ought to have. Why? Because the quality of the photographic printing so often leaves a lot to be desired. I just don't believe that so many of the photos were, in their originals, as grainy as they have been reproduced. Even the paper feels rough! Pages 94/95 are just one example of many. I have loved clouds for decades and was really hoping for a set of photographs of coffee table standard. I am very disappointed. However, I would far rather have the book than not - and in spite of my criticism.

Wonderful, 27 Sep 2007
A marvellous book, pictures are wonderful, only minor niggle is that the author quotes figures in miles otherwise a wonderful book with the pictures taking pride of place, pity there isn't a DVD to show movement.

Superb!, 25 Dec 2006

Any aviator would tell you about the importance of the need to have a thorough understanding of the different types of clouds, how they are formed, and most especially, what they are telling us.

Look up in the sky and you'll see that each and every bit of cloud is telling us a different story, in addition to the spectacle you see right before your eyes.

Needless to say, it would be most foolish of any pilot not to fully understand the implication of the different types of clouds whilst on the ground, before a flight, as well as whilst in the air.

My interest in the clouds started a few years ago due to a near-miss air accident whilst learning to fly GA aircraft. My instructor and I nearly got sucked into the clouds, due to the fact that he, my instructor, being the pilot in command, failed to maintain the specified distance from the clouds whilst flying under VFR. Needless to say, we were lucky to get out of the way of the swelling cumulus which seemed to be coming after us as we were about to be sucked in. Phew, never again with a cloud suck!!

Having that bad experience and now flying the most personal form of aircraft, I searched around for a good book about the clouds. Luckily, I stumbled on this one and then decided to buy it.

Wow, what a book! This is a must-have for all pilots as well as anybody that's interested in the clouds. All credits to its author, Dr John A. Day, for his exposition of the subject like no other. He is indeed, the 'Cloud doctor'.

The author does not ramble on about the different cloud types, (that, indeed, would be most boring), rather, he gives a very short introduction to a particular type of cloud as well as the cloud family to which it belongs. This is then followed by photographs, more photographs and indeed more photographs.

Regarding each and every type of cloud, there's a very small but most important insert, showing its key characteristics, such as group, name, base, top, air mass stability, buoyancy, moisture content, temperature, frontal lift and precipitation type.

The key thing that sets this book apart from all the others out there is, its simplicity as well as the many photographs on each and every type of cloud formation that there is out there. So, so many photographs, you wouldn't believe it.

The best part is that most (if not all), of the photographs were actually taken by the author, who worked in the aviation industry until his retirement.

If you really need to understand the clouds, this is the book for you. It is a great book, bar none, in my humble opinion. Here's what I'd advice you to do inorder to get the most out of the book:

1. Firstly, read through the book from cover to cover.
2. Next, re-read it slowly and pay more attention.
3. Finally, close the book and leave it on your desk.
4. When you wake up from bed in the morning, just look out of your window and look at the sky. See if you can identify the type of cloud formation you see up there.
5. Can you identify the type of cloud? If so, what are its characteristics? If not, quickly refer to the book that's on your desk. Can you identify the cloud now after referring to the book? The photographs are all there for you to see. Do this as many times as possible until you really get to know the clouds. This is a must.
6. Are you a pilot? If so, after identifying the cloud, what would you say are its implications for flying? You really ought to get to grips with this aspect 'cos it's most crucial.

This is a superb book. Buy it if you can manage to get hold of it 'cos it sells like hot cake.



Ibiduo Chris Berepiki.









A tribute to the mutable majesty of clouds, 30 Aug 2006
John Day - or 'Cloudman' as he is known to thousands of Americans, both through his pioneering website and his visits to schools around the country - is truly the doyen of international cloud scholars. This book is the culmination of decades of research and reading, and is full of all manner of wit and wisdom concerning clouds, 'the patron goddesses of idle men', as the dramatist Aristophanes described them. The photographs, many of them taken by Day himself, are outstanding, and do much to bring the book to glorious life, showing how the sky really is an enormous free outdoor cinema screen. What a lovely book.

Excellent study of the real cause of the current warming, 13 Nov 2008
Fred Singer, Research Professor at George Mason University in Virginia, and Dennis Avery, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in New York, have written a thorough account of the causes of global warming. Their work is backed by a lengthy list of references from refereed and peer-reviewed science journals.

