The Invention of Clouds by Richard Hamblyn, Farrar, Straus & Giroux,
$27, ISBN 0374177155
RICHARD Hamblyn鈥檚 The Invention of Clouds is subtitled 鈥淗ow an amateur
meteorologist forged the language of the skies鈥�. Its mildly sensational tone
underestimates the story. Luke Howard, son of a tinsmith in London, was
fascinated by the forms of clouds from childhood. At the end of the 18th
century, clouds were airborne mysteries although there were plenty of theories
about how they formed. In 1802, Howard, somewhat diffidently, gave a talk to an
obscure scientific society about his classification of cloud structures. He
named them for the first time; cumulus, cirrus and so on have been with us ever
since.
Society was agog for scientific experiment and discussion. Howard鈥檚 audience
stood up and cheered. This enthusiasm, coupled with the British obsession with
weather, ensured that Howard鈥檚 work was published in many journals. His
reputation grew.
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Other observers of clouds attempted to translate Howard鈥檚 nomenclature into
less accurate terms. Howard, irritated, defended his work. Eventually it led to
the founding of the Meteorological Society. Howard was elected into the Royal
Society. Even Goethe wrote poetry in his honour.
This is an extraordinary story and it鈥檚 well told, with the scientific
ferment and personalities of its times teeming away in the background. The book
reproduces Howard鈥檚 original lecture and drawings, but is in an odd 鈥渓andscape鈥�
format that might hamper its sales.