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The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind
New York Times
bestselling author Simon Winchester returns with a thought-provoking history of the wind, written in his edifying and entertaining style.
What is going on with our atmosphere? The headlines are filled with news of devastating hurricanes, murderous tornadoes, and cataclysmic fires affecting large swaths of America. Gale force advisories are issued on a regular basis by the National Weather Service.
In 2023, a report was released by atmospheric scientists at the University of Northern Illinois, warning that winds—the force at the center of all these dangerous natural events—are expected to steadily increase in the years ahead, strengthening in power, speed, and frequency.
While this prediction worried the insurance industry, governmental leaders, scientists, and conscientious citizens, one particular segment of society received it with unbridled enthusiasm. To the energy industry, rising wind strength and speeds as an unalloyed boon for humankind—a vital source of clean and “safe” power.
Between these two poles—wind as a malevolent force, and wind as savior of our planet—lies a world of fascination, history, literature, science, poetry, and engineering which Simon Winchester explores with the curiosity and vigor that are the hallmarks of his bestselling works. In The Breath of the Gods, he explains how wind plays a part in our everyday lives, from airplane or car travel to the “natural disasters” that are becoming more frequent and regular.
The Breath of the Gods is an urgently-needed portrait across time of that unseen force—unseen but not unfelt—that respects no national borders and no vessel or structure in its path. Wind, the movement of the air, is seen by so many as a heavenly creation and generally a thing of essential goodness. But when it flexes its invisible muscles, all should take care and be very afraid.
What is going on with our atmosphere? The headlines are filled with news of devastating hurricanes, murderous tornadoes, and cataclysmic fires affecting large swaths of America. Gale force advisories are issued on a regular basis by the National Weather Service.
In 2023, a report was released by atmospheric scientists at the University of Northern Illinois, warning that winds—the force at the center of all these dangerous natural events—are expected to steadily increase in the years ahead, strengthening in power, speed, and frequency.
While this prediction worried the insurance industry, governmental leaders, scientists, and conscientious citizens, one particular segment of society received it with unbridled enthusiasm. To the energy industry, rising wind strength and speeds as an unalloyed boon for humankind—a vital source of clean and “safe” power.
Between these two poles—wind as a malevolent force, and wind as savior of our planet—lies a world of fascination, history, literature, science, poetry, and engineering which Simon Winchester explores with the curiosity and vigor that are the hallmarks of his bestselling works. In The Breath of the Gods, he explains how wind plays a part in our everyday lives, from airplane or car travel to the “natural disasters” that are becoming more frequent and regular.
The Breath of the Gods is an urgently-needed portrait across time of that unseen force—unseen but not unfelt—that respects no national borders and no vessel or structure in its path. Wind, the movement of the air, is seen by so many as a heavenly creation and generally a thing of essential goodness. But when it flexes its invisible muscles, all should take care and be very afraid.
386 pages, Hardcover
First published November 18, 2025
271 people are currently reading
7250 people want to read
About the author
Simon Winchester
62 books2,335 followersSimon Winchester, OBE, is a British writer, journalist and broadcaster who resides in the United States. Through his career at The Guardian, Winchester covered numerous significant events including Bloody Sunday and the Watergate Scandal. As an author, Simon Winchester has written or contributed to over a dozen nonfiction books and authored one novel, and his articles appear in several travel publications including Condé Nast Traveler, Smithsonian Magazine, and National Geographic.
In 1969, Winchester joined The Guardian, first as regional correspondent based in Newcastle upon Tyne, but was later assigned to be the Northern Ireland Correspondent. Winchester's time in Northern Ireland placed him around several events of The Troubles, including the events of Bloody Sunday and the Belfast Hour of Terror.
After leaving Northern Ireland in 1972, Winchester was briefly assigned to Calcutta before becoming The Guardian's American correspondent in Washington, D.C., where Winchester covered news ranging from the end of Richard Nixon's administration to the start of Jimmy Carter's presidency. In 1982, while working as the Chief Foreign Feature Writer for The Sunday Times, Winchester was on location for the invasion of the Falklands Islands by Argentine forces. Suspected of being a spy, Winchester was held as a prisoner in Tierra del Fuego for three months.