They show that over the past million years the earth has been through 600 cycles of warming caused by regular changes in the sun's radiance. Each cycle lasts about 1,500 years and the temperature varies from 20C above the mean to 20C below it. The sun's radiance has increased by 0.050C per decade for the last 25 years and we are about 150 years into a moderate warming cycle.

This is the only explanation for the modern warming that is backed by physical evidence, from ice cores, fossilised pollen, core stalagmites and seabed sediments.

They demolish Michael Mann's famous hockey-stick graph - used by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and by US billionaire Al Gore in his movie. This graph purported to show that the 20th century was uniquely hot. But two experienced statisticians, Stephen McIntyre and Ross McKitrick, studied Mann's data and concluded that they did not produce the claimed results due to "collation errors, unjustifiable truncation or extrapolation of source data, obsolete data, geographical location errors, incorrect calculation of principal components and other quality control defects."

The early 15th-century warming was hotter than the 20th-century warming, refuting the claim that the 20th century's record CO2 emissions caused unprecedented global warming. Antarctic ice cores show a strong correlation between temperature changes and CO2 levels, but CO2 levels rise about 800 years after temperatures rise. So temperature changes cause CO2 changes not vice versa.

Greens promote baseless fears, for example, "the oceans will rise by a metre by 2010." No, the most likely rise is ten centimetres, according to the International Union of Quaternary Research's Sea Level Commission. Al Gore wrote in 1992, "global warming is expected to push temperatures up much more rapidly in the polar regions." No, the Antarctic has been cooling since 1966; temperatures at both poles are lower than they were in 1930.

"A million species will be lost." No, there will be more species because higher CO2 concentrations help plants, and therefore other species, to accept higher temperatures without harm. "There will be more frequent and fiercer storms." No, a warmer climate is more stable and has fewer storms. "Millions will die from warming." No, fewer people die from excess heat than from excess cold. "Warming will reduce crops." No, it encourages growth in food crops, as do warming's increased rainfall (2% up in the 20th century) and increased CO2.

Solar and wind power is between four to ten times as dear as fossil-fuel and nuclear power. Shifting to `renewables' would mean converting hundreds of millions of acres of forest and wilderness to wind farms, solar panel arrays and biofuel crops. But since global warming is not dangerous and is not manmade, we don't need to cut our use of indispensable fossil fuels.



Very controversial - will have environmentalists spitting, 19 Oct 2008
This book has two central assumptions, namely, that global warming is happening, but that this is not caused in any way by human activity. Secondly, the authors argue that global warming is not such a bad thing, because a slightly warmer planet is actually better. From old people saving money on heating bills to rare animals being able to extend their normal range thanks to hotter weather, global warming is not such a bad thing.

The authors argue that there have been a number of occassions throughout history when the temperature of the planet has risen and fallen. To prove this, they cite two sources. The first is the records in tree rings and the ice core. The second is the writings of ancient civilizations, which described sudden changes in the climate, without necessarily knowing it. He mentions how the Vikings on Greenland noted a sudden drop in cold, which ultimately led to the end of their settlement there as ice bergs made the sea lanes impassable.

The book also makes an incendiary claim. That green charities, pressure groups and researchers are claiming humans cause global warming for two reasons. Firstly, because there is so much money available in terms of donations from the public if the public can be alarmed enough. Secondly, because government research grants are now so large that many scientists keep their reservations about what is really behind climate change to themselves so as to keep the funding rolling in.

I met the author whilst working at the European Parliament, and found his book to be extremely well written, and the man himself to be very pleasant and a great speaker. This book is strongly recommended.

No-punches pulled refutation of man-made global warming theory, 06 May 2008
Singer and Avery suggest that there should be no binding constraints on human emissions of greenhouse gases until three things can be demonstrated:

1. That greenhouse gases are certain to raise global temperatures significantly higher than they rose during previous natural climate warming cycles;
2. That such a warming would severely harm human welfare and nature;
3. That rational human actions could actually forestall whatever warming may occur.

In short, they do not think that the "global warming alarmists", including the IPCC, have been able to meet any of these requirements.

