Defining the Wind: The Beaufort Scale, and How a 19th-Century Admiral Turned Science Into Poetry

by Scott Huler

Book Overview

Defining the Wind is a wonderfully written account of one man's crusade to learn about what the wind is made of by tracing the history of the Beaufort Scale and its eccentric creator, Sir Francis... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1400048842
• ISBN13: 9781400048847
• Release Date: August 2004
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 290 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.9" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

What a wonderful book!

I read Mr. Huler's short piece on the wonders of the Beaufort Scale in a NYT op-ed a few years ago, and it was so good, I ran right out for the book. It was even better than I'd hoped -- a delightful, delightful adventure of the mind, and side-aching hilarious at times. I wasn't disappointed by the short section on the "real" inventor of the scale, because although Mr. Huler's research and the adventures it entailed are fascinating, that wasn't the point of the book at all to me. He gets so much into this little book; I learned everything from the life of a copywriter to the mystery of how science changed in the 19th Century (and no one really knows why). Best of all was spending a little time in the company of someone who can look at a wind velocity scale and see a haiku. Thank you, Mr. Huler, for teaching me how to read!

A delightful book - recommended for all ages

A wonderful personal odyssey by a reporter curious about the origins of a metereologic scale and its poetic expression. Takes us through history - into the life of Francis Beaufort, a man obsessed with recording his observations of the world around him in exquisite detail, to others who influenced him and who he influenced (including passing mention of Charles Darwin). This is not just about the wind but about natural science and its history, how we observe and express ourselves, and the joy of learning and discovery. I'd recommend it for all ages.

The Wind for Poets

Defining The Wind by Scott Huler is a special book that combines two of my loves in life - earth science and language. Huler, a writer who is NOT a science writer by trade, fell in love with the Beaufort [Wind] Scale in 1983 while a copy editor scanning a copy of the dictionary. He was so impressed with the 110 words of the scale and their simple but poetic qualities, he embarked on an extended intellectual journey to discover the scale's author. Defining The Wind is Huler's wonderful retelling of that journey. Along the way, Huler learns to draw, learns to help sail a tall ship, and rummages through many a dusty archive. Without spoiling anything, I can tell you that Huler discovers that Francis Beaufort did not write the version of the scale that Huler fell in love with. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in meteorology, surveying, the ocean, sailing tall ships, history, or the use of language in science. Random thought: I wonder if this would be a good book to give to a teenage writer or artist who doesn't see the benefit of taking science and math classes in high school?

Where science and art meet

This is a thoroughly engaging true-life detective story. The author, Scott Huler, was struck by the poetic beauty of the Beaufort Scale, a way to determine the force and velocity of the wind by how it moves objects, i.e. "small trees in leaf begin to sway - MPH 19-24 - Name, fresh breeze - Beaufort # 5. He set out to discover the art of Sir Francis Beaufort. Through his search he shines a light on the what the essence of poetry is and the fact that nothing is born of itself.