Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Heaven's Breath, the first history of the wind, looks at this ubiquitous and invisible entity from the point of view of geography, biology, physics, sociology, physiology, psychology, history, and philosophy. Lyall Watson shows how wind shapes the world and maintains its life, functioning as the circulatory and nervous systems of the planet, sharing our energy and information, distributing warmth, bringing rain, enriching or stripping away soil, air-conditioning the globe. Wind also disperses plants, animals, and human communities, shaping history: Trade winds have influenced human migrations and shaped imperial destinies; wind affected the outcome of wars between the Greeks and Persians, the Mongols and Japanese; wind contributed to the destruction of the Spanish Armada. And wind works on our most intimate feelings: The foehn, mistral, sirocco, Santa Ana, and other "ill winds" of the world can lead to disease, suicide, and even murder.
Watson had written a book that is full of strange lore and new perspectives on history, nature, and humanity.
Synopsis
Wind is everywhere and nowhere. Wind is the circulatory system of the earth, and its nervous system, too. Energy and information flow through it. It brings warmth and water, enriches and strips away the soil, aerates the globe. Wind shapes the lives of animals, humans among them. Trade follows the path of the wind, as empire also does. Wind made the difference in wars between the Greeks and Persians, the Mongols and the Japanese. Wind helped to destroy the Spanish Armada. And wind is no less determining of our inner lives: the f hn, mistral, sirocco, Santa Ana, and other "ill winds" of the world are correlated with disease, suicide, and even murder.
Heaven's Breath is an encyclopedic and enchanting book that opens dazzling new perspectives on history, nature, and humanity.
Synopsis
A "comprehensive and fascinating study" of how wind has shaped the world as we know it, affecting all aspects of human and natural life
--from geography to political history, plantlife to psychology, and biology to philosophy (
The Observer)
Wind is everywhere and nowhere. Wind is the circulatory system of the earth, and its nervous system, too. Energy and information flow through it. It brings warmth and water, enriches and strips away the soil, aerates the globe. Wind shapes the lives of animals, humans among them. Trade follows the path of the wind, as empire also does. Wind made the difference in wars between the Greeks and Persians, the Mongols and the Japanese. Wind helped to destroy the Spanish Armada. And wind is no less determining of our inner lives: the f hn, mistral, sirocco, Santa Ana, and other "ill winds" of the world are correlated with disease, suicide, and even murder.
Heaven's Breath is an encyclopedic and enchanting book that opens dazzling new perspectives on history, nature, and humanity.