The Cloudspotter's Guide: The Science, History, and Culture of Clouds Review

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The Cloudspotter's Guide: The Science, History, and Culture of Clouds ReviewWe get a lot of clouds in Michigan. You know, the Great Lakes and all. Sometimes, the blue sky people come here and find our skies depressing. But I like the clouds in all their varieties. In fact, when I am forced into a morning drive to the east with the Sun directly in my eyes, I am grateful when it disappears behind a cloud. Over the years I have seen some wonderful things. I remember as a child seeing a rainbow in a circle around the Sun and being amazed by it and looking up why it was there. I didn't understand all the technical terms, but remember that it talked about ice crystals refracting the light. Even so, I only learned about the clouds in the most rudimentary way.
Storm clouds are always amazing to see. I have even seen a few tornadoes and some amazing skies when I lived in Queensland, Australia for two years. There was a cyclone when I was there and that was literally a breath taking experience. The stinging rain comes sideways and it is hard to breath facing into the wind. I could even lean all my weight back into the wind and with my arms outstretched, it easily held me up. One of the wonderful aspects of this book is the way the author shares his love of the beauties in the lest dramatic types in a way that enthuses us to go and look for them on our own.
Gavin Pretor-Pinney is the founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society and if you love pictures of clouds I can't recommend his website strongly enough. Really, they are amazing in their variety, drama, and beauty. This book has thirteen chapters. The first ten take us through the ten main cloud types from the low cumulous up to the cirrostratus. Before the first chapter there is a handy chart of these clouds and their common altitudes that can guide you to the relevant chapter in the book.
Each chapter has a very helpful information page that describes how to spot the cloud type, some photos of the various ways the clouds can appear, what to look for in identifying it, and how to avoid confusing it with a similar cloud (particularly the various stratus types), and it various species and varieties. Each chapter then goes on to talk about the cloud in variety of ways. The author may tell us some new aspect of cloud formation, some anecdotes about the cloud, ways to appreciate that type of cloud, how it might have been represented in paintings, poetry, and even in history. There are plenty of pictures (but to see them in color - got to the cloud appreciation society website), charts, and informative illustrations. However, this is not a technical book. It really is for fun and succeeds admirably in not only holding our interest, but also in teaching us many new and enjoyable things.
The eleventh chapter takes us through a grab bag of attendant cloud formations that are often seen with other cloud types. The twelfth chapter is ostensibly about contrails (which the author rails against), but is really an enviro-alarmist bit about how high flying jets can be contributing to global warming (right). I notice that in the very next chapter on the Morning Glory formation in northernmost Queensland (no, I haven't been to that part of the state), the author did not hesitate to take a high flying jet liner (actually a series of them) to travel half the world away to see this cloud formation. Magnificent as the Morning Glory is and how nicely this chapter concludes the book, it does bespeak the sincerity and coherence of his concerns.
This wonderful book helps me to see our varied skies in new ways. I begin to see the ten main types of clouds in my local sky and now know much more about their altitudes, how they are formed, what they say about the weather cycle we are in, as well as catching the different species and varieties and sticking them more easily into my memory. I will be consulting this handbook many more times as I gain more skill in spotting the clouds overhead.
Enthusiastically recommended.The Cloudspotter's Guide: The Science, History, and Culture of Clouds OverviewNow in paperback: the runaway British bestseller that has cloudspotters everywhere looking up. Where do clouds come from? Why do they look the way they do? And why have they captured the imagination of timeless artists, Romantic poets, and every kid who's ever held a crayon? Veteran journalist and lifelong sky watcher Gavin Pretor-Pinney reveals everything there is to know about clouds, from history and science to art and pop culture. Cumulus, nimbostratus, and the dramatic and surfable Morning Glory cloud are just a few of the varieties explored in this smart, witty, and eclectic tour through the skies. Illustrated with striking photographs (including a new section in full-color) and line drawings featuring everything from classical paintings to lava lamps, The Cloudspotter's Guide will have enthusiasts, weather watchers, and the just plain curious floating on cloud nine.

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