Singer & Avery pull no punches in this book of four parts. The first describes the discovery of the 1,500-year (or, strictly, 1,470 year +/- 500 year) cycle of warming and cooling and the evidence for it both from historical sources and scientific investigation - temperature proxies such as tree rings, marine deposits, habitation patterns, ice cores and sea levels, even stalagmites and fossilised pollen. Temperatures are not yet as warm as they have been in the relatively recent past - long before man was having any significant impact on the atmosphere - when mankind seemed to be thriving. In the second, they rubbish the evidence that human activity, and in particular the production of CO2, is causing any temperature change; they are particularly scornful of computer modelling and the political re-writing of the various IPCC reports. In the third section, they attack what they see as groundless fears about the effects of warming - the sort of thing that Al Gore put into "An Inconvenient Truth". The fourth section concludes by saying that Kyoto is pointless whichever way you look at it, unless you are Putin, looking to be able to sell billions of dollars worth carbon credits (based on Russia's 1990 industrial economy) but not now necessary to Russia or European leaders hoping to restrain the US's faster growing economy.

The 1,470 year temperature cycle was discovered by Willi Dansgaard and Hans Oeschger, and the research independently validated by Claude Lorius, based on ice-core research in the 1980s and 1990s. D, O & L did not explain a causal link more sophisticated than that it was due to the sun, and Singer & Avery credit Henrik Svensmark with identifying the link between solar activity, cosmic rays and cloud formation (as explained in Svensmark's "The Chilling Stars"). This solar cycle is thought to be caused by a combination of two previously identified solar cycles: the 87-year Gleissberg cycle and the 210-year DeVries-Suess cycle, but the theory does not get much more sophisticated than that. In short, there does not yet seem to be a theoretical explanation as to why the sun triggers a 1,470 year cycle, nor why it should be +/- 500 years (which does seem quite a lot to a layman like me), but the cycle is based on a great deal of consistent, and planet-wide, empirical evidence. Singer & Avery cite many sources to show that the Roman and Medieval Warmings and the Dark Ages and C16 - C18 "little " ice ages were planet-wide.

Singer & Avery suggest that it would be prudent to consider that mankind is contributing to the (slightly) warming Earth, but that the vast majority of the relatively mild (but greatly overstated) warming is being caused by solar events completely outwith man's ability to control. This may be just as well, as they are highly sceptical about the practical effectiveness of many so-called alternative energies - although they do not go into detail about the practical problems to the extent, for example, that Booker and North do in "Scared to Death". Even nuclear fission, they think, would only be of temporary help, and in the long term, when fossil fuels run out or we are choose to stop using them, we had better hope that we have cracked nuclear fusion. This, ironically, is the same conclusion reached by James Lovelock of the Gaia theory!

This book is at its best in its detailed statement of facts in support of there being significant natural climate variation, and in pointing out the weaknesses in some of the data presented by global warming alarmists. (Some of the facts, based on historical interpretation, would probably be rejected by scientists as insufficiently quantifiable, but they seemed worthy of conclusion, to me, in support of quantifiable data.) Otherwise, I have to admit, I was a little disappointed by it, because I seemed to have read many of their arguments in greater detail elsewhere: Svensmark on the solar/galactic effect, Bjorn Lomborg on the economic consequences of an over-reaction, Booker and North on the limitations of alternative energies as they currently exist, Patrick Michaels on the reasons why scientists find themselves acting, unscientifically, to support a developing "paradigm".

This book is, nevertheless, 260 tightly-argued pages demonstrating that there is no "global warming consensus" that man made global warming is out of control. If, for example, you are alarmed by the arguments of the "consensus" and wish to explore some of the arguments of the "sceptics" then you could do a lot worse than starting here.


Refreshing climate change arguement, 02 Jan 2008
This is a well written book, full of facts that the author lists using verified evidence, both physical from all corners of the world to historical records. Singer uses the current political driven climate change comments - then one by one uses verified facts to show the actual state of the planet.

Not having any background in science, but just an ordinary person who for a number of years had to study weather patterns due to my job, I have never subscribed to the political driven climate change 'religion' we are now all being asked (without question) to accept (and pay higher taxes on!); it is refreshing to see a book showing facts - real verfiable facts (a thing politics seems to omit with it's scare mongering money self esteeem driven politicians!)

Singer argues, and shows proof of past warmings in the last 2000 years in particualr and further back in history. The Roman Warming period ( 2000 years ago) Singer shows with verfiable facts that Greenland was over 5 degrees hotter than today (HOWEVER....the ice cap remained - polar bears in the artic didn't die out and sea levels didn't inundated the planet!) The same occurred during the medieval period. All this (and more) can be found in this book and in numerous other publications and websites..........all who use physical evidence to prove such facts.

