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

Rating:
Summary: The Wind for Poets
Review: 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?

Rating:
Summary: I just can't give it 5 stars
Review: For an author who repeatedly touches on his admiration of the beauty of the writing Admiral Beaufort brought to the wind scale, the writing style of "Defining the Wind" falls short for me. It seems the author couldn't quite decide if the book was an academic text or a popular history volume and the inconsistency grated on me. Especially the use of pop culture references feels gratuitous (e.g. use of "white Ford Bronco" for a simile for a slow moving sailing ship) and makes a book that could be readable for years seem dated almost out of the wrapper. The book also seems very repetitive. The same source text is referenced often in chapters that seemingly are about a new topic. I think the book was worth reading, I just found the author and the writing style came to the forefront much too often as I read instead of the content and Admiral Beaufort himself.

Rating:
Summary: A great read
Review: I greatly enjoyed this book. It is a vivid introduction into the life of times of Admiral Beaufort, and the history of defining the wind. This book was well worth the money and the time to read it. It awakens in the reader the spirit of discovery and exploration that imbued Beauforts age. Mr. Huler gets a bit sentimental about his subject which detracts a bit from the story (hence 4 not 5 starts). Bottom line: you'll enjoy it.

Rating:
Summary: Where science and art meet
Review: 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.