The Weather Machine: How We See Into the Future

(Paperback)

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Description

A gripping account of the ingenious minds who gathered together the greatest technological inventions of our species to create a machine that can see into our planet's future with astonishing accuracy 'Revelatory ... convey s the technical brilliance and political significance of an achievement that hides in plain sight' Telegraph From satellites circling the Earth, to weather stations far out in the ocean, through some of the most ingenious minds and advanced algorithms at work today - In this gripping investigation, Andrew Blum takes us on a global journey. Our destination- the simulated models weather scientists have constructed of our planet, which spin faster than time, turning chaos into prediction, offering glimpses of our future with eerie precision. This collaborative invention spans the Earth and relies on continuous co-operation between all nations - a triumph of human ingenuity and diplomacy we too often shrug off as a tool for choosing the right footwear each morning. But in this new era of extreme weather, we may come to rely on its maintenance and survival for our own.

Reviews

This fascinating book reveals the existence and origins of surely one of our species greatest creations, and Andrew Blum is the perfect writer to share both the remarkable human stories and the astonishing technical wizardry behind it all -- MARK VANHOENACKER, author of Skyfaring
Its easy to overlook the monumental achievement [weather forecasts] represent The Weather Machine asks us to pause and marvel at one of humankinds greatest accomplishments * New Yorker *
Revelatory convey[s] the technical brilliance and political significance of an achievement that hides in plain sight. The machines complexity alone is off all familiar charts Blum does an excellent job * Telegraph *
I strongly recommend th[is] book, which is a fascinating glimpse of a mysterious world -- Tim Haford, author of The Undercover Economist
Blums wonderful book succeeds in making the science and industry of forecasting the weather at once vitally human, technologically awesome and urgently, thrillingly relevant * Royal Geographical Society *
Sharp, stylish and often surprising. In this absorbing book Andrew Blum tracks the development, from wild dream to astonishing reality, of the quietly revolutionary technology that shapes our everyday lives -- PETER MOORE, author of The Weather Experiment
Exhilarating ... a hurricane-force tour of one of the most astonishing but under-appreciated facets of the modern world -- LEWIS DARTNELL, author of Origins
Written with an ease and beauty that will captivate anyone who is simply curious about how things work and came to be' (Literary Review) * Literary Review *

Author Bio

Andrew Blum is the author of Tubes- Behind the Scenes at the Internet, described as 'utterly engrossing ... the year's most stimulating and original travel book' (Independent) and a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week. He writes about infrastructure, architecture, design, technology, urbanism, art, and travel. Since 1999, his articles and essays have appeared in Wired, Popular Science, Metropolis, Vanity Fair, The New York Times, New Yorker and many more publications. He has degrees in literature from Amherst College and in human geography from the University of Toronto, and lives in his native New York City.