The warm cold, warm cold cycles Singer advocates are all backed up by physical evidence, but whether he is 100% right, well we weren't there in times gone past but he argues it well and very convincingly. He also shows that in the past C02 has been a lot higher, astronomically higher than todays levels.....even before man appeared (why are we getting the blame then?)

He argues well the politically driven IPCC public reports which have been now causing a lot of controversy in the USA.........and he is not the first to say this by a long way.

I'm suprised in today's politically driven world that he was allowed to publish a book that blows apart this modern religion being forced up on us, but he has and it's an excellent read.

Well done, an excellent read and it really does make you open your eyes to what actually is warming the planet..........and every planet in the solar system at the same time, at the same rate.

For those who will no doubt feel a heart attack coming on at my coments, just remember that the same political bodies of so called 'experts' were telling us that in the early 1970's we were most certainly in the grip of an ice age........they were wrong then.

Singer uses a lot of evidence from the Arctic which in the summer of 2007 made world headlines due to the amount of shrinkage.....it was terrible, the bears will die, the world will drown etc etc (dribble). Why then did the same people not report that the ice coverage in Dec 07 had grown to the greatest on record since satellite imagery began in 1970??

The man made global warming robots are very good at scare tactics...which Singer exposes the use of this deceptive tactic well. (Tell 'em a bit, but leave other parts and and wow! Explosive headlines!) But the bigger picture.......well, that doesn't fit the new religion......does it?

Amazing .., 09 Dec 2007
There is a cycle and every scientific on earth know that. The problem is that humans are dirupting this cycle. What are the proof? Well, samples of the atmosphere frozen into the south and north pole giving us, so far, only 600 millions years of climate history.. And it has always been the same, going up and down at the same time and reached the same minimum and maximum.

However, in the last centuries we have disrupted this cycle and just made it worse. Humans are able to adapt but not that quickly and not for changes that will be harsher than the extremes of the last 600 millions years. Nobody wants to stop climate changes but everybody should try to attenuate the negative effect we have on it

Now you can try to help or you can read books funded by the CEI... (EXXON and others) but remember that, so far, no scientifics on earth has ever backed up their theories... Who wil you chose to believe? Your government (all of them: right or left) or researchers that will not benefit of the outcomes of their research if they are wrong?

Interesting read, 14 Dec 2006
An interesting little book for the layman that actually pulls quite a punch when looking at the future of our warming globe, having drawn references from the past. In quite a short read Fagan draws together the dynamic forces of climate, politics, agriculture and the upheavals in society during those years covered in the book. The only drawbook are the, at times, woefully inadequate maps and diagrams.

Drought, discontent and decapitation, 07 May 2004
A few years ago historians proposing history was driven by climate aroused a squall of controversy. Global warming, so clearly impacted, if not driven, by humanity is leading to greater acceptance of the interaction of weather and society. Fagan's history of a period of mildly cooler conditions shows how a little change can have immense impact on the human situation. It takes little variation in "temperature", he shows, to change patterns of rainfall, crop success or failure and resulting social disruption. A phase of the Little Ice Age may not have brought the downfall of the French monarchy, he notes. Crop failures compounded with a selfish aristocracy demonstrates capped a long period of discontent with decapitation.

Reading Fagan's account of the impact of climate over half a millennium can be a daunting task. Although the focus on the period from 1300 to 1850 is largely European, that's merely due to the extensive written records kept there. The variations in climate were global and Fagan rushes you from place to place to demonstrate the impact of trends and "weather events". Scampering about the planet in time and space can be disconcerting, but there's a reason for his peripatetic approach. He wants you to avoid falling into the trap our ancestors did - thinking that a few freak storms or dry years will smooth out over time. If these events impinge on a weak social framework, disaster can, as it has before, follow. In modern times, with our huge global population, he reminds us, "smoothing out" is unlikely. Without the means to counter the effects on society of global warming, the result will be far more serious than ridding the world of another monarch.

