Author:Lauren Redniss
'21st-century genius' Elle
A howling wind, a thunderstorm, the beating sun – it’s with the elements that nature shows its true force and wonder.
In Thunder and Lightning, Guggenheim fellow and Pulitzer nominee Lauren Redniss draws a new account of the weather. She has travelled from the frozen archipelagos of the Arctic Ocean to the ‘absolute desert’ of Atacoma, Chile, to show us the elements at their most extreme. Along the way, through interviews and research, she has unearthed curious stories of exploration, savagery and coincidence – stories which show us how weather has shaped humanity, intervened in the course of history, and how mankind, in turn, has tried to bend the weather to its ends.
A book of exquisite beauty, with each illustration etched and coloured by hand, Thunder and Lightning informs, charms and transports. A combination of art and cultural history, from an uncategorisable and unique creative spirit, it will leave readers looking at the wind, the sun and the rain with new eyes.
Lauren Redniss is one of the most unique and creative science writers of our time — her combination of beautiful artwork, reporting, and poetic prose brings science to life in ways that words alone simply cannot. Thunder & Lighting is a fascinating meditation on how climate affects the earth’s landscape and the lives inhabiting it. But also how the landscape of a book — the layout of its text, the images on its pages — impacts the telling of a story. This is an important book about a topic that couldn’t be more important to us all.
—— Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta LacksLauren Redniss's Thunder & Lightning is such a strange and wonderful thing, the work of a first-class mind that refuses to submit to any categories or precedent. It's the way you wish science would always be taught -- with a mix of stories and facts, legend and hard science.
—— Dave EggersRedniss has…shown us how human beings live with nature – fighting, coexisting, taming, predicting via leech barometer and radar and intuition...Redniss makes no claims for herself as an expert. She is guide and student, pulling us irresistibly into her interests and connecting the seemingly disparate threads with a combination of authority and enthusiasm. She is, to use a contemporary word, a curator: arranging information with a distinct aesthetic and a point of view…Colors change from chapter to chapter and page to page, evoking snow, ice, smog. In aggregate, the effect can be magical.
—— New York TimesThis is a terrific celebration of weather as an elemental force in not only our daily lives, but in our global stories, myths, history, and cultural identities… This book is not simply a collection of oddments and odd fellows, but rather a genuine demonstration of weather as a phenomena and how it is fantastical on both the symbolic and systematized levels. A highly atmospheric, entertainingly earnest, and intimate engrossment with the world's most popular topic of conversation.
—— Kirkus (starred review)Redniss’s work is…some of the most inventive, rigorous and beguiling published anywhere in the world… Redniss is intellectually unique… There is an obscure kind of magic to Redniss’s [work] that’s reminiscent of all her subjects combined: showmanship, science, superstition, extreme forces beyond our ken.
—— Gaby Wood-Lauren , Daily TelegraphAn irresistibly original account of the weather in all its glory and danger… An inspired cultural history of the weather… Visually and imaginatively stunning, Redniss’s book reinvents graphic storytelling in thrillingly intrepid ways.
—— Lucy Scholes , ObserverExtraordinary…work of graphic non-fiction that, fusing meteorology, history, anthropology, philosophy, brings us into magical contact with the elemental forces that shape our world and lives… A work of glorious and breathtaking synthesis… A thing of exquisite and discomfiting beauty.
—— Matthew Adams , IndependentIn her extraordinary new book, Redniss…[draws] the reader into a world elementally defined, and exquisitely portrayed… Her mix of story and fact, of image and poetry, is extraordinarily satisfying.
—— Philip Hoare , Times Higher Education[Redniss’s] approach – stunning reporting, combined with evocative artwork – gives the book a gale-force impact.
—— Wired MagazinePrepare for turbulence in this history of Britain’s seminal contribution to weather forecasting
—— NatureThis biography is an impressive achievement
—— 4 stars , BBC FocusMoore’s enthusiasm for his subject and the astonishing audacity of those long ago storm chasers make the book a deeply enjoyable read.
