An Ocean of Air: Why the Wind Blows and Other Mysteries of the Atmosphere

Front cover: Tag 3: "A sense of wonder . . . animates Ms. Walker's high-spirited narrative and speeds it along like a fresh-blowing westerly."The New York Times Back cover: "This is science writing at its best: clear, witty, relevant, unbelievably interesting, and just plain great."-- Mary Roach, author ofStiff We don't just live in the air; we live because of it. It's the most miraculous substance on earth, responsible for our food, our weather, our water, and our ability to hear. Gabrielle Walker peels back the layers of our atmosphere with the stories of the people who uncovered its secrets: A one-eyed barnstorming pilot finds a set of winds that constantly blow five miles above our heads. An impoverished American farmer figures out why hurricanes move in a circle by carving equations with his pitchfork on a barn door. A well-meaning inventor nearly destroys the ozone layer. "Walker has a PhD in chemistry, but she writes like a poet. With a few deft strokes, she brings wacky characters to life . . . Walker's book should absorb and delight anyone who breathes."--Los Angeles Times "[Walker] shows a storyteller's knack for making long-settled questions seem again intriguing and mysterious. As a result, the book imparts a new appreciation of an element so pervasive as to be invisible."--American Scientist GABRIELLE WALKERearned a Ph.D. in chemistry from Cambridge. She is the coauthor, with Sir David King, ofThe Hot Topic: What We Can Do About Global Warming.She lives in London.Walker, Gabrielle is the author of 'An Ocean of Air: Why the Wind Blows and Other Mysteries of the Atmosphere', published 2008 under ISBN 9780156034142 and ISBN 015603414X.