Sometimes fickle and often devastating in its most extreme forms, the weather can seem inscrutable. Yet our understanding of weather systems and climate has improved greatly over the years due to the work of scientists dedicated to studying the planet’s meteorological conditions. This absorbing volume introduces readers to individuals who have stood at the forefront of deciphering weather-related phenomena and advanced the science of climatology.

Although weather records had been kept by private individuals and some universities since the early 1800s both here and abroad, a full U.S. weather reporting service had to await development and expansion of the electric telegraph. Both farmers and coastal shippers pressed the U.S. Congress to establish a weather prediction facility. By 1870 a network of such stations was in place. By late summer of 1873, workmen had finished the crude two-room station at the top of Pikes Peak. A telegraph line snaked through brush, trees, and boulders to the lofty summit.

Readers are introduced to some of the most important weather scientists that ever lived in this engaging book! Featuring stunning photos, fascinating facts, easy-to-read text, and mini-biographies, readers will be excited to learn about Galileo, Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit, Gaspard-Gustave de Coriolis, Benjamin Franklin, and Tetsuya Theodore Fujita. A captivating hands-on lab activity is featured to encourage readers to explore all they can about weather and science!

Canton boasts a rich aviation heritage, reaching back to the earliest pioneers of flight. Local resident Frank S. Lahm founded the Aero Club of Ohio here and his son Frank P. Lahm worked with the Wright brothers on some of their earliest test flights. William Martin's monoplane, the first single-wing airplane in the world, was invented here. Other Canton firsts include Martin's wife Almina, the world's first female airplane pilot; Bernetta Miller, one of the first women to earn a pilot's license; and Louise Timken, the first woman to own and operate a private jet. The Timken Company developed a steel alloy here that allowed planes to fly at higher altitudes.

MEET NATTY BUMPPO The first volume in the famous Leatherstocking Tales, The Pioneers introduces Natty Bumppo, the quintessential American hunter and frontiersman who struggles to defend his cherished freedom.

The true-life tales of life as a Texas Ranger among the pioneers of Texas. A Ranger who lived through much of it and knew many others who were present for these historic times relates his and other Ranger's experiences fighting in the War of Independence with Mexico (Goliad, the Alamo, and other battles); the expeditions and battles against the Indians to prevent the massacre of homesteaders and the struggle against the bandits, desperados and rustlers to bring law and order to Texas.

November issue includes abridged index to yearly volume.

Helfrick traces the paired history of modern aviation and electronics from its earliest years to the industrial force it is today.

First Published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.