Fagan's challenge to the reader is far greater than tripping about the globe. He wants you to understand the wide variety of subtle changes inherent in global weather patterns. A small change here means the loss of a whole fishery industry. Small drops in temperature there result in widespread drought, population dislocation or deprivation. Governments, and their supporting societies, need to instill programmes that can adjust to these changes. Social adjustments that modify lifestyle or inhibit vague promises of prosperity in order to provide survival mechanisms must be implemented. Short-term benefit programmes must be viewed with suspicion, he reminds us. Too many have already been proven illusory, and must not be repeated. And wholly unanticipated events, such as volcanoes, must be factored into the planning. The book's cap, "The Year Without A Summer", has been shown to be a significant time in the history of North America. When an eruption half-way around the world leads to crop failure in New England, the need for planning becomes starkly evident. Today's global warming suggests many little volcanoes are compromising climate stability. All those little volcanoes are called "automobiles".

With a captivating theme and an expressive prose style, this book is an excellent read. Fagan's use of graphics and maps enhances an already fine volume. Although the title gives the impression that it's a work of history, Fagan demonstrates clearly that conditions long ago are exemplary for modern times. We may have mechanised farming, for example, but the world exists on conditions no less marginal than they were in Medieval times. The same triggers, volcanic eruptions and, most importantly, the North Atlantic Oscillation controlling Europe's rainfall, El Nino and other anomalies, are set to invoke unpredictable conditions. He explains these forces with skill and clarity. You will learn much more than some historical pedantry from this book. If you fail to read it, your children, huddled around a weak fire, may ask you why.

Absolutely fascinating!, 12 Aug 2003
In this fascinating book, Professor Fagan introduces something of a climactic history of Europe. The first chapter covers the Medieval Warm Period of 900 to 1300 AD, when Greenland supported a thriving dairy-producing economy, and when French vintners sought protection against the import of fine English wines! Also sprinkled through the book are references to a Mini-Ice Age that extended from 500 to 900 AD, and an earlier warm period extending from 100 to 400 AD.

The second chapter chronicles the traumatic ordeal that Europe experienced as the planet cooled and weather took on new, harsher patterns. The author then continues on to document the tribulations of Little Ice Age Europe, and the changes that the new environment spurred. In the final chapter, the end of the Little Ice Age is covered, along with the author's thoughts on Global Warming.

This book is absolutely fascinating. Most history books do not mention the climate, except as background. Professor Fagan, on the other hand, rightly shows how the climate can be a major factor. The book is easily read (and not academic in tone), and very informative.

I must admit that this book has changed some of my opinions on Global Warming, and given me a great deal to think about. I am fascinated by the apparent yo-yoing of global temperatures throughout history, and hope to find a book that looks at the subject over a longer timeframe. This is a great book, and I recommend it to everyone.

Fascinating, accessible - well worth reading, 20 Apr 2003
I really enjoyed reading this book. It is extremely well written. The science is comprehensible, but doesn't seem to have been oversimplified. The analysis of the impact of climate changes on European history in the period is convincing. The inadequacies in much of the data is made clear and serves to illustrate the difficulties in drawing conclusions about a system as complex as the Earth's climate.

The descriptive passages of life in times past are particularly interesting, for instance the sections on Viking settlements in Iceland and Greenland and cod fishing.

I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in climate or those who want to expand their understanding of history by considering the impact of some of the more subtle, but overwhelmeing forces that shape human destiny.

Weather is important, 27 Jan 2002
This is a fascinating read on the Little Ice Age that gripped the world from 1200 to 1850 - particularly 1600 -1800- and how it affected history. I would have liked more description and details of some of the extreme cold - e.g. the Great Freezes and Frost Fairs of Britain are well documented. Nevertheless, a great read.

Beautiful! Ideal for the the armchair cloudwatcher., 04 Sep 2008

This is a fantastic book and I was glad I bought it. The foreword is very informative and well written and doesn't boggle the reader with too much science. This book is ideal for those armchair cloud watchers who know a bit about clouds but need to further their knowledge. This book is an essential guide to cloud identification and provides some stunning photos of the clouds themselves. The book is also handy for being able to forecast the weather as you will soon get to know the cloud types and the associated weather that comes with them.



The sky's the limit, 27 May 2008
Recently I found a book that I could only dream of as a child, but which didn't seem to exist. Then I was fascinated by the weather and wanted a book classifying the cloud types with the correct names, symbols and pictures to demonstrate. Richard Hamblyn's "The Cloud Book" does all these things. The beauty of the photographs means it easily qualifies for the coffee tables of the less geeky among us, while neatly illustrating the text for the cloud afficianado. It is not often that you can say a book is perfect in all respects, but may be this is one.

