Gavin Pretor-Pinney

A very lovely book that I wish I could afford to purchase, instead of get from the library. I say this because the book is set up so that you can keep notes on which clouds you've seen where - collect them, basically! As I am a birder, this aspect of "listing" clouds appeals to me. I can go birdwatching and cloudwatching at the same time! Keep a yard list of clouds, just like I do birds! A ferry list! An airplane list! Travel list! Oooo, cloud twitchers?

I wish there were more photos of each show more cloud type, and better descriptions of the differences between similar cloud types - side by side photo comparisons, for instance.

But what there is in this slim volume is very good. A few pithy comments scattered here and there liven up the descriptions and made me smile. But not too many of them - just enough. show less

As a popular science book, this is obviously supposed to be jaunty fun. I mean, it's a cloud spotters guide right, and everyone knows that there are a few basic clouds. There's cumulus, cumulonimbus, er, stratus and, er, white, black and…grey. How can you spin a book out of that?

You can't, so it's lucky that there are actually many different types of cloud, starting with a ground mist that clings to your ankles when you are tromping across a deserted moor all the way up to those vapor show more trails that jet aeroplanes full of tourists leave as they criss-cross an otherwise pristine sky. And then there are the sub-sets of the different clouds. Looking up has never been so complicated.

The message here is that clouds are fun and interesting, much more interesting than dull old blue sky. They add drama and excitement and romance and rain and snow and sleet and hail and, as long as you like white, black and every shade of grey in-between, colour. OK, they go pink and red too at dawn and sunset. And yes, yes, I know about rainbows.

I certainly do, because what this book is not short on is facts. Fun facts to be sure, but facts just the same. And science too. There's a lot of science in the book. The only issue is that once you get past the basic science of clouds (which is essentially moisture and temperature) you're into the more esoteric and brain-hurtee stuff. This is where the book starts to unravel a little.

Because this is popular science and the author is trying to make the science fun. More than that, he is enthusiastic about his subject. Science can be fun, ask any chemist who makes his own crystal meth, but it's something of an art. Organised fun is never fun. And the people who try to organise fun are about one step below war criminals in the 'threat to mankind' stakes.

Science is fun when your science teacher is a scrumpy drinking nutter who thinks it is a great idea to set off the sort of explosion that would register on a seismograph as an introduction to his class and, while a schoolroom full of traumatised kids are busy screaming, bleeding, sitting in pools of their own wee, says 'who can tell me what made that compound unstable?'. This book, I fear, is a little too much like the sort of science teacher who has a badge that says 'science is fun' and tries just that little bit too hard to be matey, so coming off as just a wee bit creepy.

The science and the fun never mixed. Maybe that was why I found this such hard going, which is a shame because I was prepared to like it. It's a lovely edition, with some beautiful, atmospheric (ho ho) illustrations. But the author isn't a good enough teacher to convey the advanced stuff in a sufficiently straightforward manner, and the matey stuff just grates after a while.

There are two redeeming features. The first is that something must have gone in somewhere, because I now have a much greater understanding of what's happening over my head and that understanding has greatly aided appreciation. Not only can I now see shapes in the clouds, I can pretty much know what sort of precipitation they will bring. This is a huge leap forward in the appreciation of the natural world and gives one a bit of an insight into what motivates, say, birdwatchers, or storm-chasers. And this beauty is transient. I didn't quite appreciate just how short lived a cloud is. I mean, who actually looks at the sky? One glances up and that's it. Now, My glance lingers.

The second saving grace is the last chapter, the story of the search for the 'morning glory', a particular sort of cloud native to Australia and which glider pilots surf in, in the same way that surfers surf the ocean. It was fascinating stuff and got to the heart of what being a cloud spotter is actually all about. More stories like that, men (it’s always men) in search of atmospheric phenomenon, would be something. show less

Anyone who ever looks to the sky would find this a beautiful and informative book. The photography is the most obvious beauty of the book, and while the text is smaller, it is very informative, inspiring, and clever. The original writing is funny and unique, while the quotes and poetry are very inspiring … like a sky full of clouds. Chronicle Books has worked with the Cloud Appreciation Society (more than 46,000 members) and all the fine photos are from their members from around the world. show more The editor of the book, Gavin Pretor-Pinney, is the founder of the society, and one of his quotes I loved so much, was about how we live in the sky, “not beneath it, but within it.” For people who want to know even more of the science involved with clouds, they should check out his other books, The Cloudspotter’s Guide and The Cloud Collector’s Handbook.
The world of clouds has always fascinated me, and some of the beautiful pages of this book are of famous artists showing how inspired they were by these bits of water, ice, and sunlight above us.
This is a very special book, but I want to tell everyone, get outside, and look to the sky. You certainly won’t see all the rare and the geographic-specific clouds shown in this book, but it will be nature at some of its most stunning. I find myself thinking about all the people who were living out their busy lives under some of these incredible clouds—without ever looking up. show less

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.