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 föhn, 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.
ISBN-13: 9781681373690
Media Type: Paperback(Reprint)
Publisher: New York Review Books
Publication Date: 08-13-2019
Pages: 400
Product Dimensions: 5.10(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.90(d)
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 the Economist, the Guardian and other publications, and he works as a storyteller and co-editor for the Dark Mountain Project. He is the author of Walking the Woods and the Water and Where the Wild Winds Are: Walking Europe’s Winds from the Pennines to Provence. He lives in Bristol, England.
Table of Contents
Introduction vii
On The Wind 7
Part 1 Wind And Earth 9
1 The Physics of Wind 13
2 The Geography of Wind 40
Part 2 Wind And Time 73
3 The History of Wind 81
4 The Future of Wind 114
Part 3 Wind And Life 137
5 The Biology of Wind 143
6 The Sociology of Wind 168
Part 4 Wind And Body 203
7 The Physiology of Wind 209
8 The Perception of Wind 240
Part 5 Wind And Mind 269
9 The Psychology of Wind 275
10 The Philosophy of Wind 300
Heaven's Breath 327
Dictionary of Winds 330
Bibliography 345
Index 371