"Warnings" will be published May 1, 2010

[Mike Smith]

Warnings - The True Story of How Science Tamed the Weather will be published by Greenleaf Book Group of Austin, TX on May 1, 2010.

This is the book I have been working on for four years. Intended for a mass audience, it tells the surprising story of how, in the last 50 years, the meteorological profession has been more effective at saving lives than cardiology, cancer research, or traffic safety. My goal in writing the book is for meteorology to get some of the glory it richly deserves for its contribution to society.

It focuses on tornado warnings, hurricane warnings and warnings for aviation that have completely eliminated the formerly frequent microburst-related airline crashes. There are chapters on how the storm chase program came to be as well as explaining the importance of storm chasing in both scientific research and storm warnings.

The manuscript is undergoing editing at Greenleaf and they are working on cover designs. We have not yet set a price for the book, but it will be hardcover.

There will be at least one book signing in ICT and I hope we can arrange them for OUN/OKC, MKC, and, perhaps, DFW.

 

[Jake Tyson]

well, it sounds lie a great thing, when you finalize on prices, lemme know, ill scoop one up, for sure.

 

[Joey Ketcham]

Sounds interesting, I can't imagine the amount of research you had to do for the book. I will also be one to purchase it when it is released.

 

[Rich Long]

Ditto Mike, it sounds fascinating. Hopefully it will see wide distribution with the national book sellers!

 

[Mike Smith]

Hopefully it will see wide distribution with the national book sellers!

I can state with certainty it will be available from Amazon and it is quite likely it will be available at Borders, B&N, and leading independent bookstores. Greenleaf has made it clear to me they don't publish books they don't expect to sell. I am already working with their marketing people. In fact, I was up until midnight last night compiling material for the marketing team.

I appreciate the nice comments, especially about the amount of work. I am not a natural writer and, if you had asked me five years ago if I would ever write a book, the answer would have been a confident "no."

The events around Katrina convinced me that meteorology gets blamed when it should be praised and that we do not get the credit for the tens of thousands of lives we saved in that storm. That is what got me writing a few sample chapters (that weren't very good) based around Katrina. Fortunately, I have great people around me who told me they weren't very good.

I rethought the project and realized that no one had ever written a history of the warning system and that no one outside meteorology even understands it -- it is just 'there' in most peoples' minds. Once I realized I wanted to write a popularized history of storm warnings, the project became clearer and (hopefully) the writing improved.

So this is not misunderstood, popularized does not mean inaccurate. It means written for the general public, not scientists.

If you have ever read The Right Stuff, it is a wonderful popularized account of breaking the sound barrier and the start of the astronaut program. If you have read Rocket Boys (made into a movie called October Sky), it is a popularized account of how Homer Hickam and a group of young men developed rockets and one went to work for NASA. I have tried use this style so I can tell a science-based story that will engage the ordinary reader.

 

[Bob Hartig]

Mike, major congratulations. Writing a book is no small thing, and your topic sounds like a fascinating one. I have a particular interest in it, and will definitely want to pick up a copy. Did you by any chance research the impact of the 1965 Palm Sunday Outbreak on operational forecasting and the development of Skywarn?

 

[Mike Smith]

Bob,

The Palm Sunday Outbreak is mentioned in the chapter pertaining to Fujita's tornado contributions, but it is not discussed extensively.

The first draft was nearly 500 Microsoft Word pages which even I thought was way too long! Unfortunately, I couldn't talk about everything I wanted without risking people dozing off. The first draft took 14 months. I have been honing it ever since.

The working draft now is 311 pages without photographs. That will likely get paired a bit more, but I don't expect major content changes from here out.

Thanks for asking,

Mike

 

[rdale]

Autographed copies for ST members?

 

[Mike Smith]

Autographed copies for ST members?

You betcha!

You purchase, I'll autograph!!!!

 

[Marcus Hicks]

I'm looking forward to getting a copy myself.

 

[Dave Gallaher]

Congrats on the publishing deal and distribution as well. Sounds like your slant on the topic will be timely.

So you'll let us know when you're going to be on Oprah?

 

[Mike Smith]

So you'll let us know when you're going to be on Oprah?

Oprah sells lots of books and I'd love an invite, but I doubt a science-based topic would be of interest. Hope I am wrong!

Mike

 

[D. Hayes]

Oh wow Congrats Mike. I can't wait to get a copy. Plus get it signed =)

 

[Mike Smith]

We chose the cover the price ($24.95) this week. If you would like to see the cover, it is here: http://mikesmithenterprises.com/book.cfm

I am working with Greenleaf's editor to put the finishing touches on the manuscript. Next is working on the design on the inside of the book and the photographs.

I have also started a blog. You can get to it at: www.mikesmithenterprises.com by clicking to on the link.

Thanks for your interest!!

Mike

 

[rdale]

By the way - if you haven't heard Mike on the Weatherbrains podcast a few days ago, I highly recommend it.

http://weatherbrains.com/weatherbrains/?p=737