Winchester's first book, In Holy Terror, was published by Faber and Faber in 1975. The book drew heavily on his first-hand experiences during the turmoils in Ulster. In 1976, Winchester published his second book, American Heartbeat, which dealt with his personal travels through the American heartland. Winchester's third book, Prison Diary, was a recounting of his imprisonment at Tierra del Fuego during the Falklands War and, as noted by Dr Jules Smith, is responsible for his rise to prominence in the United Kingdom. Throughout the 1980s and most of the 1990s, Winchester produced several travel books, most of which dealt with Asian and Pacific locations including Korea, Hong Kong, and the Yangtze River.
Winchester's first truly successful book was The Professor and the Madman (1998), published by Penguin UK as The Surgeon of Crowthorne. Telling the story of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, the book was a New York Times Best Seller, and Mel Gibson optioned the rights to a film version, likely to be directed by John Boorman.
Though Winchester still writes travel books, he has repeated the narrative non-fiction form he used in The Professor and the Madman several times, many of which ended in books placed on best sellers lists. His 2001 book, The Map that Changed the World, focused on geologist William Smith and was Whichester's second New York Times best seller. The year 2003 saw Winchester release another book on the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, The Meaning of Everything, as well as the best-selling Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded. Winchester followed Krakatoa's volcano with San Francisco's 1906 earthquake in A Crack in the Edge of the World. The Man Who Loved China (2008) retells the life of eccentric Cambridge scholar Joseph Needham, who helped to expose China to the western world. Winchester's latest book, The Alice Behind Wonderland, was released March 11, 2011.
- source Wikipedia
In 1969, Winchester joined The Guardian, first as regional correspondent based in Newcastle upon Tyne, but was later assigned to be the Northern Ireland Correspondent. Winchester's time in Northern Ireland placed him around several events of The Troubles, including the events of Bloody Sunday and the Belfast Hour of Terror.
After leaving Northern Ireland in 1972, Winchester was briefly assigned to Calcutta before becoming The Guardian's American correspondent in Washington, D.C., where Winchester covered news ranging from the end of Richard Nixon's administration to the start of Jimmy Carter's presidency. In 1982, while working as the Chief Foreign Feature Writer for The Sunday Times, Winchester was on location for the invasion of the Falklands Islands by Argentine forces. Suspected of being a spy, Winchester was held as a prisoner in Tierra del Fuego for three months.
Winchester's first book, In Holy Terror, was published by Faber and Faber in 1975. The book drew heavily on his first-hand experiences during the turmoils in Ulster. In 1976, Winchester published his second book, American Heartbeat, which dealt with his personal travels through the American heartland. Winchester's third book, Prison Diary, was a recounting of his imprisonment at Tierra del Fuego during the Falklands War and, as noted by Dr Jules Smith, is responsible for his rise to prominence in the United Kingdom. Throughout the 1980s and most of the 1990s, Winchester produced several travel books, most of which dealt with Asian and Pacific locations including Korea, Hong Kong, and the Yangtze River.
Winchester's first truly successful book was The Professor and the Madman (1998), published by Penguin UK as The Surgeon of Crowthorne. Telling the story of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, the book was a New York Times Best Seller, and Mel Gibson optioned the rights to a film version, likely to be directed by John Boorman.
Though Winchester still writes travel books, he has repeated the narrative non-fiction form he used in The Professor and the Madman several times, many of which ended in books placed on best sellers lists. His 2001 book, The Map that Changed the World, focused on geologist William Smith and was Whichester's second New York Times best seller. The year 2003 saw Winchester release another book on the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary, The Meaning of Everything, as well as the best-selling Krakatoa: The Day the World Exploded. Winchester followed Krakatoa's volcano with San Francisco's 1906 earthquake in A Crack in the Edge of the World. The Man Who Loved China (2008) retells the life of eccentric Cambridge scholar Joseph Needham, who helped to expose China to the western world. Winchester's latest book, The Alice Behind Wonderland, was released March 11, 2011.