—— Daily BeastMoore writes about this band of ad hoc scientists with brio, and it’s hard not to be awed and charmed by their united quest to prove that earth’s atmosphere was not chaotic beyond comprehension, that it could be studied, understood and, ultimately, predicted … Detailed and insightful, this book is as relevant as ever in this era of rapid climate change.
—— Kirkus ReviewsRich and enlightening, I’ll never look at a dewy morning in the same way again.
—— Sarah BakewellFor illuminating a byway of scientific history that many scarcely knew existed we must thank Peter Moore, whose superbly researched an grippingly written book is more than a dusty account of early meteorologists
—— Richard Morrison , The TimesMoore does an excellent job of telling the story of meteorological advances
—— Good Book Guideenlightening… to read it is a joy
—— John Owen , Country & Town HouseA compelling journey through the early history of weather forecasting, bringing to life the personalities, lives and achievements of the men who put in place the building blocks required for forecasts to be possible.
—— Susan Ballard , Physics WorldEnthralling history of weather forecasting… Moore’s book records the adventure, drama and occasional tragedy involved in bringing us the calm reassurance of the nightly weather forecast.
—— Jane Shilling , Daily MailSuperbly researched and gripping book… He darts across continents, embracing swashbuckling sea captains and fastidious bureaucrats, penny-pinching politicians and mad inventors, with as sharp an eye for absurdity and tragedy as for genius.
—— Richard Morrison , The TimesProvocative and fascinating and opinionated…it makes the familiar seem unfamiliar. It altered how I view our species and our world.
—— Mohsin Hamid , GuardianHarari delivers a boldly synthesized account of Homo sapiens' rise through the hominin ranks...A view of our ascent as nasty, brutish, long - and endlessly fascinating
—— NatureHarari can write. Not in the sense that most authors can...But really, really write, with wit, clarity, elegance and a wonderful eye for metaphor
—— The TimesProvocative, thrilling erudite… One of the year’s most talked-about books
—— MetroIts breadth is startling... It changes the way you look at the world and few books tick that box.
—— Simon Mayo , Daily ExpressProbably the most ambitious history book of the year. Certainly the most thought-provoking
—— Dan Jones , Evening Standard - Books of the YearAs a writer, Harari is superbly clear. He’s also a formidable polymath and a wonderfully elegant thinker... He is a brilliant analyst with a storyteller’s gift
—— William Leith , Evening StandardI have just read Yuval Noah Harari's book Sapiens. It is brilliant. Most likely the best - and I have read very many - on the history of humankind. I have never read anything better
—— Henning MankellWe usually think that we are an outcome of our personal history, where we grew up, the way our parents educated us, etc. In Sapiens, Harari delves deep into our history as a species to help us understand who we are and what made us this way. An engrossing read.
—— Dan Ariely, New York Times Bestselling author of Predictably IrrationalEloquent and wonderfully funny
—— iThis is mega-history of the best sort: sweeping but not simplistic, contemporary but not gimmicky, provocative but not contrarian. Almost everyone will want to argue with one part of this book or another, but working out which part and why will do us all good.
—— Dr Steven GunnFor its sheer originality and intellectual stimulation, I was captivated by Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens
—— Matthew d’Ancona , Evening Standard - Books of the YearThat fellow connected an awful lot of dots in that work. I thought the book would be a dense read, a slog, with a struggle for my brain on every page. I had a highlighter ready to mark the more pavement-thick paragraphs I’d have to go back and re-ponder. Instead, I flew through it like it was a nonfiction The Thorn Birds. Does that mean I’m getting smarter?
