Peter Moore (11)

Peter Moore masterfully chronicles the birth and early development of meteorology in The Weather Experiment: The Pioneers Who Sought to See the Future, weaving together the accomplishments of the key contribitors from the 19th century into a highly engaging narrative. Moore especially shines in his cinematic recounting of the wreck of the Royal Charter steam clipper in 1859, a nautical disaster which highlighted the need for a reliable storm warning system. And in a brilliantly executed show more coda, he parallels the early skepticism of meteorological science with today's climate change debate, now playing out like "a slow-motion weather forecast." Once again, believers vs. skeptics, only the stakes have never been higher. show less

When English people are not sure what to talk about, they discuss the weather. They probably did that 300 odd years ago too, but rather than seeing that the weather was part of a global system, it was assumed that all weather was Gods will, and a storm was evidence of his displeasure. In this book Moore brings to us the men who went against the convention and dogma of the day, with the hope of unlocking the secrets of the skies and understanding what made our weather.

The pioneers of science show more first sought to quantify and bring order to the atmosphere. There is Luke Howard the man who described and named the different cloud formations, Francis Beaufort who devised a scale so that wind strength could be quantified. James Glaisher started in astronomy but his fascination in the weather meant that he was the ideal man to take measurements in the first trips in hot air balloons to understand the upper atmosphere. Key to it all was Admiral Robert FitzRoy, sailor, explorer, scientist and the founder of what we now know as he Met Office. There were others too; James Epsy who thought he could control the weather, and the American scientists who explained the reason why a hurricane twists. There were others who contributed, in other technologies, such as Samuel Morse who gave us the telegraph, and allowed rapid transmission of the data collected by individuals across the country to the office in Whitehall.

These men were driven by saving lives for the navy and coastal communities. They taught people how to understand the instruments that they were using to take measurements. He describes the fight that they had against the vested interests of the day, as well as they complete disbelief that these men could predict the weather and in particular storms. The first few times that FitzRoy got a storm prediction wrong he was lambasted in the papers, but the men who used these warnings knew that these were vital to their trades.

Moore brings these men together in a narrative that is fascinating and compelling in equal measure. He brings alive the drive and obsession that these men had in understanding how the weather happened, and more importantly what happens on a summer day, compared to another day. The legacy that they have given us is a much better understanding of the atmosphere, weather trends and cycles. It has also given us the Met Office. One of our national sports is slating them when they get something wrong, especially on long term predictions or missing the odd hurricane, but for the day to day forecasts they are normally pretty good. Overall a pretty good book, but I would have preferred a more UK focus as he did head across the Atlantic and Channel fairly often, but still well worth reading. show less

Peter Moore's "Damn His Blood" checks all the boxes for a small English murder village and it's great!

Picture it. Oddingley, 1806. France is knocking on Britain's door, farms are being sold off and prices are skyrocketing. Financial stress is felt all over the countryside. Then enters Parker. He was the new pastor in town, keen on enforcing the tithe collection, and had no qualms with taking neighbors to court if they threatened resistance. He was too ambitious for his own good. Some got show more along with him just fine, but obviously most didn't. Eventually there's a conspiracy afoot to take the Reverend down a peg, in an incredibly violent way. The trouble is, once the deed is done, everyone has a devil of a time narrowing down and catching the suspect. This is a time before any sort of organized police force or proper detectives. A posse is rounded up to cut off the prime suspect before he reaches the train station, but he manages to slip away...or does he?

This one was better than it had any right to be. The only flaw is that Moore introduced too many characters all at once in the beginning, so I wasn't sure who to follow until about halfway in. But I stuck with it because the narration otherwise was so smooth. And there's a twist! You can definitely tell it was written for radio, but that definitely a plus. For the English lit nerds, Moore also makes a few literary references here and there that you'll love. show less

Peter Moore’s on the history of weather forecasting book is one of those hidden gems that seem to sneak under the critics’ radar and avoid any public attention. I only encountered it by chance – one of those serendipitous discoveries that bring such delight to the fortunate reader who happens upon them.

In describing it above as a history of weather forecasting I realise that I am doing the book a great disservice. While that is indeed the central theme, Moore offers us so much more show more than that, detailing the major advances from the Age of Enlightenment right up to the modern day. En route we are taken through a brief history of the Ordnance Survey, the development of the methodology for classifying clouds, analysis and measurement of the winds and an history of Samuel Morse’s development of the telegraph. What emerges most clearly is how, right from the start, efforts to predict the weather were adopted by the military establishment. Indeed, the Met Office was founded by Admiral Robert Fitzroy.

Moore has that happy knack of being able to convey often technical information with a clarity and accessibility that enables the simplest of lay readers (i.e. me) to absorb and understand it. He also imparts a great enthusiasm to a subject that may, on the face of it, seem unpromising as the material for a popular science book. show less