Overview

New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester returns with a thought-provoking history of the wind, written in his edifying and entertaining style. What is going on with our atmosphere? The headlines are filled with news of devastating hurricanes, murderous tornadoes, and cataclysmic fires affecting large swaths of America. Gale force advisories are issued on a regular basis by the National Weather Service. In 2022, a report was released by atmospheric scientists at the University of Northern Illinois, warning that winds--the force at the center of all these dangerous natural events--are expected to steadily increase in the years ahead, strengthening in power, speed, and frequency. While this prediction worried the insurance industry, governmental leaders, scientists, and conscientious citizens, one particular segment of society received it with unbridled enthusiasm. To the energy industry, rising wind strength and speeds as an unalloyed boon for humankind--a vital source of clean and ""safe"" power. Between these two poles--wind as a malevolent force, and wind as savior of our planet--lies a world of fascination, history, literature, science, poetry, and engineering which Simon Winchester explores with the curiosity and vigor that are the hallmarks of his bestselling works. In The Breath of the Gods, he explains how wind plays a part in our everyday lives, from airplane or car travel to the ""natural disasters"" that are becoming more frequent and regular. The Breath of the Gods is an urgently-needed portrait across time of that unseen force--unseen but not unfelt--that respects no national borders and no vessel or structure in its path. Wind, the movement of the air, is seen by so many as a heavenly creation and generally a thing of essential goodness. But when it flexes its invisible muscles, all should take care and be very afraid. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

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Reviews

""Epic...Winchester brings depth to the history of the wind...A splendidly written account of an unseeable force."" -- ""Kirkus Reviews"" ""Even when it's a familiar topic, Winchester finds fascinating ways in...Winchester also is a great synthesizer of material."" -- ""Minneapolis Star Tribune"" ""His careful pronunciation and British accent create an enjoyable backdrop for the conversational style in which stories are integrated with information that...is both relatable and educational. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award."" -- ""AudioFile"" ""Provides an immensely informative and engaging biography of wind, as a meteorological, literary, and philosophical phenomenon, a factor in milling grain to make flour, travel by land, sea and air, the battle of Salamis and defeat of the Spanish Armada, and climate change in the Global North and South."" -- ""Pittsburgh Post-Gazette"" ""With his signature entertaining erudition, he explores a subject that has quite literally powered the human world since our inception."" -- ""New York Times""

Author Information

Simon Winchester is the acclaimed author of many books, including The Professor and the Madman, The Men Who United the States, The Map That Changed the World, The Man Who Loved China, A Crack in the Edge of the World, and Krakatoa, all of which were New York Times bestsellers and appeared on numerous best and notable lists. In 2006, Winchester was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty the Queen. He resides in western Massachusetts. Simon Winchester is the acclaimed author of many books, including The Professor and the Madman, The Men Who United the States, The Map That Changed the World, The Man Who Loved China, A Crack in the Edge of the World, and Krakatoa, all of which were New York Times bestsellers and appeared on numerous best and notable lists. In 2006, Winchester was made an officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Her Majesty the Queen. He resides in western Massachusetts.

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