Lightning

There exist few phenomena more awe-inspiring than lightning. Streaking across the sky, it daunts us with its power and amazes us with its beauty. As thunder strikes and lightning flashes, we cower from it in fear and marvel at it in astonishment.Lightning explores this natural phenomenon and traces the long history of our engagement with it. By examining the assumptions of early civilizations – from ancient Mesopotamia to the Incas and the Holy Roman Empire – which believed lightning to be the work of gods and goddesses, through to eighteenth-century scientific analyses (including Benjamin Franklin’s kite experiment), we discover the surprising and rich history of mankind’s efforts to understand and explain lightning. Taking an insightful look at folklore beliefs about lightning protection, with examples as diverse as simply covering household mirrors to nailing animal skins to ship masts, as well as contrasting these with today’s more scientific approaches, this book is a fascinating chronicle of how lightning has both perplexed and enamoured us throughout the ages.Tracking the path of lightning through our culture, from myths and legends to art and design, this beautifully illustrated book includes stunning photographs of lightning displays, storm deities and depictions of lightning in art, in addition to offering advice on how to avoid being struck by lightning. Lightning will appeal to all those interested in weather, the environment, folklore, and the art and science of earth’s most extreme forces of nature.