A lightning strike to an unprotected object or system can be disastrous - in the United States lightning is responsible for over 30% of all electric power failures, causes billions of dollars' worth of property damage, and an average of 85 fatalities a year. This accessible text describes all aspects of lightning protection and includes many illustrative drawings and photographs. The author examines the physical behavior of lightning, various types of lightning damage, the role of lightning detection and warning in effective protection, as well as options for deflecting or eliminating lightning. U.S. and international lightning protection standards are discussed. This book will be essential reading for everyone involved in the business of lightning protection, including meteorologists, atmospheric scientists, architects, engineers, and fire-safety experts. Insurance practitioners and physicians will find this reference of significant value.

Review of the hardback:'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 … There is no one in the world more qualified to write this book. … 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.'

Source: Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society