Call number
Publication
New York : Perigee Book, c2006.
Pages
320
Description
'The clouds are nature's poetry, and the most egalitarian of her displays, since everyone has an equally fantastic view of them. Clouds are for dreamers, and their contemplation benefits the soul. Yet their beauty is so everyday as to be in danger of being overlooked ...' Gavin Pretor Pinney is the chairman and founder member of the Cloud Appreciation Society. He contends that we are blessed in this country with a uniquely rich and varied cloudscape, which has hitherto been sadly undervalued. His book teaches us to appreciate their different varieties - the cumulus, nimbostratus and Morning Glory to name only a few - and all their beauties and significances, both meteorological and cultural. We learn how Hindus believed the cumulus clouds were the spiritual cousins of elephants, how thermal air currents act on fair weather cumuli, and how to save a fortune in psychiatric bills by using the clouds as Rorschach images that reflect our state of mind as well as nature's moods. Looking up will never be the same again.… (more)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2006
Physical description
320 p.; 8.3 inches
ISBN
9780399533457
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User reviews
LibraryThing member ASBiskey
Reading this book is like panning for gold: hard work, time consuming, with occasion flakes of treasure to keep you motivated. This took me months to read, but I finished because I kept hoping to find some more of those treasures hidden in this book. I will say that I look at the clouds
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differently, but the way this book is written did not help me retain very much knowledge about them. I would rate this one-star, except for the few really good bits that shined. Those parts (perhaps 10% of the book) are 4-1/2 star material. Show Less
LibraryThing member ElizabethPisani
I adored this book. It is informative, full of good science, and yet strangely whimsical. An inspired choice on the part of the publisher, since it was not an obvious best-seller. My admiration is perhaps inflated by the location in which I read it: West Cork, the bottom left-hand corner of
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Ireland, where cloud formations and changing skies are a subject of constant delight and/or angst. Hardback edition undermined only by the very poor quality of photographs. Show Less
LibraryThing member sweetrevival
I loved this book so much it made me a cloud photographer. Instead of driving "blindly" into town, my visor is up and I am constantly hitting the brakes to leap out of the car and catch the image. Don't panic, I live in the Australian countryside and rarely come across other vehicles until near the
My profile photo is one I took across our farm paddocks called Sky Poetry.
For countryfolk weather is vital, so learning about the clouds and their impact on rain was excellent knowledge and apart from the b & w pictures, the info Gavin has put together is entertaining and educational. I was really interested in his comments on con-trails and their potential to change the formation of rain clouds.
A really good read. Among my favourite long-term books.
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town! My profile photo is one I took across our farm paddocks called Sky Poetry.
For countryfolk weather is vital, so learning about the clouds and their impact on rain was excellent knowledge and apart from the b & w pictures, the info Gavin has put together is entertaining and educational. I was really interested in his comments on con-trails and their potential to change the formation of rain clouds.
A really good read. Among my favourite long-term books.
Show Less
LibraryThing member m8eyboy
The Cloudspotter's Guide's unpretentious title might lead you to believe it fills a functional niche, as a trainspotter's guide might. It does, but this book is much more. Mr Pretnor-Pinney draws on history, art, science, music, politics, literature, religion and adventure to explain what clouds
He explains the anatomy of a thunderous cumulonimbus through the half-closed eyes (and swollen skin, for he took a beating) of the pilot who fell 50,000 feet through one. He introduces man's inadvertent meddling with the climate through his attempt to harness the power in clouds to destroy the enemy in Vietnam, and by recounting the Mayor of Moscow's attempts to seed clouds to stop them raining on his parades (quite literally). He crowns the book with his quest for the ultimate cloud. The Morning Glory is a cloud the length of Britain that rolls triumphantly across the Australian Outback, witnessed by a handful of glider pilots with the courage to ride it and the determination to drive or fly thousands of kilometres on the off-chance they might see it. MrPretnor-Pinney, of course, travelled considerable further.
A harsher critic might complain that most of the pictures are low quality, and black and white, but it really is the words that matter. By the time you've read the Guide (it took me a week of train journeys to London) you'll be well equipped to identify the 10 basic types of cloud, and you won't even need to take the guide with you. But more than that, you'll appreciate them because this book isn't just for cloud spotters . It's for anyone that was ever curious about anything. It will fill you with child-like enthusiasm for knowledge. It's a blueprint for any writer who's aim is to inform by inspiring.
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are and how to identify them. He achieves it by rendering these indistinct and mutable patches of water in the sky memorable through the art of storytelling.He explains the anatomy of a thunderous cumulonimbus through the half-closed eyes (and swollen skin, for he took a beating) of the pilot who fell 50,000 feet through one. He introduces man's inadvertent meddling with the climate through his attempt to harness the power in clouds to destroy the enemy in Vietnam, and by recounting the Mayor of Moscow's attempts to seed clouds to stop them raining on his parades (quite literally). He crowns the book with his quest for the ultimate cloud. The Morning Glory is a cloud the length of Britain that rolls triumphantly across the Australian Outback, witnessed by a handful of glider pilots with the courage to ride it and the determination to drive or fly thousands of kilometres on the off-chance they might see it. MrPretnor-Pinney, of course, travelled considerable further.
A harsher critic might complain that most of the pictures are low quality, and black and white, but it really is the words that matter. By the time you've read the Guide (it took me a week of train journeys to London) you'll be well equipped to identify the 10 basic types of cloud, and you won't even need to take the guide with you. But more than that, you'll appreciate them because this book isn't just for cloud spotters . It's for anyone that was ever curious about anything. It will fill you with child-like enthusiasm for knowledge. It's a blueprint for any writer who's aim is to inform by inspiring.
Show Less
LibraryThing member Pool_Boy
Only sometimes hard to read, this book was fascinating and has had me looking skywards ever since.
