Get Firmament: The Hidden Science Of Weather, Climate Change And The Air That Surrounds Us Crafted By Simon Clark Readable In Paperback

I have to say that this book was a quite fascinating journey for me, First, I have to say that it was well written and an outsider to the topic of atmospheric science can fully understand it and this is crucial since the book is popular science and not an academic textbook.
The narrative is conducted in such a way that I was getting more curious with every single sentence I read, Moreover, I have to say that some chapters were mindblowing for me, For example, when I was reading about wind, I could literally feel that the way I was thinking about the topic before is getting shattered, However, the author then gathered the shattered thoughts and created a more beautiful and scientifically correct understanding of the phenomenon,

Finally, I have to say that I would recommend everyone to read this book because, thanks to this book, I experienced amazing moments and I wish that everyone could experience the same thing.
This is a great book for anyone who wants to understand the fundamentals of the atmosphere in an accessible way, It takes us on a journey that reveals how atmospheric science as we know it developed over time, It's also a great book for anyone generally interested in the science of global warming and modern climate change, The author succeeds in describing the key features of weather and climate in sufficient detail mostly without using equations, A particular feature of the book is its coverage of the individual contributions of many scientists over the

years that made the field what it is today, The author also includes his own research in one of the chapters where he discusses the connections between upper and lower atmosphere, This chapter, however, gets a bit too technical and could have been aided by some diagrams and equations, Otherwise, it's a fantastic book and you'll feel very confident about your understanding of climate change after reading it, Amazing book. I have been a fan of Simon Clarke's YouTube channel for years due to my passion for preventing climate change, I did not really know how the atmosphere worked at all, but after this book I feel I have a better grip on it than the average person, Clarke is able to balance historical story telling with science education for a large audience of the uneducated, There are some parts that there were some issues with density, but by the end of the book I was left wanting more, An interesting readable book, explaining the weather systems, For me somehow it doesn't quite have the key ingredients to make it great, I learnt some things, but it didn't quiet hit the mark somehow, I'm not sure why, it has all the ingredients I usually like in this sort of book, Amazing book that breaks down the science of weather, climate and so much more to understandable chunks, It is written in an amazign way, includes a few jokes here and there to lighten the load and is definitely more than suitable for people who do not have huge pool of scientific knowledge.
Greatly recommend giving this book a go! This was a wonderful read!

I was very excited to read material that I don't often interact with, even marking this book as my most anticipated of the year.
I was afraid that I would be unable to comprehend parts of the book, but Simon made it easy to follow and relatable, He used easy to understand examples in laymen's terms, Firmament was thoroughly enjoyable and incredibly digestible,

This book is an easy recommendation for anyone who is interest in learning about the history of the weather, atmosphere, and the scientific instrumentation that has made our understanding possible climate change, and how the elements impact our world.
The atmosphere or even physics is not my passion, But it's relevant enough to my everyday life that I want to be at least somewhat informed, and I really appreciate this book having interesting scientist stories to spoonfeed me at least some atmospheric science.
Great introduction to climate and weather sciences, Recommended for anyone who wants to understand a bit more about how and what impacts weather on our planet, Book also offers good historic overview of how this science evolved over the years, A wonderful account of scientific progress in the field of Atmospheric Science, Dr Simon Clark does a wonderful job of explaining the math and physics behind the Beast of an Atmosphere we live beneath, . . And his writing is easy to read and witty in tone when he wants it to be, Very much recommend this book to anyone who's curious about the many systems that influence the weather,

Let's all not die out together by listening to science and literally centuries of data gathering and climate understanding, and finding solutions to climate change, Ive been a longtime fan of Simon Clarks YouTube channel, I think hes an excellent communicator, being able to boil down complicated but also very relevant topics into funny and engagingminute explainers, Hes also not shy about incorporating popular, gaming, and fantasy culture in his SciComm work, which I greatly appreciate, A lot of that wit and engaging tone is transferred to this booklength explainer of atmospheric science and its history, In fact, Firmament chapters read a little bit like extended YouTube videos, Yes, there are some clever throwbacks woven through them, but ultimately they work as nine standalone stories, At times, the jokes felt a bit weak, like they were missing a funny graphic to hit home, or a trademark whisper into the clipon mic, But overall, the easy pace and tone of the book makes it as easy to read as binging his videos is,

However: it is not a book for me, The main reason for this is the fact that the stories about the history of this science pretty much half of the book are incredibly simplistic, The positivistic framing of this history is sometimes cringeworthy, as yet another individual is described as having revolutionised the way meteorology is done, getting one step closer to the truth that we know today.
Clark may say that the history of climate science is a global one, but including two Japanese scientists amongst a swathe of your standard white men from Europe or North America does not convince me of this.
All these men and one or two women are usually introduced as been “brave”, “pioneering”, “brilliant”, “remarkable”, “ingenious”, who alone make “great discoveries” and inventions to advance the field of meteorology.
With “one foot in the past and another in a future that few others could see”, our understandings of the atmosphere apparently take “great leaps forward” because of them.


What irks me the most is the way Clark treats the discipline of history, He is clearly aware of the limits of his expertise: “As I am a physicist by training, not a biologist, I will simple say here”“I dont want to go into much more detail on oceans and their dynamics, partly because it is not my area of expertise,”.
Yet he doesnt seem to think twice about making sweeping remarks about the history of science which sometimes goes counter to what historians have written on a certain topic.
I am certainly not trying to gatekeep here I dont think Clark is trespassing in an area where he shouldnt be, In fact, Im glad to see he spent so much time on it in a book like this, But in choosing to base his story on the types of sources he does, and not engaging with thoughtful historical work and I dont mean Brian Fagan, whom he quotes at a certain point, he is telling a story that in my opinion is oldfashioned and downright misleading.
Why is biology treated as a field a physicist cant enter without permission, but history is apparently open for anyone to waltz in and just “tell it like it was”

There are a few bright spots in his historical narrative.
He notes how much scientific work in the early modern period relied on the activities of European nations and their colonies, making science inextricable from factors like the slave trade, colonial oppression, and socialDarwinist politics.
He rightfully recognises the “debt” that modern science bears with to these activities, Another example is his recognition of the way scientific institutionalisation marginalised women and people of colour, A passage on Eunice Foote and women in science since the Enlightenment is particularly good, His references to colonial violence or social inequality are welcome not only for the way they help counter traditional narratives of scientific exceptionalism ones which he unfortunately also helps perpetuate, but also just provide more richness and context to the developments he talks about.


I want to clarify that for most people, this will easily be a/book, My Goodreads score just reflects how the book resonated with me,
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