The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind

The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind

New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester returns with a thought-provoking history of the wind, written in his edifying and entertaining style. What is going on with our atmosphere? The headlines are filled with news of devastating hurricanes, murderous tornadoes, and cataclysmic fires affecting large swaths of America. Gale force advisories are issued on a regular basis by the National Weather Service. In 2022, a report was released by atmospheric scientists at the University of Northern Illinois, warning that winds—the force at the center of all these dangerous natural events—are expected to steadily increase in the years ahead, strengthening in power, speed, and frequency. While this prediction worried the insurance industry, governmental leaders, scientists, and conscientious citizens, one particular segment of society received it with unbridled enthusiasm. To the energy industry, rising wind strength and speeds as an unalloyed boon for humankind—a vital source of clean and “safe” power. Between these two poles—wind as a malevolent force, and wind as savior of our planet—lies a world of fascination, history, literature, science, poetry, and engineering which Simon Winchester explores with the curiosity and vigor that are the hallmarks of his bestselling works. In The Breath of the Gods , he explains how wind plays a part in our everyday lives, from airplane or car travel to the “natural disasters” that are becoming more frequent and regular. The Breath of the Gods is an urgently-needed portrait across time of that unseen force—unseen but not unfelt—that respects no national borders and no vessel or structure in its path. Wind, the movement of the air, is seen by so many as a heavenly creation and generally a thing of essential goodness. But when it flexes its invisible muscles, all should take care and be very afraid. “As Simon Winchester writes in his delightful new book, The Breath of the Gods , these invisible currents of air shape our lives in myriad ways . . . . a thoroughly enjoyable book, brimming over with historical nuggets and contemplations about the future.” - New York Times "If you have ever sat at dinner listening to a raconteur who has an anecdote for everything and moves with amazing fluidity from one subject to the next while enjoying his own voice rolling along musically and entertainingly and with relentless authority, then you will have an idea of what it is like to be on the receiving end of Simon Winchester in The Breath of the Gods. ” ⎯ The Wall Street Journal “As our climate changes, the force of the wind is set to grow. By looking to the past and the future, Winchester examines the twinned possibilities alive in this bluster: the power of the wind to tear our world apart and its ability to help us travel farther and do more.” - The Washington Post "Epic . . . . Winchester brings depth to the history of the wind . . . . A splendidly written account of an unseeable force." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Beguiling . . . . [Winchester] conveys all this lore in prose that’s colorful and evocative . . . . Readers will savor this." - Publishers Weekly “Big nonfiction books that explore the whole world through the lens of a single object or concept have been popular for a few decades now (we’ve had salt, soil, trees). But few are as stirring as Simon Winchester’s latest, The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind . Human beings have always taken note of the wind—never more so than when a tornado threatens—and in Winchester’s exquisitely clear prose, he leads us through that long history and into a new understanding that a changing climate will bring more frequent dangers from the sky.” - Boston Globe “Even when it’s a familiar topic, Winchester finds fascinating ways in . . . Winchester also is a great synthesizer of material . . . . my copy of Breath is packed with my notes on the extraordinary people and details that Winchester unearths . . . . Winchester’s writing is a breath of fresh air.” - Minneapolis Star Tribune “Winchester, a prolific and best-selling popular historian, turns his attention to that most powerful of forces: the wind. With his signature entertaining erudition, he explores a subject that has quite literally powered the human world since our inception.” - New York Times "Is it really possible to write a fascinating history of the wind? It is if you’re Simon Winchester, author of popular histories of everything from modern geology to the Oxford English Dictionary to the California earthquake of 1906. The Breath of the Gods [is] a 'banger,' as my young Free Press colleagues like to say . . . . Deeply researched and highly enjoyable.” ⎯ Joe Nocera, The Free Press “Winchester . . . provides an immensely informative and engaging biography of wind, as a meteorological, literary and philosophical phenomenon, a factor in milling grain to make flour, travel by land, sea and air, the battle of Salamis and defeat of t