Heaven's Breath: A Natural History of the Wind

(Paperback, Main)

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

A "comprehensive and fascinating study" of how wind has shaped the world as we know it, affecting all aspects of human and natural life-from geography to political history, plant life to psychology, and biology to philosophy (The Observer) Wind is everywhere and nowhere. Wind is the circulatory system of the earth, and its nervous system, too. Energy and information flow through it. It brings warmth and water, enriches and strips away the soil, aerates the globe. Wind shapes the lives of animals, humans among them. Trade follows the path of the wind, as empire also does. Wind made the difference in wars between the Greeks and Persians, the Mongols and the Japanese. Wind helped to destroy the Spanish Armada. And wind is no less determining of our inner lives- the f hn, mistral, sirocco, Santa Ana, and other "ill winds" of the world are correlated with disease, suicide, and even murder. Heaven's Breath is an encyclopedic and enchanting book that opens dazzling new perspectives on history, nature, and humanity.

Reviews

Youll learn how a thunderstorm is like a living thing, and what happens when someones parachute is sucked into one. (Nothing good.) . . . Other parts, especially on the spread of viruses, are prescient. When travel is safe again, Ill pay fresh attention to the skies.
Thomas Lotito, The New York Times

Collectors of curious bits of information and odd statistics will find Heavens Breath a gold mine. . . . Mr. Watson discusses the winds role in geology, plant and animal evolution, cultural history, trade, health, mythology, art, literature and language.
Patricia T. OConner, The New York Times

This is the kind of book that answers dozens of questions first arising in childhood and lingering unresolved until there was Lyall Watson. . . . Watsons pot-pourri of wind poetry, wind jokes and wind facts is so diverting that one hardly minds losing the thread now and then.
Dennis Drabelle, The Washington Post

"[Heavens Breath],both perplexing and delightful, is appealing precisely because of how unclassifiable it is. . . .[Watsons] sense of scale, connection, andsurprise invite a deeper consideration of our entanglementwith our surroundings. If wind is an original, invisible forcearound us, a force thats nearly spiritual, perhaps it can helpus think more carefully about radical shifts in climate, andabout the interstitial truths that cant always be grasped byblandly stating the facts.
David Wallace, The New Yorker

"Watsons masterpiece is an erudite and enjoyable compendium of wind-lore, science, myth, history and the occasional joke. . . . Watson delights as much in retelling myths and in conveying the religious significance various cultures have invested in this silent, life-sustaining emissary as he does in cataloging how various plants pollinate with the assistance of the wind.
Stephen Sparks, Point Reyes Light

A comprehensive and fascinating study.
Bernard Levin, The Observer, Bernard Levins 1984 Book of the Year

A book which fascinates, delights and stimulates with a thousand fascinating facts.
Daily Mirror

Author Bio

Lyall Watson (1939-2008) was the author of such well-known books as Supernature, The Romeo Error, Gifts of Unknown Things, Lifetide, Lightning Bird, and Whales of the World. He was also a producer for BBC television, a zoo director, an expedition leader, and the Seychelles Commissioner on the International Whaling Commission. Nick Hunt has walked and written across much of Europe. His articles have appeared in theEconomist,theGuardianand other publications, and he works as a storyteller and co-editor for the Dark Mountain Project. He is the author ofWalking the Woods and the WaterandWhere the Wild Winds Are- Walking Europe's Winds from the Pennines to Provence.He lives in Bristol, England.