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A Practical Guide to Pseudospectral Methods (Bengt Meyer covers environmental disasters and success Fornberg, 1996, 231 pp., $54.95, hardbound, Cam- stories of environmental management. The book is bridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-49582-2). This based on the conference proceedings The Earth as practical guide explains how pseudospectral and spec- Transformed by Human Action, published in 1990. tral methods have emerged as alternatives to finite- Meyer has updated, interpreted, and condensed the difference and finite-element methods. The guide de- original surveys into a more accessible form while scribes when, how, and why the pseudospectral ap- telling the same story as the original. proach works. The book is packed with illustrations, examples, heuristic explanations, key code segments, In the Shadow of the Tornado (Richard Bedard, and references, while theoretical arguments are ad- 1996, 170 pp., $11.95, paperbound, Gilco Publishing, dressed minimally. Scientists and engineers who are ISBN 0-9649527-1-8). The tornado that twisted its interested in applying pseudospectral methods to real way through Woodward, Oklahoma, in 1947 was the problems are the target audience for this book. deadliest in the state's history. Survivors of this di- saster relive their memories of that devastating storm The Upper Atmosphere: Data Analysis and Interpre- in the first part of this book. The second part shifts to tation (W. Dieminger, G. K. Hartmann, and R. focus on the threat of a tornado, how to prepare for Leitinger, Eds., 1995, 650 pp., $394.00, hardbound, one, and the science behind the phenomenon. Storm Springer-Verlag, ISBN 0-387-57562-6). With 327 chasers take the reader on a dangerous pursuit of tor- figures and 78 tables, this book is meant to serve as a nadoes in the third part. The book also contains a step- guide and introduction for the use of data that is avail- by-step explanation of how a tornado forms, a history able on the earth's atmosphere. The book also shows of tornado warnings, an account of how scientists and the problems of the use of large amounts of time se- amateurs began chasing tornadoes, and photos and ries data—for basic science and environmental moni- diagrams. toring—and the related information systems. Section topics include physics of the upper atmosphere, inves- Fundamentals of Atmospheric Physics (Murry L. tigation methods of the upper atmosphere, interna- Salby, 1996, 627 pp., $59.95, hardbound, Academic tional reference and model atmosphere, special phe- Press, ISBN 0-12-615160-1). A text for graduate stu- nomena of the upper atmosphere, and solar-terrestrial dents of atmospheric science, this book focuses on relations. The book is targeted to students and scien- four subjects: atmospheric thermodynamics, hydro- tists interested in the earth's atmosphere. static equilibrium and stability, atmospheric radiation and clouds, and atmospheric dynamics. Within these Human Impact on the Earth (William B. Meyer, subject areas, Salby exposes the interrelationships 1996, 253 pp., $69.95, hardbound, Cambridge Uni- between physical and dynamical meteorology. Each versity Press, ISBN 0-521-36356-X). This book ex- chapter begins with a development of basic principles plores what changes human activities have made on and concludes with applications from topical prob- the global environment from the seventeenth century lems in global research; selected answers are provided. to the present. It provides an inventory of human im- The book is also illustrated with four-color satellite pact in varied forms: on the land, oceans, atmosphere, imagery and photographs of laboratory simulations. and climate. The impacts range from long-standing al- The reader of this book should have a strong work- terations to others that have surfaced in recent years. ing knowledge of calculus. •

1872 Vol. 77, No. 8, August 1 996

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