Description: As the overwhelming success of the movie Twister showed this past summer, Americans are fascinated by the weather -- especially the kind of weather extremes that become the source of daily conversation and complaint. Whether you are a sunbather or a storm-chaser, or a commuter or a vacationer, the weather outside affects each of us every day. In his funny and captivating history of American weather, Braving the Elements, David Laskin shows how the weather has changed Americans and our country throughout the nation's history. For example: more than half of the United States is classified as semidesert; tornadoes occur almost exclusively in the United States; Puritans in New England blamed lightning and northeasters on the sins committed by the community. Filled with unforgettable stories from over the centuries of the hurricanes, draughts, storms, blizzards, dust bowls, and other extremes of weather that have afflicted different regions of the country, Braving the Elements is a delightful and fascinating history of how weather has shaped our nation.

Please Wait