Blame It on the Rain: How the Weather Has Changed History by Laura Lee

by Laura Lee

An amazing, enlightening, and endlessly entertaining look at how weather has shaped our world.Throughout history, great leaders have fallen, the outcomes of mighty battles have been determined, and the tides of earth-shattering events have been turned by a powerful, inscrutable force of the weather. In Blame It on the Rain, author Laura Lee explores the amazing and sometimes bizarre ways in which weather has influenced our history and helped to bring about sweeping cultural change. She also delights us with a plethora of fascinating weather-related facts (Did you know that more Britons die of sunburn every year than Australians?), while offering readers a hilarious overview of humankind's many absurd attempts to control the elements.If a weather-produced blight hadn't severely damaged French vineyards, there might never have been a California wine industry. . . .What weather phenomenon was responsible for the sound of the Stradivarius?If there had been a late autumn in Russia, Hitler could have won World War II. . . .Did weather play a part in Truman's victory over Dewey?Eye-opening, edifying, and totally unexpected, Blame It on the Rain is a fascinating appreciation of the destiny-altering vagaries of mother nature—and it's even more fun than watching the Weather Channel!

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Science, Nature, World History

Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Laura Lee is the author of 22 books. In addition to a large catalog of humorous reference titles such as The Pocket Encyclopedia of Aggravation and Don't Screw It Up, she has written one children's book, A Child's Introduction to Ballet, two novels, Angel and Identity Theft, and Oscar's Ghost, which deals with conflicts between members of Oscar Wilde's circle over his legacy after the playwright's death and Wilde Nights & Robber Barons, the story of a member of Wilde's circle who went on to be part of an international band of confidence tricksters who used false titles of nobility.

The San Francisco Chronicle has said of her work: "Lee's dry, humorous tone makes her a charming companion... She has a penchant for wordplay that is irresistible."

Lee brings to her writing a unique background which includes work as a professional mime, improvisational comic, and radio announcer. After a three-year stint as a part-time touring public relations director for a Russian ballet company, Lee has returned to her native
Michigan where she divides her time between writing and producing ballet educational tours with her partner a Russian ballet dancer and director.

Reviews

[Sesana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actually pretty interesting. I love reading history, and the concept here is a good one: how did weather affect historical events. Some of the events are big (how mud defeated Napoleon) and some are much smaller (how The Scream may have been influenced by a volcanic ash sunset). The author's writing style is good enough, and the chapters are small enough that you can easily read a bit here and a bit there.

However, the sourcing bugged me, because there was no effective sourcing. There's a long list of sources used at the back, but there are no in-text citations or footnotes to indicate which sources were used where and how. At least once, the author inserted a direct quote that she neither sourced nor attributed, and I had to take to Google to find out who said it, and in what context. Am I expecting too much for pop history to make their sources clear? Is it really that much effort to use footnotes or, better yet, list your sources at the end of each article? I would have given the book four stars if it had decent sourcing, but here we are.

[Daphne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book sounds fascinating by the cover...and it is! It has great information about how weather has shaped history and changed culture. "An entertaining 'pop-science' look at the many ways weather has affected history and continues to shape our world." But the reason I only gave this book 3 stars, even though I'm a weather nut is because I didn't care for the author's style of writing. I felt it was very choppy and just not put together very well. But as I said before, the topics she wrote about were pretty fascinating. Here's some topics that you can expect to read about if you choose to read this book:
* What weather phenomenon influenced the painting 'The Scream'?
*Would JFK have been president if it had been sunny on Election Day in 1959?
*Did the biblical story of Noah's Ark come from a real-life flood?
*what would happen if the volcano under Yellowstone erupted tomorrow?

[Barb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn’t what I expected, but that’s my own fault – I missed the emphasis on ‘history’ in the title and expected more about weather itself. Ranging from Noah’s Flood to Ben Franklin’s kite to D-Day and more, this book discusses how the weather on a particular day (sometimes days) affected various historical events.

