The Book of Clouds
How to Read the Sky
Vincenzo Levizzani author Stephen N Lyle translator
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Polity Press
Publishing:24th Apr '26
£20.00
This title is due to be published on 24th April, and will be despatched as soon as possible.

We spend a great deal of time living under the cover of clouds, but rarely do we look up and pay attention to them, and most of us know very little about what clouds are and the vital role they play in the Earth's climate and ecosystem. This is not true of Vincenzo Levizzani. As one of the world's leading experts on the physics of clouds. He has devoted his life to studying clouds, analysing their characteristics and passing this knowledge on to others.
In The Book of Clouds, Levizzani provides a marvellous introduction to the history and science of clouds - from the many ways that clouds have influenced art and culture to the way that they have been studied, classified and understood, from understanding how clouds form an distribute precipitation to understanding how they are affected by climate change. The result is a book that provides readers with everything they need to know to recognise different clouds, interpret their behaviour and understand what is likely to happen if we are foolish enough to disrupt the delicate balance between Earth and the skies that have blessed us with a habitable climate for millennia.
Exquisitely illustrated, The Book of Clouds offers a deep dive into clouds, droplets, crystals, graupels and hailstones among other things. It will be the indispensible book for anyone who has gazed upwards and wondered what to make of the different clouds and cloud formations that fill our skies.
"In this theoretical and practical guide for reading the sky, Vincenzo Levizzani summarizes in a text dense with information but easy to read all the notions that are useful for observing the sky with a scientific eye, without forgetting, however, the poetic charm that the sky has exerted on humankind since the dawn of history."
Oggi Scienza
"Technically rigorous and enjoyable to read, The Book of Clouds suggests a novel task for the holidays: look up from your smartphone and gaze at the sky!"
Il Fatto Quotidiano
ISBN: 9781509572380
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
218 pages