The Man Who Caught the Storm

January 22, 2018
In this insightful biography, journalist Hargrove charts the interests and achievements of tornado chaser Tim Samaras, who died in a tornado with his 24-year-old son in 2013. Readers familiar with Discovery Channel’s Storm Chasers will be familiar with Samaras, and with help from Samaras’s family, friends, and colleagues, Hargrove paints a complete picture of the engineer while providing lessons on the science behind tornadoes—“one of the most awesome expressions of force in the natural world.” As a boy in 1960s Colorado, Samaras was fascinated with The Wizard of Oz: “He couldn’t take his eyes off the tornado as it roped over the fields toward Dorothy and Toto.” Samaras would grow up to track tornados alongside older, more practiced scientists and meteorologists. Eventually, he chased tornadoes throughout the Midwest and Southwest. Hargrove describes the camaraderie that storm chasers can build over time, the “intimate proximity” that develops when “chasing across states with the same group in the same vehicle.” Hargrove not only skillfully presents Samaras’s life story but also the collective story of a storm-chasing subculture.

February 15, 2018
An adroit biography of a thrill-seeking storm chaser.Dubbing tornadoes "the only real dragons the modern world has left," journalist Hargrove, a weather fanatic himself, chronicles the life of the intrepid Tim Samaras. The author charts Samaras' fascination with twisters back to an inquisitive childhood, when he was transfixed by the tempest in The Wizard of Oz and the raw power of severe weather systems in his native Colorado. From youthful tinkering to an early gig at the Denver Research Institute to becoming a prominent self-made engineer, Samaras also got married and had a son (whom he dressed as a foam tornado for Halloween). He dove head-first into his obsession after accessing real-time weather technology and meteorological gadgetry, which, as it advanced in sophistication over the decades, only served to heighten his insatiable curiosity and boundless enthusiasm to stand "inside the lungs of a storm." An autodidact, he amassed knowledge and an impressive skill set through his experiences working for and in conjunction with a variety of tornado scientists and enthusiasts. Samaras constructed his own weather instruments and logged countless hours locked in the paths of tornadoes across the Midwest, the Southeast, and beyond. Hargrove refreshingly contributes quality information on what intrigues and motivates storm chasers, their unique camaraderie, and the evolution of the sophisticated tracking equipment in use today. The author, who never met Samaras, builds his biography through recordings, interviews, research, extensive video footage, and connections with his family, friends, colleagues, and "chase buddies." Despite repeated warnings by peers that his increasingly perilous chases were venturing toward the suicidal, Samaras remained addicted to "the euphoric rush of pulling up just in time to see the cloud wisps gather and descend." Samaras perished after being swept up in a tornado in Oklahoma in 2013, but Hargrove's debut biography honors his legacy as an unparalleled storm chaser.An enthralling profile of a storm enthusiast and adrenaline junkie who took his intense interest to extreme measures.

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March 1, 2018
Tornado-chaser Tim Samaras was a Coloradan self-taught electronics technician who began to pursue twisters out of personal interest in the late 1980s. Once TV stations began purchasing his tornado videos, Samaras set out on a path to serious scientific research when he was contacted by a credentialed engineer who needed a daredevil to help obtain meteorological measurements from inside a tornado. Describing the risks Samaras took, thus attracting publicity and financial support from National Geographic and the Discovery Channel's Storm Chasers, Hargrove ably infuses his tale with a pulse-pounding element. Hargrove also brings forth Samaras' diffident stance toward professional scientists once he built his instrument, which, in 2003, obtained the first-ever data from inside a tornado. That triumph brought Samaras into science's world of conferences, publications, and grants. But, independent and proud, he turned down offers of collaboration and reverted to pursuing tornadoes on his own, until 2013 when he, one of his sons, and a colleague died tracking an Oklahoma twister. Derived from extensive interviews with Samaras' family and friends, Hargrove's biography will gratify severe-weather fans while memorializing its protagonist.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

Starred review from March 15, 2018

Tim Samaras (1957-2013) was an engineer, amateur meteorologist, and fearless storm chaser; a man who dedicated his life to teasing out the secrets of the enigma that is severe weather. Journalist Hargrove delves into the life of the man who pushed atmospheric science into new territory by unveiling some of the mysteries behind one of the 21st century's biggest scientific unknowns: the tornado. Hargrove honestly portrays his subject and his life; from his major accomplishments in gaining entirely new data to the trials and tribulations of chasing on a budget to the frustrations of trying to catch an always elusive yet sometimes deadly natural occurrence. Pushing the science to new bounds, Samaras also came up against the implacability and ferocity of nature to pay the ultimate price. Although this is the author's first book, he is a deft writer who uses evocative prose to provide readers the adrenaline rush of a tornado chase while teasing out the complex scientific concepts of meteorological science into concise and understandable explanations. VERDICT An exemplar of narrative nonfiction; readers from all across the spectrum will enjoy this title.--Laura Hiatt, Fort Collins, CO

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