- source Wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 73 reviews
October 18, 2025
Author Simon Winchester needs to be stopped. This mad scientist of a writer wrote his last book on knowledge. Are you looking for me to be more specific? I can't. It was on all of human knowledge. Apparently, such a challenge was too undemanding. Winchester has now decided to take on wind (yes, just wind) in The Breath of the Gods. And guess what? It's another triumph. There will be no stopping him, apparently. For goodness sake, he'll probably write about the dictionary next. Wait, he already did!?
What I enjoyed about The Breath of the Gods is what I also enjoyed about his most recent previous book, Knowing What We Know. They both feel like a conversation with a friend on a park bench with perfect weather. His prose forces you to slow down and consider the little things. What you get is a mixture of personal stories, epic tales, and some forgotten people. Just for example, the book contains sections on the following: tumbleweed, windmills, Typhoon Tip, napalm, and D-Day.
Do those sound like things that have no connective tissue? I thought so too, but here we are. It's another wonderful aspect that I think if you deleted Winchester's book and forced him to write it again, you would probably end up with a completely different book. It would still be about the wind, but the topics contained within would change. This isn't to say the book is in any way arbitrary. It is just another way to say that Winchester has complete control over the topic to the point that he could swerve the entire narrative with ease.
For goodness sake. The man will probably just write about land next. Oh my God, he already did that, too!
(This book was provided as a review copy by Harper Books.)
What I enjoyed about The Breath of the Gods is what I also enjoyed about his most recent previous book, Knowing What We Know. They both feel like a conversation with a friend on a park bench with perfect weather. His prose forces you to slow down and consider the little things. What you get is a mixture of personal stories, epic tales, and some forgotten people. Just for example, the book contains sections on the following: tumbleweed, windmills, Typhoon Tip, napalm, and D-Day.
Do those sound like things that have no connective tissue? I thought so too, but here we are. It's another wonderful aspect that I think if you deleted Winchester's book and forced him to write it again, you would probably end up with a completely different book. It would still be about the wind, but the topics contained within would change. This isn't to say the book is in any way arbitrary. It is just another way to say that Winchester has complete control over the topic to the point that he could swerve the entire narrative with ease.
For goodness sake. The man will probably just write about land next. Oh my God, he already did that, too!
(This book was provided as a review copy by Harper Books.)
January 28, 2026
Simon Winchester’s latest expansive historical and scientific topic is the wind. The book is structured around the Beaufort Scale (0-13, from calm to storm). It covers ancient civilizations' naming of winds, the consequences of significant wind related events, and concerns about climate change. It includes such topics as wind measurement, ocean storms, natural disasters, the spread of radioactivity, notable local winds, and much more.
Winchester analyzes how different history could have been if winds had blown differently, particularly at Chernobyl and bombings during WWII. He includes minute-by-minute accounts of specific shipwrecks and firestorms. As is usual in Winchester’s works, this book is wide-ranging and global. It starts slowly and gains momentum. The writing is erudite, with snippets of dry humor. I always enjoy Winchester’s works. I find them educational and entertaining. Recommended to readers interested in a combination of history and science.
Winchester analyzes how different history could have been if winds had blown differently, particularly at Chernobyl and bombings during WWII. He includes minute-by-minute accounts of specific shipwrecks and firestorms. As is usual in Winchester’s works, this book is wide-ranging and global. It starts slowly and gains momentum. The writing is erudite, with snippets of dry humor. I always enjoy Winchester’s works. I find them educational and entertaining. Recommended to readers interested in a combination of history and science.
December 13, 2025
So many peripheral, unconnected stories, so little about the actual climate systems or anything really related to wind. Maybe half, even less of the book should've been left after editing.
March 17, 2026
Some interesting parts, but not my favourite Winchester by far. Also, his narration in this one was terrible (though I don't remember not liking it in past books).
November 30, 2025
Fascinating as always. Some people have voices that are so powerful that they could read a phone book and make it interesting. Winchester can write about anything and make it exciting, captivating, and inspiring.
