DEFINING THE WIND
by Scott Huler

Subtitled The Beaufort Scale, and How a 19th - Century Admiral Turned Science Into Poetry. This is a special book that combines earth science and language. The author fell in love with the Beaufort [Wind] Scale, and was so impressed with the 110 words of the scale and their simple but poetic qualities, that he embarked on an extended intellectual journey to discover the scale's author. This is his wonderful retelling of that journey. Along the way, he learns to draw, learns to help sail a tall ship, and rummages through many a dusty archive. Without spoiling anything, we can tell you that he discovers that Francis Beaufort did not write the version of the scale that he fell in love with. We highly recommend this book to anyone interested in meteorology, surveying, the ocean, sailing tall ships, history, or the use of language in science. SC, 2005, 290 Pgs. SW 0.7 lb.