LibraryThing member Eoin
A charming and moderately informative consideration of the visible atmosphere. 5+ stars for concept, 3 average for execution. The tone is a bit spotty with moments of grace. Worth it for the Morning Glory. Member #22860
LibraryThing member soliloquies
Not my usual kind of read, but it was actually quite interesting and I learnt lots about different clouds.
LibraryThing member kaythetall
A very british read. Informative, whimsical, humorous, filled with digressions, stories and quotes. A slight volume with great intellectual and emotional impact. A book to be savored as an absolutely essential read on an entirely ephemeral topic.
LibraryThing member the.ken.petersen
This book took me by surprise: I had asked my son for, 'the Cloud Collector's Handbook', for my birthday last year. Being a generous lad, he bought me both the desired tome and this one. I pawed through the Collector's Handbook, but rather unfeelingly, neglected this opus. It has sat upon my shelf
This book is packed with information, not just about cloud formations, where and how they occur, but with fascinating details of references to them in classical literature. I spent a thoroughly enjoyable three days reading it and, I shall return to remind myself of some of the information which I shall doubtless forget over time.
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starring at me reproachfully since last July and so, I eventually conceded and took it down to rifle through it, as I thought, in an afternoon. How wrong can a chap be? This book is packed with information, not just about cloud formations, where and how they occur, but with fascinating details of references to them in classical literature. I spent a thoroughly enjoyable three days reading it and, I shall return to remind myself of some of the information which I shall doubtless forget over time.
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LibraryThing member zojo
Everywhere I go now I have one eye on the sky. My partner laughs at me taking pictures of interesting formations. I can't help it!
This book is informative yet amusing. It isn't a text book but rather a selection of facts and figures, science and anecdotes, pictures and history all in equal
This book is informative yet amusing. It isn't a text book but rather a selection of facts and figures, science and anecdotes, pictures and history all in equal
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measure. I loved it and would highly recommend it! Show Less
LibraryThing member Cygnus555
What a great book. The title alone has got to make you want it! I will reread this one for a long time...
LibraryThing member bunnyladen
I never knew how fascinating clouds could be. This isn't just a guide about clouds; it contains lots of stories woven in with the scientific details.
LibraryThing member harmen
This seems to be written for a 5 year old, and occasionally by one. Too many fabulously irrelevant tangents and uninteresting personal stories. There are some good bits, but there is too much bad stuff to wade trough.
LibraryThing member Megan08m
The Cloud Spotter’s Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney is a great book in on the science and history of clouds. The book goes into great detail about the different types of clouds and the various species inside those types. The book goes on to tell the reader which clouds produce rain or tropical rain
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storms and which ones are pretty harmless. It gives in great detail what you will see with what type of cloud, which is very helpful in identifying the different clouds. The book goes on to give the history behind each cloud and what different religious groups believed about the various types of clouds. The author of this book is the founder of The Cloud Appreciation Society. Show Less
LibraryThing member craigim
What a fun book. Gavin Pretor-Pinney isn't a meteorologist, just a guy who really geeks out on clouds. He started The Cloud Appreciation Society, an amateur cloud watching and photographing group in England and online.
The book goes through each of the different types of cloud categorized by
The book goes through each of the different types of cloud categorized by
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meteorologists and gives an explanation of what type of weather you're likely to see them in and what underlying atmospheric conditions cause them. He also peppers the text with religious, artistic, and historical context to various cloud types and does it all with dry British humour and obvious enthusiasm. Since I started reading this guide, I've become much more aware of the different clouds in the sky and much more appreciative. Mission accomplished Mr. Pretor-Pinney. Show Less
LibraryThing member BakuDreamer
A lot of good information, but too many dumb jokes. A book about rainbows should be next
LibraryThing member Polaris-
The Cloudspotter's Guide is an interesting premise, and one that I hoped would equip me ably to glance heavenwards and confidently see what was what, working as I do outdoors in all weathers - and yes - even perhaps "amaze my friends" (as neat tricks in my childhood always promised)!
The book starts
I think it's probably me - physics and chemistry were never my strongest subjects, and pretty much all of the science I've learnt as an adult has been tree-related. (But I have read popular science books with trees as the main subject matter that were well-written and not toobamboozling... So I know it can be done.) Finding myself becoming bored with the book, I've abandoned it to the bathroom window sill, where it will doubtless remain until our next epic storm or other freak weather event pushes me to reconsider just why Cumulonimbus occur!
The book starts
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well: copiously illustrated and nicely laid out with good summary introductions of each major cloud type encountered chapter by chapter. The author's style is necessarily informative and somewhat entertaining, though this latter trait becomes a trifle tiresome in places as I got the impression he was trying just a bit too hard to be funny. I enjoyed these early chapters (on the low altitude clouds) as I genuinely felt I was learning something (as was my hope) and the subject matter was all quite digestible. But as I progressed through the book, I felt by the midway point that it was all becoming a bit of a blur. I felt bogged down with the confusing explanations of physics, and convection, and.... other stuff. It seems that one cloud began to roll into another, and I found it challenging to tell my Nimbostratus from my Stratocumulus. I think it's probably me - physics and chemistry were never my strongest subjects, and pretty much all of the science I've learnt as an adult has been tree-related. (But I have read popular science books with trees as the main subject matter that were well-written and not toobamboozling... So I know it can be done.) Finding myself becoming bored with the book, I've abandoned it to the bathroom window sill, where it will doubtless remain until our next epic storm or other freak weather event pushes me to reconsider just why Cumulonimbus occur!
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LibraryThing member Sandydog1
I really enjoyed the quaint lore, but didn't finish every bit of it, preferring to consider this wonderful book a reference. I'm culling all my books but this one is a keeper. Very well done.