Heaven's Breath : A Natural History of the Wind

Heaven's Breath: A Natural History of the Wind, by biologist Lyall Watson, is a wide-ranging exploration of wind as a fundamental force that has shaped geography, history, biology, and human psychology.

Watson traces wind's role in pivotal historical moments - from the battles between Greeks and Persians to the destruction of the Spanish Armada - and describes it as "the circulatory system of the earth," distributing warmth, water, and nutrients that shape plant and animal life.

The book also examines how wind determined trade routes and empires, and looks at the documented links between named winds such as the fohn, mistral, sirocco, and Santa Ana and effects on human health and mood.

Drawing on geology, evolution, mythology, art, and cultural history, it's an interdisciplinary study of a force we rarely think to examine closely.

This edition includes an introduction by Nick Hunt.