The Matter of Air: Science and Art of the Ethereal

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Description

The Matter of Air presents a cultural approach to the history of air, drawing from religion, science, art, literature and philosophy to create a comprehensive history of the human perception of air. Thoroughly researched and written with wit and joy, the book will appeal to any reader interested in pollution, natural and human history, and the relationship between human beings and air.

Reviews

a vagrant study that includes digressions on gas lighting, séances, explosions, our nonsensical fear of draughts and the Victorian controversy over cremation. Yet none of these wanderings detracts from a coherent account of the science of air . . . In The Matter of Air, were always breathing the atmosphere of several types of knowledge or experience at once, and the result is inspiring. * Daily Telegraph *

Author Bio

Steven Connor is Professor of English and Director of Research at the Digital Futures Institute, Kings College London. He is the author of eighteen books, most recently The Madness of Knowledge: On Wisdom, Ignorance and Fantasies of Knowing (2019).