In The Secret World of Weather, bestselling author Tristan Gooley turns his gaze up to the sky, bringing his signature brand of close observation and eye-opening deduction to the fascinating world of weather. Every cloud, every change in temperature, every raindrop, every sunbeam, every breeze reveals something about our weather--if you know what to look for. Before you know it, you'll be able to forecast impending storms, sunny days, and everything in between, all without needing to consult your smartphone.
But The Secret World of Weather goes far beyond mere weather prediction, changing the very way we think about weather itself. Weather is not something that blankets an area; rather, it changes constantly as you walk through woods or turn down a street. The weather is never identical on two sides of a tree--or even beneath it. Take, for example, Gooley's remarkable discovery that breezes accelerate beneath a tree. To Gooley, this is "weather," a tiny microclimate that explains why people sit beneath a tree to cool down--not only for the shade but, subconsciously, for cooler breeze. And so Gooley shows us not only what the weather will be like five days from now, but also what to expect about the weather around every corner. By carefully observing the subtle interplay of wind, cloud, fog, temperature, rain, and many other phenomena, we not only form a deeper understanding of weather patterns, but also unlock secrets about our environment. Weather forms our landscape, and landscape forms our weather. Everything we see in the sky reflects where we are. When we learn to read weather's signs, Gooley shows us, the weather becomes our map, revealing to us how it has made our towns, cities, woods, and hills what they are. You'll never see your surroundings the same way again.
A National Indie Favorite
An Indie Next Pick
One of The Telegraph's Best Books of 2021
Table of Contents:
Introduction
PART I: THE KNOWN WORLD
The Weather Beneath That Tree
Heat, Air, and Water
The Atmosphere
Meeting the Clouds
Fronts
PART II: THE SECRET WORLD
How to Feel the Wind
A Bloodhound in the Woods
Dew & Frost
Rain
Hail & Snow
Fog
Cloud Secrets
Thirsting for Signs: An Interlude
Local Winds
The Trees
Plants, Fungi, & Lichens
The Hoodoos: An Interlude
The City
The Coast
Animals
Storms
Celestial and Sublime
Our Weather
Review Quotes:
[An] ingenious collection of tips and tricks for analyzing and anticipating weather phenomena. . . . The wealth of wisdom on offer is impressive. Adventurers in the making will find this worth returning to.-- "Publishers Weekly"
This breezy new book reveals how to read nature's very own weather forecast. . . . Full of fascinating trivia.-- "Daily Mail"
"Gooley marshals a riveting compendium of weather-reading skills. . . . He has plenty of facts at his fingertips with which to excite.-- "The Times"
This is one of those books that makes you look at your environment in a different, more poetic way.-- "The Guardian"
The trouble with reading Tristan's new book is that he makes me feel like I've been walking around with my eyes closed. . . . His books are so packed with interesting facts.--Al Humphreys, adventurer, motivational speaker, and author of Microadventures: Local Discoveries for Great Escapes
Tristan Gooley is the New York Times-bestselling author of How to Read Water, How to Read Nature, The Natural Navigator, The Lost Art of Reading Nature's Signs, The Secret World of Weather, The Nature Instinct, How to Read a Tree, and The Hidden Seasons . He has led expeditions on five continents, climbed mountains in three, and is the only living person to have both flown and sailed solo across the Atlantic. His more than two decades of pioneering outdoor experience include research among tribal peoples in some of the remotest regions on Earth. He is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation and the Royal Geographical Society, a vice-chairman of Trailfinders, and he runs the world's only school of natural navigation.
Experiment
Pub Date: February 28, 2023
1.1" H x 8.19" L x 5.51" W
400 Pages
Paperback