February 25, 2026
As a sailor, I absolutely loved this book, but if you’ve ever marveled or even wondered about the wind, you also will find it fascinating.
The Sumerians did. Credited with the world’s first written language they are also credited with having the first written name for something that is invisible, “lil”. Wind.
Simon Winchester’s encyclopedic collection of stories about wind related topics from the obvious, storms, to the less obvious, e.g. Kuahiwi home on Oahu admired for its beauty and wonderful use of site-specific wind patterns, should satisfy any of its wind-curious readers.
It is indeed a breath of fresh air as well as The Breath of the Gods. I’ve always found wind mystical. Something invisible that can move us, frighten us provide us with power and life.
The Sumerians did. Credited with the world’s first written language they are also credited with having the first written name for something that is invisible, “lil”. Wind.
Simon Winchester’s encyclopedic collection of stories about wind related topics from the obvious, storms, to the less obvious, e.g. Kuahiwi home on Oahu admired for its beauty and wonderful use of site-specific wind patterns, should satisfy any of its wind-curious readers.
It is indeed a breath of fresh air as well as The Breath of the Gods. I’ve always found wind mystical. Something invisible that can move us, frighten us provide us with power and life.
January 16, 2026
I love the subject matter and enjoyed his stories about wind. However, I struggled a bit with his writing style. Too many very long, run-on sentences and lots of technical & British words that weren't even in my American English dictionary.
February 5, 2026
ok so the same moving air that cools your skin, carries the smell of rain, and nudges leaves on a tree can also strip soil from a continent, topple buildings, and power entire countries.... yeah
notes:
- The South African naturalist Lyall Watson sketched a Biological Wind Scale that begins with a straight plume of chimney smoke, then a slight lean, then the first touch of wind on the face
- Plants rely on that subtle motion.Most cannot move themselves, so their seeds must.
- Maples and sycamores use stiff wings called samaras that act as small spinning blades, slowing their fall and letting the wind push them sideways as they descend
- When the first astronauts landed on the moon in July 1969, viewers saw a flag beside them that seemed to ripple.In reality the moon has no meaningful atmosphere and therefore no wind at all, so engineers had hidden a rigid bar along its top edge to hold it out.That bit of stagecraft points to the basic rule behind every breeze: wind only exists where there is air to move and some source of energy to disturb it.
- moving air is the atmosphere, a shell of gases wrapped around the planet and pinned in place by gravity (and casually weighs about 5.5 quadrillion tons?)
- Most of the weather and almost all winds that affect daily life unfold in the lowest slice, the troposphere, which extends only a few miles up before a boundary marks the start of the calmer stratosphere above
- Near the equator, strong heating drives rising air that spreads poleward aloft and sinks again around the subtropics; these loops are the Hadley cells.In midlatitudes, Ferrel cells link that sinking air to the surface westerlies, while nearer the poles, cold polar cells move dense air outward from the ice caps.
on wind power:
- Prairie wind pumps, sold from the 1880s onward, use nothing but moving air to haul water from deep wells into stock tanks, keeping livestock and families supplied in territory that might otherwise be hard to inhabit.Sailors mastered that same working power at sea even earlier.River craft on the Nile once could only drift downwind, but sailors learned to reshape sails and rigging so vessels could angle across the wind and even claw upwind.
- wherever breezes were reliable, they could be treated as a patient, unpaid workforce.In the late nineteenth century, inventors began asking wind to make electricity.
- In 1887 Scottish engineer James Blyth built a cloth-sailed generator that charged batteries and lit his cottage
- Hundreds of thousands of turbines operate worldwide, and wind already supplies more than half of Denmark’s electricity and significant shares in economies such as Germany and China
- Just before Christmas 1974, a tropical system in the Arafura Sea tightened and turned toward Darwin in northern Australia.In the early hours of Christmas Day, gusts reached 217 kilometers per hour before instruments failed; by dawn about 90 percent of the city’s houses lay wrecked and tens of thousands of residents had been flown out in an emergency airlift while a new, storm-hardened Darwin was planned and built.Events like these help explain why, in 2013, Admiral Samuel J.Locklear III, then commanding more than 300,000 US personnel in the Indo-Pacific, warned that rising seas, displaced populations, and more violent cyclones linked to climate change could pose a greater long-term threat to security than rival states.The same moving air that can carry seeds, turn mills, and drive turbines is also reshaping where people live and where they will be forced to start again.