—— Tom Hanks , New York TimesAmbitious and invigorating
—— Charlotte Heathcote , Sunday ExpressHarari’s book is important reading for serious-minded, self-reflective sapiens
—— Avi Tuschman , Washington Post SundayBrilliantly done and endlessly fascinating
—— Reader’s DigestVast and intricate... Engaging and informative
—— GuardianA thrilling account of humankind’s extraordinary history
—— Jersey Evening PostThe book is maddeningly opinionated and insanely ambitious. It is also compulsively readable and impossibly learned. It is one of the best accounts by a Homo sapiens of the unlikely story of our violent, accomplished species
—— Michael Gerson , Washington PostAn enthusiastic and confident narrative that is relentlessly interesting from the first word to the last
—— UK Press SyndicationThe most exciting book I’ve read this year
—— Rory MacLean , GeographicalOne of the most talked about non-fiction bestsellers of the year... Harari is one of the very few thinkers around who’s really looking at what’s happening now. Sapiens is his attempt to tell the story of the past to understand the present: the great technological advances that we are all living through now
—— ObserverEloquent and provocative
—— Mail on SundayA headclutchingly provocative account of our species from the Stone Age to the present... Stunningly ambitious and compellingly written. They call it macro-history. They’re right.
—— David Sexton , Evening StandardFascinating
—— Chris Skinner , Financial Services Club BlogUnforgettably vivid language. I urge everyone to read it
—— Matthew Smith , H EditionContains a remarkable piece of information on almost every page and reminds us that we should be grateful to be human.
—— Matt Haig , ObserverThought-provoking
—— Sunday TimesI would recommend Sapiens to anyone who’s interested in the history and future of our species.
—— Bill GatesRead with an open mind and you might look at life in a whole new way.
—— How it WorksA fantastic book about how homo sapiens came to conquer the world
—— Simon Mayo , Mail on SundayA dark and thrilling epic.
—— Rachel Hadas , Times Literary Supplement, Book of the YearI have continued to be driven bonkers by my current obsession: Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, an extraordinary tome that charts the plight of the planet’s most destructive species since the dawn of time: us. Every paragraph gives you pause for thought, as it catalogues how nuts human beings really are… It may be the best book I’ve ever read; it’s certainly fascinating.
—— Chris Evans , Mail on SundayThis doesn’t make you feel clever; it makes you feel included. It’s written so brilliantly… He’s written about the human family as a family.
—— Marcus Brigstocke , ShortlistIt's one of the best books I’ve read recently and gives an excellent overview of how our species has developed and helps us understand why and who we are today.
—— Lily Cole , Hello!A sweeping account of the history of our species, written in vivid prose.
—— Matthew Syed , The TimesIt rattles along, firing glitter-coated bullets of wisdom as it goes. If Carlsberg made professors, they’d have fashioned them thus. You’ll never have quite as much fun while learning so much.
—— Lynne Barrett-Lee , Western MailReading this wonderful book feels like looking at life down the bigger end of the telescope. Its scope – which incorporates the history of our species and the question of what the future may have in store – is so magisterial, one has an increasingly godlike feeling while reading it.
—— Gavin Turk , WeekAn absolute trove that everyone who wants to understand everything from human evolution to diet, religions and limited liability companies should read.
—— Sally Moussawi , PoolOpening up a controversial topic with spirit and thoroughness, Sapiens will challenge your preconceptions, provoke discussion and, most importantly, push you to think for yourself… Bold and provocative.
—— Women's RunningA brilliant, interdisciplinary account of the past and future of our species… Some of Harari’s most interesting points are the ways in which the fundamental, unchanging traits that make us human (emotions, desires) relate to the modern world. Essential reading for any liberal arts degree.
—— Francesca Carington , TatlerIn the unlikely event you haven’t already read it and…fancy learning some cool new stuff in a fun way, I wholeheartedly recommend it to you.
—— Jenny Colgan , SpectatorIt’s so intense that you have to read a bit then have a rest. It has brilliant passages, such as where he argues humans became enslaved by agriculture. Vivid and invigorating.
—— Bill Bailey , Daily ExpressEvery now and then a book comes along that tilts your perspective on the world. This internationally best-selling phenomenon is one of them.
—— Martin Chilton, Olivia Petter and Ceri Radford , Independent, *Books of the Decade*Insightful, provocative and certainly gives you a sense of perspective
—— Diederik Vos , CreativepoolShortly before the pandemic, I read Sapiens... It's not an exaggeration to say I've thought of it every day since
—— Curtis Sittenfeld , GuardianIt succeeds through its eclectic scope, its readability, and its author’s willingness to offer ethical judgements
—— Martin Rees , ObserverA book that leaves its reader full-hearted… moved and enriched by its humanity and accomplishment.
