Portland Public Library

Air, the restless shaper of the world, William Bryant Logan

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 352-384) and index

index present

non fiction

Air

bibliography

755704968

William Bryant Logan

the restless shaper of the world

Examines the science of the air we breathe and how the smallest molecular changes in composition can make the difference between life and death

pt. 1. Floating -- Darwin's dust -- The spore sucker -- Where fungi are -- Splash, fire, blow, fling -- The ergot of the rye -- Lifted, lofted, and living -- The pollen rain -- Invisible cities -- Is the furniture poison? -- The air after 9/11 -- pt. 2. Spinning -- Weaving -- Vortices -- Ground truth -- El Greco's clouds -- The big mistake -- The forecasters -- The weather on D-Day -- Forcing -- The winds -- Firestorm -- pt. 3. Flying -- Dragged aloft -- Saab in flight -- The common crane -- Stall practice -- The bat, the bee, the bar-headed goose -- The lee wave -- The wind riders -- What now? -- pt. 4. Telling -- The wilderness of pheromones -- Mother and child communion -- Allure -- The atmosphere of the beloved -- Zooming in -- Aphids in the invisible world -- The bolas spider -- pt. 5. Calling -- What is sound? -- Parrot duets -- The answered question -- Nothing in it but what goes through it -- Enchanted -- Sonata form and chaos -- The Aeolian harp -- pt. 6. Breathing -- The tarpon's breath -- Fenchel's dance -- The quantity of breath -- Fogging the mirror -- Shall these bones live? -- pt. 7. Shining -- Why the daytime sky is light -- There is only one sun -- The sap rising -- The air is a slow cold flame