Thermals
Author:  Rolf Hertenstein, Ph.D., Meteorology, Triple Diamond Glider Pilot
From Bob Wander's "Gliding Mentor" series
Paperback, 92 pages, many illustrations
Dimensions: 8.43 x 10.87 inches (214 x 276 mm), Released in 2005, 1st Edition

1. Imagine that a teenager becomes a full-time glider flight instructor. He instructs full-time for ten years, logs thousands of hours, and earns his Diamond Badge. 
2. He earns a Ph.D. in Meteorology. 
3. He becomes a research scientist, specializing in atmospheric turbulence, with specific emphasis on thermal analysis, mountain wave analysis, and rotor analysis. 
4. He writes a superb book about thermals and convection that non-scientists can understand.

The latest book in the Gliding Mentor series - "Thermals" by Rolf Hertenstein, Ph.D. - came about EXACTLY as described above. 

What's in it? Just about everything that you ever wanted to know about thermals. From the rankest amateur, and up to and including the finest triple-diamond cross-country pilot, you will find TONS of information about thermals, soundings, thermal waves, and thermal prediction that you can USE to extend your knowledge and your flight performances. In the five months that I spent editing and illustrating this book, I learned LOTS of new things about thermals, convection, the Skew-T, thermal prediction, numeric weather modeling, weather resources on the Web, thunderstorms, and a host of other important topics in its 92 large-format 8.5 by 11-inch pages. And recently, I used what I learned from this book to select the day to fly my Diamond Distance flight - 515 kilometers. Fun! - Bob Wander