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Humorous introduction to each of the different characters of the cloud family, by their staunchest champion. Gavin Pretor-Pinney is the chairman and founder of The Cloud Appreciation Society, and his mission is to open our eyes to their underrated beauty and poetry. The Cloudspotter's Guide, the inaugural publication of The Cloud Appreciation Society, is a call to arms against all forms of `blue-sky thinking' - after all, `Life would be dull if we had to look up at cloudless monotony day after day.' It points out which clouds are the harbingers of fine weather, and which of unsettled. It tells of the clouds that predict earthquakes, and of the rare Morning Glory cloud in Australia that glider pilots surf like a wave. It also settles such pressing questions as, which variety of mackerel is it that lends its name to the `mackerel sky' of Cirrocumulus stratiformis undulatus? And, were the stormy Cumulonimbus thundercloud and the drizzly Nimbostratus to meet in a boxing ring, who would win? Looking up will never be the same again.
Gavin Pretor Pinney is co-founder, with Tom Hodgkinson, of The Idler magazine and contributor to Crap Towns. As head, together with Tom, of Idle Industries, he has worked on creative development for clients including the Guardian and Channel 4. He has degrees in philosophy and graphic design from Oxford and St Martin's respectively, and in August 2004 became chairman and founder member of the Cloud Appreciation Society.
* 'A lovely book, the sort that everybody should have in the car or on the kitchen windowsill' - Daily Telegraph * 'His style is genial, his enthusiasm uplifting and his book nothing less than a subtle but glorious mantra for a way of life.' - Metro * 'Read this eye-opening and amusingly written book and you will realise that beautiful as they are clouds are not just put there for decoration, they are truly awesome things.' - Daily Mail * 'Eloquent and engaging...Beautiful illustrations, photos and diagrams throughout, which show how spectacular the sights can be for the ardent cloudspotter.' - Financial Times