- The faster the air moves, the faster the cups whirl, and gears in the base turn that motion into a dial reading in familiar units.Tables of drag for different shapes, already circulating among Victorian engineers, let Robinson link cup speed to wind speed with useful accuracy, and versions of his anemometer still stand on masts and rooftops around the world.
notes:
- The South African naturalist Lyall Watson sketched a Biological Wind Scale that begins with a straight plume of chimney smoke, then a slight lean, then the first touch of wind on the face
- Plants rely on that subtle motion.Most cannot move themselves, so their seeds must.
- Maples and sycamores use stiff wings called samaras that act as small spinning blades, slowing their fall and letting the wind push them sideways as they descend
- When the first astronauts landed on the moon in July 1969, viewers saw a flag beside them that seemed to ripple.In reality the moon has no meaningful atmosphere and therefore no wind at all, so engineers had hidden a rigid bar along its top edge to hold it out.That bit of stagecraft points to the basic rule behind every breeze: wind only exists where there is air to move and some source of energy to disturb it.
- moving air is the atmosphere, a shell of gases wrapped around the planet and pinned in place by gravity (and casually weighs about 5.5 quadrillion tons?)
- Most of the weather and almost all winds that affect daily life unfold in the lowest slice, the troposphere, which extends only a few miles up before a boundary marks the start of the calmer stratosphere above
- Near the equator, strong heating drives rising air that spreads poleward aloft and sinks again around the subtropics; these loops are the Hadley cells.In midlatitudes, Ferrel cells link that sinking air to the surface westerlies, while nearer the poles, cold polar cells move dense air outward from the ice caps.
on wind power:
- Prairie wind pumps, sold from the 1880s onward, use nothing but moving air to haul water from deep wells into stock tanks, keeping livestock and families supplied in territory that might otherwise be hard to inhabit.Sailors mastered that same working power at sea even earlier.River craft on the Nile once could only drift downwind, but sailors learned to reshape sails and rigging so vessels could angle across the wind and even claw upwind.
- wherever breezes were reliable, they could be treated as a patient, unpaid workforce.In the late nineteenth century, inventors began asking wind to make electricity.
- In 1887 Scottish engineer James Blyth built a cloth-sailed generator that charged batteries and lit his cottage
- Hundreds of thousands of turbines operate worldwide, and wind already supplies more than half of Denmark’s electricity and significant shares in economies such as Germany and China
- Just before Christmas 1974, a tropical system in the Arafura Sea tightened and turned toward Darwin in northern Australia.In the early hours of Christmas Day, gusts reached 217 kilometers per hour before instruments failed; by dawn about 90 percent of the city’s houses lay wrecked and tens of thousands of residents had been flown out in an emergency airlift while a new, storm-hardened Darwin was planned and built.Events like these help explain why, in 2013, Admiral Samuel J.Locklear III, then commanding more than 300,000 US personnel in the Indo-Pacific, warned that rising seas, displaced populations, and more violent cyclones linked to climate change could pose a greater long-term threat to security than rival states.The same moving air that can carry seeds, turn mills, and drive turbines is also reshaping where people live and where they will be forced to start again.
- The faster the air moves, the faster the cups whirl, and gears in the base turn that motion into a dial reading in familiar units.Tables of drag for different shapes, already circulating among Victorian engineers, let Robinson link cup speed to wind speed with useful accuracy, and versions of his anemometer still stand on masts and rooftops around the world.
February 24, 2026
3.5
This was really good. I love how the information is presented because it's very easy and fun to consume. However, despite my brother being a meteorologist and trying to get me into weather for years, I'm just not. The subject isn't for me and won't stick. But I think this book would be a great starting point for those interested in the subject.
