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The Tornado Project

John Olexa

John Olexa

EF5
Joined
Dec 13, 2003
Messages
612
Location
La Plata, Maryland
Does anybody know if Thomas Grazulis ever updated his Significant Tornados series? I have the first one from 1680- 1991. You know the book about the size of a small Elephant! Spectacular book!!!! I also have the updated one from 1992-1995, but was wondering if there were ever anymore updates published.
 
Very good question. The online site is quite dated. It's nice to have it still available, but Tom Grazulis obviously hasn't worked on it in a long time. Just going by the lack of activity, I'm skeptical that another book will be forthcoming. I hope I'm wrong, because Tom's original book is staggering in its scope, and its addition is no less magisterial, albeit on a smaller scale. It would be wonderful to see a new offering by him bring the collection up to date. The year 2011 alone would merit his talents.

I envy you the fact that you own Grazulis's books! They are treasures, and if Tom is no longer an active force in tornado history, he most certainly remains its icon.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I think I recall him mentioning that he intended to release an update, but like Bob I'm a bit skeptical. And also like Bob, I'm very jealous that you have the "Big Green Book." :D

I had my local library loan a copy from Penn State and I fell in love with it. I'm intent on buying a copy one day if I can ever justify that big ol' price tag.
 
I remember reading somewhere that the publisher lost the original "master" for the book, which, apparently if I'm recalling correctly, means that the book must be completely retyped and re-edited from scratch if a new printing is to be made. I'm hoping someone who remembers the details better will speak up. I also remember being shocked that there weren't backups for the backups when it came to the "master manuscript" in case something like this were to happen...
 
Bob Hartig said:
I envy you the fact that you own Grazulis's books! They are treasures, and if Tom is no longer an active force in tornado history, he most certainly remains its icon.
Click to expand...

Thanks, the big book is still in great shape the second one is getting a little tattered around the edges though, but still very readable! I love how it has a lightning section as well. Also have all 3 volumes of his Tornado Video Classics tapes as well. (VHS) :p LOL
 
I read through the older post. It's sickening to think that the plates were lost. What a massive amount of work shot down the tubes! It's not the kind of book one reaches for to enjoy a little light reading, but it's mighty handy when doing historical research. Fortunately, KGRR has a copy in their library, and it's also obtainable through the Kent District Library System.
 
From a comment on anoother forum, several years back, its' too big of a project and too much time has passed to recreate the original book. There is a possibility of updates..............................
 
Unfortunately I've never had the privilege of seeing this legendary book. How much imagery is in it? The text could be easily re-scanned. I'm in the process of helping my family re-publish some of my late grandfather's cookbooks (long out of print with the publishing companies defunct), and that is what we are doing.
 
There are quite a few images, both photos of tornadoes and maps, charts, diagrams, etc. Probably at least one every few pages on average. I think the sheer scale of the book makes any effort pretty overwhelming. When I last borrowed the book from my library I took photos of important pages for personal reference.. I intended to save ten or twenty pages and I ended up with over a hundred. I wish there were a way the book could be digitized and possibly sold at a slightly more reasonable price. Obviously the incredible amount of work and the scale of the book justify a price tag of $100+, but $300-400 is a heck of a lot of money for any book.
 
If you folks are referring to Tom's 'Significant Tornadoes-1880-1989', vols. 1 and 2, I thought I had the original printings, which were published in Dec. 1991. They are soft-bound books, and the binder is coming apart, so both of them are in bad shape. I had heard he was going to update them, but I did not purchase them. These are both excellent reference books, and I look through them frequently, especially to examine the state by state tornado tracks.
 
Not sure I know about those ones Rick? the one we are talking about is a hugh book! There are 1326 pages, is 3" thick. I put in on my scale this morning and it weighs 6.5 lbs.!
It is full of stats! Took a few shots this morning.

IMG_3113-001.jpg


IMG_3114.jpg


IMG_3115.jpg
 
Taking a good copy of the book, scanning the pages and releasing it electronically is probably the most practical option the author would have to republish something like this. That's going to be a good amount of work, sure, but a surmountable task as opposed to re-gathering all of the source material.
 
John:

Tom must have decided to split the book up into 2 volumes at some point. It's the same info that are in my books. The publish dates on these are Nov. 1990, and Dec. 1991.
 
Just a heads up..... an updated edition will be going to print in January per Tom's twitter page. Suppose to be 2 volumes around 800 pages a piece. I have to send him an email to find out how to acquire it once available, and if we can preorder it. I'll update this post when I find out more info. Really looking forward to this!
 
Mark Gressman Jr said:
Just a heads up..... an updated edition will be going to print in January per Tom's twitter page. Suppose to be 2 volumes around 800 pages a piece. I have to send him an email to find out how to acquire it once available, and if we can preorder it. I'll update this post when I find out more info. Really looking forward to this!
Click to expand...

Please share if you get a reply, as I also emailed asking about updates but didn't get a response.
 
I most certainly will relay the info here. I know there are a WHOLE LOT of people who've been waiting a long time, and are eager to get an updated copy of his work.

To be honest, price isn't really an issue for me, as I see these books as being priceless, and I'm willing to spend a significant amount for Significant Tornadoes, lol. I hope things go off without a hitch, and everyone who is interested, can get a copy for themselves. I don't see anything surpassing it's importance in terms of the historical record of tornadoes anytime soon. Let's collectively keep are fingers and toes crossed for good news!
 
That blogsite hasn't been updated in over two years, and the timestamp on that is this afternoon.

And notice when they plan on starting:

" We plan to put the project on Kickstarter in 2021"
 
Good catch @rdale! I apologize for getting anyone's hopes up. I admittedly didn't read it thoroughly when my fiance sent me the link. I saw the date and skimmed through it until just now.... (been working a ton!) It actually had the date as the 5th yesterday, which is strange.

I apparently didn't read the Twitter post very well either, as it says it goes on SALE Jan 3rd for $110. The 2nd Volume is the first one available, and the 1st volume will come out 2 years later. Sorry for the inaccuracies! I think I let my excitement get the better of my comprehension! 🤪
 
@Jeff Wright Of the few recordings I found after a quick search, I'd have to agree. Sadly, I think it's safe to say he won't be narrating the audiobook version of Significant Tornadoes, lol.

Does anyone know of any recordings from interviews or seminars that he's done? As someone who's new to the history of severe weather and learning the science behind it, Tom's name is one I've been aware of for quite some time. When I started working at a nuclear plant, I stumbled across his report to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, but was unaware of his other contributions until a fairly recently.

By the way.... still no reply to the email, but my fellow STers will be the first to know!
 
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