Wind by Jan Beblieu

Jan DeBlieu

Nature writer Jan DeBlieu has taken that mythology and blended it with the scientific in her new book "Wind: How the Flow of Air Shaped Life, Myth and the Land". As she reveals to us nearly every aspect of this pervasive phenomenon, she takes us with her to people and places that have been uniquely effected by the wind: From atop Mount Washington's summit where the highest wind speed in the world was recorded, to the Midwestern plains of Iowa where she talks to survivors of a deadly tornado, to the laboratories of William Gray and Bob Rice, who show a healthy respect for the less definable, perhaps even the organic components of the complex nature of the wind.

What separates this book out from other excellent books of the same genus and species -- such as "Weather Wisdom" by Albert Lee and "It's raining Frogs and Fishes" by Jerry Dennis -- is Ms. DeBlieu's willingness to share her own stories of personal transformation in response to wind. She recognizes the wind as part of her own landscape. Wind at times guides her personal journey, as it has guided the journey of cultures, into valuable conflict, cooperation and exchange of ideas.

Much of the writing is first person, sometime even narrative. We feel as if we are right there doing the book research with her. But all the while a skillful weaving of the autobiographical keeps us in constant touch with the voice behind the pen. We meet her family, her friends, her angels and her demons. It's a clever way of turning something a seemingly simple as the horizontal movement of air across the planet, into a scientific enlightenment that blurs the distinction between the atmosphere and the mind.

The success of the book lies in Ms. DeBlieu's skill at blending the poetic with the scientific. She describes a Hadley Cell as a "simple do-si-do of warm and cold air". She is not afraid to recognize that wind can be describes being "imbued with the qualities of an animate object." Any weather textbook can explain the phenomena of wind; expounding on tornadoes and hurricanes, discerning the subtle differences between siroccos, Chinooks, and Santa Annas but none do it as eloquently as Wind.

If anything, Ms. DeBlieu tries to pack too much information in her book, and at times the flow seems restricted by an excess of details. The book is chock full of information. But because of this, even with it's literary approach, "Wind" still has a spot on any reference shelf and has a complete index to prove it. When reading the book it does help to know about weather to some extent to get a full appreciation. I would think a complete weather neophyte might be not quite sure what to make of it. A familiarity with weather jargon helps but is not needed. The author's writing is strong enough to keep vocabulary words comfortable within the context. They don't fall out of sentences with a distinct thud.

This is true nature writing. Jan DeBlieu is clearly a naturalist. She shows us trees, sand dunes, oceans, grasses, lichens, and warblers. She gives us a wonderful glimpse of the weather, the wind, the people, and the life (all in one she would remind us) of North Carolina's Barrier Islands and Albermarle Sound. She write about aeolian geologists, wind farmers, fishermen.

Christina Rossetti asked in her famous poem "Who has seen the wind?" If anyone has, it's Jan DeBlieu.