This was really good. I love how the information is presented because it's very easy and fun to consume. However, despite my brother being a meteorologist and trying to get me into weather for years, I'm just not. The subject isn't for me and won't stick. But I think this book would be a great starting point for those interested in the subject.
January 21, 2026
This is a long book. Really long. The audiobook is about 13 hours, which is much longer than the usual 6 to 9 hours I expect.
The narration is done by the author himself. His voice is quite flat and blunt, and at first it felt like someone narrating without much vocal range. It took time to get used to, but eventually I did. Since he wrote the book and narrated it himself, I am okay with that choice.
The book covers many things. It moves across history, science, language, and culture. It starts from how wind was named or mentioned and goes all the way through world wars and modern times. The author constantly moves back and forth across topics, and that wandering style is clearly part of the book’s intent.
What surprised me is that someone can write a book this long about a single natural force and still keep going. There are no big surprises here. By the title alone, you already know what kind of book this is.
My opinion is biased. I like boring books. I like long chapter books, science books, and long essays. Because of that, I do not strongly recommend or discourage this book for others.
For me, I liked it. I would rate it 3 out of 5. It is a good book in the sense that it meets expectations. It delivers exactly what it promises and nothing more. There are no surprises, and that is why I was satisfied.
Would I read this author again? Probably yes.
The narration is done by the author himself. His voice is quite flat and blunt, and at first it felt like someone narrating without much vocal range. It took time to get used to, but eventually I did. Since he wrote the book and narrated it himself, I am okay with that choice.
The book covers many things. It moves across history, science, language, and culture. It starts from how wind was named or mentioned and goes all the way through world wars and modern times. The author constantly moves back and forth across topics, and that wandering style is clearly part of the book’s intent.
What surprised me is that someone can write a book this long about a single natural force and still keep going. There are no big surprises here. By the title alone, you already know what kind of book this is.
My opinion is biased. I like boring books. I like long chapter books, science books, and long essays. Because of that, I do not strongly recommend or discourage this book for others.
For me, I liked it. I would rate it 3 out of 5. It is a good book in the sense that it meets expectations. It delivers exactly what it promises and nothing more. There are no surprises, and that is why I was satisfied.
Would I read this author again? Probably yes.
February 4, 2026
I have loved multiple Simon Winchester books through the decades. I have been a faithful reader. I have marveled at his depth, breadth, and perspicacity on multiple interesting subjects. However, for this book, I noticed an untrue and unfair assertion plus another unnecessary politicalization… throwing in his politics and his resentment rather than sticking to the wind. It was a turn-off. I’m tired of the school of resentment and apparently Winchester is not immune to the virus. I didn’t finish the book.
January 31, 2026
Fascinating book. Part history, part geography, part meteorology. Highly recommend to those that are fans of Winchester and the subjects listed.
Read
February 5, 2026"The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind" by Simon Winchester invites the reader to notice something so constant it is usually ignored: the moving air that surrounds every moment of human life. Even on days that seem calm, the atmosphere is never truly still. Tiny clues - a drifting wisp of smoke, seeds floating away, a sudden shift in scent - reveal that we live submerged in a vast, invisible ocean of air. Winchester’s central idea is that wind is not merely background weather but a force that connects ecosystems, shapes civilizations, drives economies, and increasingly defines the future of energy and climate. By tracing wind from its faintest whispers to its most destructive power, the book reframes something ordinary as one of the planet’s most consequential actors.
The story begins with the quietest movements of air, the breezes so gentle they barely register as wind at all. Winchester shows how even these light currents have profound effects. Smoke from distant wildfires can travel thousands of miles, dust can cross continents, and seeds can spread far beyond the reach of their parent plants. What appears to be stillness is actually constant motion, especially higher in the atmosphere where steady flows transport particles through the layers where weather and pollution mix. Humans have long relied on their own senses to interpret these subtle winds, reading smoke, dust, and physical sensation as informal measuring tools. Plants, unable to move themselves, depend even more heavily on this restless air. Feather-light seeds, spinning samaras, and rolling tumbleweeds are all biological adaptations that turn wind into a delivery system, sometimes with unintended consequences when invasive species spread across entire landscapes. These examples make clear that even the weakest winds quietly reshape the natural world.