Pretty pictures but not much else, 30 Dec 2008
I bought this book expecting to learn about and marvel at snowflakes. Well, the pictures are amazing and there is plenty to marvel at - but I didn't learn much. The book has plenty of photographs of different types of snowflakes interspersed with quotations, but there is little information about the magic of how they're formed.

Informative and Invividual - Excellent read , 08 Oct 2008
This is a good book for anyone interested not just in disasters, but in the Weather & Climate of the British Isles.

It is easy to read, irrespective of your level of knowledge on the subject, and is very well researched.

It is written in an individual, sometimes amusing, but always informative style

Highly recommended


its helped me with my exams!, 24 Sep 2007
philip edan has helped me to understand alot more about weather and has got me interested in taking the study of weather patterns further! he has mainly helped me with my geography exams!

Good Sound Book, 28 Nov 2008
Like Chris Tibbs articles in Sailing Today , this is easy to read and very informative. It provides a good base of weather knowledge and should be a must for any nautical bookself

An invaluable book for all sailors., 23 Mar 2004
This is the most up to date and comprehensive weather book on the market.I am a qualified Yachtmaster Instructor, and every year have students to whom the weather aspect of the Yachtmaster Course creates a real headache. This excellent book by the RYA has been voted by my students a real winner. It manages to get the point over clearly on what is a very technical subject. The drawing are really good,clear and easy to follow. Well done Chris Tibbs and the RYA.

Beautifully presented and more than just a diary, 26 Nov 2007
This would be a great item for weather enthusiasts of any age or ability. Each double page of the log has spaces for your readings from 7 days for three years so interannual comparisons can easily be made. It doesn't matter when you start taking your readings either (i.e. it doesn't have to be 1st Jan) as you'd just cycle through the book from whenever you start.

As well as the log, there are many great photos and explanations of various weather events throughout the book. It's certainly attractive enough to be incorporated into your daily routine for 3 years. I bought it as a gift but I think I will get myself a copy too!

lovely reference book, 18 May 2008
This book is a great for those who have a 'beginner' interest in clouds, as it is mostly pictorial. I bought it as a gift for my boyfriend and he has great fun trying to identify what types of cloud are in the sky.

Such a dreadful shame, 26 Dec 2007
A beautiful book. I received a copy for Christmas (at my specific request!). I'm so sorry I can't give it the 5 stars it ought to have. Why? Because the quality of the photographic printing so often leaves a lot to be desired. I just don't believe that so many of the photos were, in their originals, as grainy as they have been reproduced. Even the paper feels rough! Pages 94/95 are just one example of many. I have loved clouds for decades and was really hoping for a set of photographs of coffee table standard. I am very disappointed. However, I would far rather have the book than not - and in spite of my criticism.

Wonderful, 27 Sep 2007
A marvellous book, pictures are wonderful, only minor niggle is that the author quotes figures in miles otherwise a wonderful book with the pictures taking pride of place, pity there isn't a DVD to show movement.

Superb!, 25 Dec 2006

Any aviator would tell you about the importance of the need to have a thorough understanding of the different types of clouds, how they are formed, and most especially, what they are telling us.

Look up in the sky and you'll see that each and every bit of cloud is telling us a different story, in addition to the spectacle you see right before your eyes.

Needless to say, it would be most foolish of any pilot not to fully understand the implication of the different types of clouds whilst on the ground, before a flight, as well as whilst in the air.

My interest in the clouds started a few years ago due to a near-miss air accident whilst learning to fly GA aircraft. My instructor and I nearly got sucked into the clouds, due to the fact that he, my instructor, being the pilot in command, failed to maintain the specified distance from the clouds whilst flying under VFR. Needless to say, we were lucky to get out of the way of the swelling cumulus which seemed to be coming after us as we were about to be sucked in. Phew, never again with a cloud suck!!

Having that bad experience and now flying the most personal form of aircraft, I searched around for a good book about the clouds. Luckily, I stumbled on this one and then decided to buy it.

Wow, what a book! This is a must-have for all pilots as well as anybody that's interested in the clouds. All credits to its author, Dr John A. Day, for his exposition of the subject like no other. He is i