Book Review - Clouds: How to Identify Nature's Most Fleeting Forms - Princeton University Press

 

     Clouds are ephemeral but the lasting impression this book leaves upon you is anything but. 

     Who among us has not observed clouds and wondered about them; who has not looked at cloud formations only to see them disappear before our eyes? The Ancients used clouds to predict weather and attributed spirituality to them, and modern religions share a common belief in a heaven on high, in or above the clouds.

      Clouds are a common denominator for all humanity, indeed for every lifeform on Earth. What is visible to one is visible to all. The effects of clouds show no preference for class or caste, wealth or poverty, privilege or lack thereof. The turbulence on a flight affects business class and economy equally; the tornado will destroy mansion and hovel without favour.

     This truly excellent book will teach you the science of clouds in a manner accessible to anyone. You will be amazed at how easily you absorb the details and how you will almost immediately find yourself checking the sky and assigning labels to what you see.

     Artists have done this for centuries. The clouds you see in classic works are not random expressions, but the precise representation of the formations that captured their attention and imagination.

     The book, oh so skillfully and oh so magnificently, captures the historical accuracy of art throughout the ages, and links the mood of the picture to the clouds that form an essential component of the artistic intent.

     Edvard Munch's classic work, The Scream, illustrates this forcefully - can you imagine the picture with a benign blue sky with light fluffy cumulus clouds? 

     It is even thought that Vincent Van Gogh, that deeply troubled soul, had an innate ability to "see" the wind and all its turbulent motions.

     I profess no cachet as an art critic, but art nevertheless has been important to me throughout my life, and there was never a gallery that I didn't wander into. Similarly, the influence of science, its beauty and precision, has affected me greatly, and the marriage of the two in this book is a breathtaking accomplishment. The great scientists of the ages, from Darwin to Einstein, from Galileo to Dawkins, saw no schism between the two.

     And nor do I!

     Edward Graham has produced a magnum opus, nothing less, and he deserves the gratitude and admiration of all who read this book.

     Joni Mitchell may have "looked at clouds from both sides now" - I will never look at them the same way again.

Minor niggly - Page 121 - "as known as 'geoengineering'" should read "also known as 'geoengineering.'"

Clouds: How to Identify Nature's Most Fleeting Forms - Princeton University Press

Edward Graham

Hardcover - US$29.95 - ISBN: 9780691262482

224 pages - 8.5 x 10.5 inches (21.25 x 26.25 cm)

140 colour illustrations

Publication date: 22 April, 2025