From these small-scale effects, Winchester zooms out to explain where wind comes from at all. Wind exists because Earth has an atmosphere and because the sun heats the planet unevenly. As land, sea, and ice absorb sunlight differently, warm air rises and cooler air rushes in to replace it. This simple process, multiplied across a rotating, tilted globe, creates vast circulation systems that encircle the planet. These systems organize winds into recognizable patterns - the trade winds, the westerlies, and the jet streams - that influence climate, weather, and human settlement. The atmosphere’s lowest layer, where most weather occurs, becomes a stage on which solar energy, gravity, and rotation interact continuously. Understanding these large-scale patterns explains why certain regions prospered through navigation and agriculture while others endured extremes of heat, cold, or storms. Wind, in this sense, becomes one of the invisible architects of history.
Once humans understood these patterns, they learned to exploit them. Winchester traces how wind shifted from an environmental force into a tool for survival and progress. Sailing civilizations learned to read and ride prevailing winds to move goods, people, and ideas across oceans. On land, windmills and pumps turned air into mechanical labor, grinding grain or lifting water in places where other resources were scarce. In regions like the Netherlands, wind power made the difference between inhabitable land and flooded marsh. On the American plains, simple wind-driven pumps sustained farms in otherwise unforgiving territory. These technologies treated wind as a dependable worker - free, renewable, and persistent. Eventually, inventors began converting that motion into electricity, setting the stage for modern wind energy.
The development of wind power as a source of electricity marks a turning point in the book. Early experiments were modest, lighting single homes or charging small batteries, but over time turbines grew taller, blades longer, and systems more efficient. By the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, wind farms had become major contributors to national power grids. Winchester emphasizes that this transition is not merely technological but cultural. Societies that once viewed wind as unpredictable or destructive began to see it as a strategic asset. In countries with consistent wind resources, turbines now generate a substantial share of electricity, offering an alternative to fossil fuels and a partial answer to climate concerns. The same force that once filled sails and turned millstones now powers cities.
To harness wind effectively, however, people had to learn how to measure it. Winchester explores the challenge of quantifying something invisible and constantly changing. Early attempts were crude and imaginative, but over time more reliable instruments emerged. Devices like the cup anemometer transformed spinning motion into numerical readings, while standardized scales translated wind strength into observable effects. These systems allowed sailors, engineers, and meteorologists to communicate clearly about conditions and risks. Yet the book makes clear that measurement can never fully capture how wind behaves. Numbers help, but experience and observation still matter, especially when winds grow violent.
The darker side of wind emerges in the book’s exploration of extreme events. Winchester recounts how prolonged drought and relentless winds combined to create the Dust Bowl, lifting fertile soil into massive clouds that darkened skies far from their origin and destroyed livelihoods across the Great Plains. Entire communities were displaced as land itself seemed to vanish. Elsewhere, regions learned to adapt to recurring strong winds by reshaping architecture and daily life, building homes and cities designed to withstand regular gales. Tropical cyclones, however, show how devastating wind can become when combined with heat and moisture. Entire cities have been flattened in hours, forcing mass evacuations and costly rebuilding. These events highlight how vulnerable modern societies remain, despite technological advances.
In the context of climate change, wind takes on new significance. Winchester connects shifting wind patterns to rising temperatures, stronger storms, and changing weather extremes. Military leaders, planners, and scientists increasingly recognize that altered wind behavior can destabilize regions, displace populations, and strain resources. At the same time, wind energy represents one of the most promising tools for reducing the very emissions driving these changes. This dual role - both threat and solution - underscores the complexity of humanity’s relationship with the atmosphere.
