The Invention of Clouds. How an Amateur Meteorologist Forged the Language of the Skies by Richard Hamblyn - 2001

Great Britain: Picador, 2001. Hardback. The Invention of Clouds. Couple of very slight scratches to back D/J. Slight shelf wear to bottom edge of D/J. Signed by the author to previous owner. One of the most extraordinary yet least-known scientific advances occurred in the opening years of the nineteenth century, when a young amateur meterologist, Luke Howard, gave the clouds the names by which they are still known today: cirrus, stratus, cumulus and nimbus. In naming the clouds, Howard changed the face of meteorology for ever, earning the admiration of his leading contemporaries in literature, art and science. By giving a language to something that had higtherto been nameless and imprecise, he transfigured the relationship between the world and its overarching sky. The author charts Howard's life from obscurity to fame to sought-after obscurity once more, while recreating the great sense of scientific excitement at the turn of the nineteenth century. He shows how Romantic figures such as Coleridge, Goethe and Shelley were influenced by the scientific discoveries of the time, and how Howard's classification moved beyond the skies of Britain to be taken up by observers all over the world. Offering rich insights into the nature of celebrity, the relationship between the sciences and the arts, and the profound excitement that is generated by new ideas, this book is an enthralling piece of social and scientific history. Illustrated. 292 pp. (We carry a wide selection of titles in The Arts, Theology, History, Politics, Social and Physical Sciences. academic and scholarly books and Modern First Editions, Reference books ,and all types of Academic Literature.). Signed by Author. 1st Uk Edition. Cloth. Fine/Very Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" Tall Octavo. Hardback.