Our Affair with El Nino by S George Philander
Until 1997, few people had heard of the seasonal current that Peruvians nicknamed El Nino. This book discusses the scientific, political, economic and cultural developments that shaped our perceptions of this force of nature. It begins by outlining the history of El Nino, and goes on to explore how our perceptions of El Nino were transformed.
George Philander provides [an understanding of El Nino] simply and authoritativelyHe does so, not by losing the reader in elaborate descriptions of data acquisition and mathematical modeling, but by the apt use of analogies drawn from the viewpoints of the poet, musician and painter. -- Richard Shelton Times Literary Supplement Our Affair with El Nino is a very readable, entertaining and instructive book that will appeal to scientists and non-scientists alike... [Philander] writes with the enthusiasm of an eye-witness and the authority of an expert. The book skillfully weaves together descriptions of El Nino physics, the historical backdrop that led to widespread interest in El Nino, and the philosophical perspectives on the role of scientific research in addressing present-day environmental problems. -- Michael J. McPhaden Nature [Philander] presents the current scientific understanding of El Nino concisely, explaining the details of circulation in the ocean and atmosphere with lucid analogies and thoughtful examples. He describes the broad outlines of how this understanding emerged, piecemeal, along complex and tangled paths. It is as a work in the history of science that the book makes its greatest contributions. -- Benjamin S. Orlove American Scientist
George Philander is Knox Taylor Professor of Geosciences (Meteorology) at Princeton University. He is the author of "Is the Temperature Rising: The Uncertain Science of Global Warming" (Princeton).
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780691113357 |
| ISBN 10 | 0691113351 |
| Title | Our Affair with El Nino |
| Author | S George Philander |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Princeton University Press |
| Year published | 2004-03-21 |
| Number of pages | 296 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |