* An account of the first man on record to predict a hurricane -- Christopher Columbus.

* The story of Father Vines, Cuban meteorologist, whose success was considered almost mystical, but who was one of the first to apply scientific rigor to hurricane forecasting.

* Isaac Cline, whose infamous failure to predict the Galveston Hurricane left him obsessed with understanding hurricanes and storm surge.

* The only complete account of the Hurricane Hunters, the intrepid men who fly through hurricanes. It also introduces Colonel Duckworth, the man who practically invented instrument flying and the first ever to fly into a hurricane.

* The history of how satellite imaging and computer modeling have changed hurricane forecasting.

* The Stormfury project: the only significant, organized effort to alter the power of hurricanes and a story that demonstrates the difficulties in ttrying to have any meaningful effect on them.

*The only first hand account of Hurricane Andrew by a expert meteorologist.

Lively, intelligent, and arresting, "Hurricanes" is the ultimate guide to nature's ultimate storm and a fascinating blend of history and science.