Overview

An in-depth look at the hidden power of the mistral wind and its effect on modern French history. Every year, the chilly mistral wind blows through the Rhône valley of southern France, across the Camargue wetlands, and into the Mediterranean Sea. Most forceful when winter turns to spring, the wind knocks over trees, sweeps trains off their tracks, and destroys crops. Yet the mistral turns the sky clear and blue, as it often appears in depictions of Provence. The legendary wind is central to the area's regional identity and has inspired artists and writers near and far for centuries. This force of nature is the focus of Catherine Dunlop's The Mistral, a wonderfully written examination of the power of the mistral wind, and in particular, the ways it challenged central tenets of nineteenth-century European society: order, mastery, and predictability. As Dunlop shows, while the modernizing state sought liberation from environmental realities through scientific advances, land modification, and other technological solutions, the wind blew on, literally crushing attempts at control, and becoming increasingly integral to regional feelings of place and community.

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9780226827544

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Reviews

"""In her brilliant book, Catherine Dunlop takes the reader on a captivating journey, showing how the mistral - the mythical wind of Provence - has shaped the physical, cultural, economic and political realities of this part of France and of the Mediterranean world throughout history. From sailors to scientists, from Fr�d�ric Mistral to Vincent Van Gogh, this powerful and enigmatic force has shaped not only people's lives, but also their relationship with the world and the art of the 19th and 20th centuries. A deeply original book, which tells a story that is indissolubly social and ecological: that of a wind that has made history.""--Fabien Locher, coauthor of 'Chaos in the Heavens: The Forgotten History of Climate Change'"

Author Information

Catherine Tatiana Dunlop is an associate professor of modern European history at Montana State University, Bozeman. She is the author of Cartophilia, published by the University of Chicago Press, and serves as an associate editor for the journal Environmental History.  

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