—— Lettie Kennedy , ObserverA fast read that won’t fail to move you.
—— IJohn Updike said that every writer is simply unpacking their own bag, describing writing as a way to come to terms with one’s current and historical life experience. If that is the case Paul Kalanithi, in When Breath Becomes Air, is unpacking a very large bag indeed, and not just his own.
—— Paul D'Alton , Irish ExaminerWhen Breath Becomes Air is a life-affirming reflection on facing our mortality and on the relationship between doctor and patient, from a gifted writer who became both.
—— Mojo MumsFar more than a beautifully written account of a life cut cruelly short: it is a meditation on living well.
—— Jane Shilling , Mail[H]e writes with an eloquence that befits his love of the literary.
—— Brad Davies , iAn eloquent meditation on our mortality, the brain, the meaning of life, fatherhood and the doctor-patient relationship, this powerful, inspirational book should appeal to readers who are enjoying watching BBC2’s current Hospital series. I couldn’t put this profoundly moving memoir down – but it is not for the squeamish or faint-hearted, and may scare hypochondriacs.
—— Rebecca Wallersteiner , The LadyIt’s not just that Kalanathi has a remarkable story to tell. The way he tells it is phenomenal… This is a superbly written and must-read autobiography – beautiful, poignant and thought-provoking.
—— Sam Hailes , ChristianityHe writes movingly about how to make sense of a life so suddenly interrupted and what makes life worth living even as it fades away. A beautiful book about the resilience of the human spirit.
—— RedKalanithi’s candid yet artistic prose, peppered with medical terminology, conveys his life beautifully. We are taken on a journey from the nostalgic memories of his childhood in Arizona to his final days in the hospital bed… he raw and emotional portrayal of his pain and their family’s grief is not an easy read, but a compelling one.
—— Angela Huang , BoarA thoroughly enjoyable, epic read, When Breath Becomes Air should be at the top of everyone’s ‘to read’ list. Paul Kalanithi beautifully bridges the gaps between philosophy, science and literature in his memoir which depicts the reality of life lived in the face of death… Kalanithi writes sublimely, elegantly and honestly. His words are spun together as though with a golden thread, and all that he writes is from the heart. His admiration for the written word shines through and the mammoth task of composing his memoir, after receiving his diagnosis, is executed exquisitely… It is a novel filled with tenderness, heartbreak and bittersweet nostalgia. It is a novel containing power, strength and beauty. And it is a novel that will stay with you long after its cover has been closed.
—— Lauren Molyneux , LiveInformative, emotive, honest and a stark look at the path one takes when life pulls the rug out from under you.
—— NudgeThis book has stayed with me ever since I put it down. Absolutely extraordinary. This book is an example of how fragile and unfair life can be.
—— Molly EllisIt was a really incredible read and I couldn’t recommend it more.
—— Ella Mills , Good Web GuideAs a book detailing the insight into our own mortality, and the dedication of medical professionals who place their lives on hold to learn their craft, it’s fascinating. His accounts of coming face to face with cadavers – "donors" – and performing autopsies, his experiences with patients as he gave good and bad news, his mistakes as a surgeon which caused irreparable damage coupled with his success as a physician are an incredible insight into his life’s work… A melancholic read that I’d recommend to all student nurses, and anyone interested in reading the final thoughts of a doomed surgeon.
—— Six Out of TenPoignant and life-affirming, it's a devastating must-read
—— Woman & HomeBeautifully written... utterly heartbreaking and yet somehow life-affirming
—— Mike Gayle, author of THE MUSEUM OF ORDINARY PEOPLE , Good HousekeepingThe writing is beautiful and the whole book feels like a wondrous gift
—— Good HousekeepingAt a time when the NHS and key workers are doing their utmost to make sure people are safe, this medical memoir is one that will make you realise how courageous and hard-working our medical staff really are... The moving and intimidate book brings readers on a valuable and gut-wrenching journey through the meaning of life, exposes universal truths surrounding terminal illnesses and highlights the fragile relationship between doctor and patient
—— Country and Townhouse