Some of these were only a page or two long, while others were considerably longer, so it felt rather disjointed at times. The author’s sense of humor comes through and made me chuckle more than once. I’ll admit to giving her “what if”s some serious thought from time to time, but overall, I couldn’t wait to finish the book so I could move on to something more engaging.

[Cat. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been reading this book for over a month; it's so overdue the fine has stopped accruing. I have, at last, finished it, and it is worthwhile.

The premise is explained further in the subtitle: "how the weather has changed history." Most of the history the author discusses involves wars, and of course there are the obligatory chapters--three of them--on why it's bad to try to invade Russia in the winter. Generals aren't very smart, based on this particular information alone.

But there are an awful lot of other really fun things to keep me, the "I hate learning about wars!" historian, happy. Like the fact that the development of the bubonic plague in the rodents of Africa. The disease eventually hit Europe sooner and harder than it ever hit England, thus providing the English language the opportunity to spread.

More? A slave revolt that was quashed because of a disastrous rainstorm that kept several of the plotters from participating on the planned night; it was postponed to the next night. In the meantime, one of the plantation owners found out and put the kibosh on the whole thing.

The order of events is strictly chronological, so it begins way back in pre-history and ends with more recent events. In the event, I finally sorted out some of the British kings, including Henry V who was a brilliant battle strategist....and he never tried to invade Russia!

VERY fun book.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fascinating!

My only complaint: I needed maps! The author assumed prior knowledge in some cases, or at least geographical knowledge, and I would have liked to have been able to reference maps, especially since I learned weather in college by using maps.

But to think how some things have such consequences is mind-blowing. Even something like this fact is interesting: rain on election day will more likely affect republicans since they tend to live in areas where rain will make it tougher to get to the ballot. Or something like multiple weather conditions allowed a 3000-year-old body to be discovered by hikers!

Definitely recommend this book - each chapter is 3-10 pages and is perfect for picking up off and on!

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

As long as you take each story with a grain of salt, it was an interesting book. The premise was that the weather has influenced events in history and Lee explained how weather conditions contributed to events as diverse as the painting of "The Scream," the biblical flood, the many disastrous attempts to invade Russia, and why Idaho and New York got the worst of the radiation from the '50s nuclear tests in the southwest. Interesting as long as you realize that the weather was only one factor of many that influenced most of these events.

[David R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of short essays on the way weather has impacted historical events is itself variable and sometimes superficial. Some of the impacts are a bit of a stretch, for example speculating if rain in parts of just two states cost Thomas Dewey the presidency in 1948. In many cases there are minor historical errors, and there is insufficient documentation of claims. Read it for entertainment value, but be willing to view some claims skeptically.

[Todd Stockslager · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short recaps of history bent by weather. Sometimes the historical background is too short, too sketchy, or too cute. The majority of the recaps focus on changes in military fortune caused by the weather, not surprisingly since these are the most well documented. Still, Lee might have done deeper research and more serious writing to uncover more weather-related connections to history.

OK, but not great.

[Casae]

A cute little book with small chapters, sorta chronological but not necessarily so. The humorous snips get a tad tedious toward the end, so I'd suggest reading it a little at a time, maybe a few chapters a day! On the whole, totally worth it. It also serves as a brief reminder of important historical events - very nice and brief.

[krin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book of historic weather events around the world. The parts that will stay with me include the chapters about various invasions of Russia, the desert battle of Hattin during the Crusades, and how an El Nino contributed to Robert Falcon Scott's demise in Antarctica.

[The Tick · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had really high hopes for this book, but the writing style just didn't grab me. I kept going because of the subject matter, but it took me forever and I'm still not super happy with it, although I'm not unhappy enough to give it less than 3 stars either.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Russia has two generals whom she can trust--General January and General February."

"The snow doesn't give a soft white damn whom it touches."

[Hapzydeco · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like that how the origins of words was presented.

[Kathleen McRae · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book. It relates episodes in history where the weather has literally changed the course of history or an event in history.

[Carrie]

weather