Book Review: The Art and Science of Lightning Protection

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society

THE ART AND SCIENCE OF LIGHTNING PROTECTION Martin A. Uman, 2008, 240 pp., $110.00, hardbound, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521 -8781 1- 1

This book describes all aspects of lightning protection at a moderately technical level in an easy-to- read format, including many illustrative drawings and photographs. The most frequent question in- structors in this field are asked is, "Do lightning rods really work?" Uman answers this ("almost always") and explains in numerous situations why this is true.

Audience. This book will appeal to meteorologists, architects, buildingconstruction engineers, fire-safety experts, and insurance practitioners, and all technically oriented individuals. In addition, all boaters, pilots, passengers in ships and airplanes, and outdoor recreationists will find their questions about lightning hazards explored. This book is suitable for teaching, and I will use it as a reference in my undergraduate and graduate physical meteorology courses. No graduating senior meteorology major or engineering major should miss being exposed to the contents of this work.

Strengths. The greatest strength of this text is that it is written by the most authoritative lightning scientist/engineer in the world who brings over 40 years of research and teaching in the field, with over 200 reviewed papers and several previous books on lightning, including Lightning: Physics and Effects, coauthored with V. A. Rakov and also published by Cambridge University Press (2003). There is no one in the world more qualified to write this book.

Weaknesses. There are no significant weaknesses. In a subsequent edition, Uman might add color illustrations to, for example, the reproduction of global lightning flash density maps (e.g., Fig. 8.8), which will make them easier to interpret.

Illustrations. The book is adequately illustrated. Cambridge University Press might consider adding color in subsequent editions.

Bottom Line. There are no other books, in my opinion, that compete with this publication. Uman is the most competent individual to write this book, which fills a gap between the advanced text that he coauthored with Rakov and his introductory popular book, All About Lightning, published by Dover Publications in 1986.

I recommend this book without any hesitation.

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