Kirjahaku

A sea captain's beautifully written tour of our planet, our oceans, and our ever-changing atmosphere "An extraordinary book by a modern-day Melville."--Mark Vanhoenacker - "Immensely rewarding and entertaining."--Lincoln Paine - "Full of history, wisdom, and hilarious stories from life on the open seas."--Daniel Stone What's in a cloud? Did you know that water vapor is invisible and actually lighter than dry air? What separates a tropical storm from a winter blizzard? And what exactly is El Ni o? Elliot Rappaport, a professional captain of traditional sailing ships, has spent three decades at sea, where understanding weather is crucial to the safety of vessels and their crews. In Reading the Glass, he offers a sailor's-eye view of the moving parts of our atmosphere and unveils the larger patterns it holds: global winds, storms, air masses, jet streams, and the longer arc of our climate. Told through a series of tall ship voyages, Rappaport's narrative takes readers from the icy seas of Greenland to the Roaring Forties, places where one can experience all four seasons in an hour. He navigates the turbulent waters of the Strait of Gibraltar, en route to storied port cities of the Mediterranean. In the vast tropical Pacific he crosses the equator, where heat, moisture, and unsettled winds churn out powerful squalls, and drops anchor in isolated ports of call. He explores wide swathes of ocean to explain how the trade winds have carried ships westward for centuries, and how ancient Polynesian explorers pushed back the other way, leveraging their mastery of waves and weather to achieve what may be humanity's greatest navigational achievement. Written in stunning prose, brimming with wisdom, curiosity, and humor, Reading the Glass brilliantly blends science and memoir to reveal how weather has shaped our oceans, our history, and ourselves.

'Brimming with knowledge and experience . . . delightful' Daily Telegraph'An extraordinary book by a modern-day Melville whose deep knowledge, boundless curiosity and endearingly wry humour make him the perfect guide to the world beyond our shores' Mark Vanhoenacker, author of Skyfaring: A Journey with a Pilot'Relatable, reflective, and humorous . . . a genuinely immersive read' CountrymanWhat's in a cloud? What separates a tropical storm from a winter blizzard? And what exactly is El Niño? Elliot Rappaport, a professional captain of traditional sailing ships, has spent three decades at sea, where understanding weather could be the difference between life and death. Told through a series of tall ship voyages, Rappaport's narrative takes readers from the icy seas of Greenland to the Roaring Forties, places where one can experience all four seasons in an hour. He navigates the turbulent waters of the Strait of Gibraltar, en route to storied port cities of the Mediterranean. In the vast tropical Pacific, he crosses the equator, where heat, moisture, and unsettled winds churn out powerful squalls, and drops anchor in isolated ports of call. He explores wide swathes of ocean to explain how the trade winds have carried ships westward for centuries, and how ancient Polynesian explorers pushed back the other way. Written in stunning prose, brimming with wisdom, curiosity, and humour, Reading the Glass brilliantly blends science and memoir to reveal how weather has shaped our oceans, our history, and ourselves.

'Brimming with knowledge and experience . . . delightful'TRISTAN GOOLEY, DAILY TELEGRAPH'A fabulous compendium of terror and disaster, expertise and courage'ADAM NICOLSON, author of The Seabird's Cry'Evokes panoramas of sea and land with confident flair'WALL STREET JOURNALWhat's in a cloud? What separates a tropical storm from a winter blizzard? And what exactly is El Niño? Elliot Rappaport, a captain of traditional sailing ships, has spent three decades at sea, where understanding weather is the difference between life and death.From the icy seas of Greenland to the turbulent waters of the Strait of Gibraltar, from the powerful squalls near the equator to the ancient Polynesian explorers who ventured eastward against trade winds, Reading the Glass combines science and memoir to reveal the remarkable story of how weather has shaped our oceans, our history and ourselves.'An extraordinary book by a modern-day Melville . . . I can't recommend this book highly enough'MARK VANHOENACKER, author of Skyfaring'A gripping account of what weather is, how it feels to be in the middle of it, and what we can expect going forward!'BILL MCKIBBEN, author of The End of Nature