And Soon I Heard a Roaring Wind

May 9, 2016
In his latest natural history cum adventure story, intrepid biologist Streever (Heat: Adventures in the World’s Fiery Places) turns his attention from temperature to another force of nature: wind. The book’s narrative backbone is Streever’s amateur sailing expedition from Texas to Guatemala in search of firsthand exposure to the trade winds that fascinate him; tangential excursions of rigorous historical and scientific inquiry draw him into such subjects as barometry and wind farms. In clear prose animated by deadpan humor and enthusiasm for all things meteorological, he recounts the transformation of the weather forecast from its origins in qualitative theory through the development of graphical and numerical methods, weather balloons, satellites, anemometers, radar systems, and modern-day ensemble forecasting, which integrates sophisticated computational models and chaos theory into synoptic maps. Parallel to this chronicle of technological advancement runs a dramatic story of the scientific establishment, replete with “grumbling and infighting” and peppered with such figures as Benjamin Franklin and Lewis Fry Richardson, “the first man to calculate the weather.” As Streever absorbingly explains the processes that make air move, he also relays the history of humans’ efforts to harness the wind, as “knowledge of the two things—the winds and the science behind them—lies hopelessly intertwined.” 23 b&w illus. Agent: Elizabeth Wales, Wales Literary.

Starred review from May 15, 2016
Science, history, and personal adventure come together in a wild and witty exploration of wind.When Streever, a biologist and nature writer, deals with a natural phenomenon, he does so with aplomb, plunging into the Arctic Ocean in Cold (2009) and walking on coals in Heat (2013). Here, he focuses on wind and sailing. A few years ago, the author purchased the cruising sailboat Rosinante; admittedly "a rank amateur" who is "scared to death of storms," he set out from Texas to sail to Guatemala with his wife as his sole crew member. Streever calls it a "voyage to understand the wind," and what happened to Rosinante and its sometimes-hapless, sometimes remarkably lucky crew of two was definitely a learning experience. Interspersed in his tale of their adventure-filled journey are essays on the history of weather predicting; profiles of meteorologists; descriptions of old and new meteorological instruments, from the barometer to weather balloons to satellites; a history of the harnessing of wind energy; and vivid accounts of the impact of moving air--e.g., the mighty hurricane that struck Galveston in 1900, the havoc of the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, the selection of the landing point for D-Day in 1944, and more. Readers will meet well-known and little-known scientists as the author ranges from the computations of early weather forecaster Lewis Fry Richardson to the chaos theories of mathematician Edward Lorenz (who coined the term "butterfly effect"). They will also acquire plenty of new vocabulary, as the author explains ventifacts, yardangs, einkanters, and dreikanters, all formations shaped by windblown sand. Streever has a knack for blending his research and personal experience into an easy-to-read account that is hard to put down. Recommended for general readers curious about the natural world as well as budding scientists.

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June 15, 2016

Streever (biology, Univ. of Alaska, Fairbanks; Cold: Adventures in the World's Frozen Places; Heat: Adventures in the World's Fiery Places) covers the science of wind and weather and the history of weather forecasting in an authoritative, well-researched, and engrossing text. The author introduces the scientists who determined how weather works, building on one another's ideas over the generations, using observation, physics, mathematics, and computers. The science is interwoven with Streever's memoir of a trip he and his wife, marine biologist Lisanne Aerts, both novice sailors at the time, took aboard Rocinante, their cruising sailboat, traveling from Texas to Florida to Belize and Guatemala, learning to use the wind as an ally, and protecting themselves and their boat from its wrath. This provides a riveting, detailed look at the power of wind, along with the pleasures and perils of sailing. VERDICT This page-turning work of narrative nonfiction, this book will appeal to readers interested in the history of science, the history and science of meteorology, the science of wind, and memoirs of life at sea.--Sue O'Brien, Downers Grove P.L., IL

Copyright 2016 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2016
After minimal training, science writer Streever (Heat, 2013; Cold, 2009) and his wife, rank amateurs foolish enough to have purchased a sailboat, set off on the Rocitaine, where Streever intends to learn about the wind firsthand. As he experiences the wind (both foul and fair), he considers the long history of weather forecasting. Readers are treated to the history of meteorological inventionsbarometers and anemometersand detailed and fascinating biographies of scientists, from arm flailers in the British Royal Society, including Robert FitzRoy, vice-admiral of the Meteorological Office, who committed suicide out of public humiliation over not being able to predict the weather and privatefinancial troubles. Then there's William Ferrel of rural Pennsylvania, who first made the discovery that global winds blew in curved patterns. String theory and other effects of the wind are touched on as well, such as rock and dune erosion and wind power. Though Streever occasionally overindulges in his own sailing experience, his ability to make complex concepts easy to understand while still capturing the awe and mystery of nature is spot-on.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)