We all know the famous scene from the Wizard Of Oz, when Dorothy is transported by a twister to a magical new land. For modern-day storm chasers like Tim Samaras, who received several grants from the National Geographic Society and is the hero of Brantley Hargrove’s The Man Who Caught the Storm, tornadoes exert a similar sense of wonder and awe. Chasing violent, meteorological events across the Great Plains, these derring-doers frequently risk their lives to get close to a tornado and help scientists understand what makes them tick.

When National Geographic caught up with the author at his home in Dallas, Texas, Hargrove explained why Tim Samaras was much more than just a storm chaser; why the