In conclusion, "The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind" by Simon Winchester reveals that wind is far more than a background feature of daily life. It is a force that links distant places, drives ecological and human systems, and shapes both history and the future. From the quiet drift of seeds to the roar of hurricanes, from ancient sails to modern turbines, wind has always been at work. As the climate shifts and societies search for sustainable energy, understanding this invisible power becomes essential. Winchester leaves the reader with a renewed awareness that air, though unseen, is one of the most influential elements on Earth - and that learning to live with it wisely may determine what comes next.
The story begins with the quietest movements of air, the breezes so gentle they barely register as wind at all. Winchester shows how even these light currents have profound effects. Smoke from distant wildfires can travel thousands of miles, dust can cross continents, and seeds can spread far beyond the reach of their parent plants. What appears to be stillness is actually constant motion, especially higher in the atmosphere where steady flows transport particles through the layers where weather and pollution mix. Humans have long relied on their own senses to interpret these subtle winds, reading smoke, dust, and physical sensation as informal measuring tools. Plants, unable to move themselves, depend even more heavily on this restless air. Feather-light seeds, spinning samaras, and rolling tumbleweeds are all biological adaptations that turn wind into a delivery system, sometimes with unintended consequences when invasive species spread across entire landscapes. These examples make clear that even the weakest winds quietly reshape the natural world.
From these small-scale effects, Winchester zooms out to explain where wind comes from at all. Wind exists because Earth has an atmosphere and because the sun heats the planet unevenly. As land, sea, and ice absorb sunlight differently, warm air rises and cooler air rushes in to replace it. This simple process, multiplied across a rotating, tilted globe, creates vast circulation systems that encircle the planet. These systems organize winds into recognizable patterns - the trade winds, the westerlies, and the jet streams - that influence climate, weather, and human settlement. The atmosphere’s lowest layer, where most weather occurs, becomes a stage on which solar energy, gravity, and rotation interact continuously. Understanding these large-scale patterns explains why certain regions prospered through navigation and agriculture while others endured extremes of heat, cold, or storms. Wind, in this sense, becomes one of the invisible architects of history.
Once humans understood these patterns, they learned to exploit them. Winchester traces how wind shifted from an environmental force into a tool for survival and progress. Sailing civilizations learned to read and ride prevailing winds to move goods, people, and ideas across oceans. On land, windmills and pumps turned air into mechanical labor, grinding grain or lifting water in places where other resources were scarce. In regions like the Netherlands, wind power made the difference between inhabitable land and flooded marsh. On the American plains, simple wind-driven pumps sustained farms in otherwise unforgiving territory. These technologies treated wind as a dependable worker - free, renewable, and persistent. Eventually, inventors began converting that motion into electricity, setting the stage for modern wind energy.
The development of wind power as a source of electricity marks a turning point in the book. Early experiments were modest, lighting single homes or charging small batteries, but over time turbines grew taller, blades longer, and systems more efficient. By the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, wind farms had become major contributors to national power grids. Winchester emphasizes that this transition is not merely technological but cultural. Societies that once viewed wind as unpredictable or destructive began to see it as a strategic asset. In countries with consistent wind resources, turbines now generate a substantial share of electricity, offering an alternative to fossil fuels and a partial answer to climate concerns. The same force that once filled sails and turned millstones now powers cities.
To harness wind effectively, however, people had to learn how to measure it. Winchester explores the challenge of quantifying something invisible and constantly changing. Early attempts were crude and imaginative, but over time more reliable instruments emerged. Devices like the cup anemometer transformed spinning motion into numerical readings, while standardized scales translated wind strength into observable effects. These systems allowed sailors, engineers, and meteorologists to communicate clearly about conditions and risks. Yet the book makes clear that measurement can never fully capture how wind behaves. Numbers help, but experience and observation still matter, especially when winds grow violent.
The darker side of wind emerges in the book’s exploration of extreme events. Winchester recounts how prolonged drought and relentless winds combined to create the Dust Bowl, lifting fertile soil into massive clouds that darkened skies far from their origin and destroyed livelihoods across the Great Plains. Entire communities were displaced as land itself seemed to vanish. Elsewhere, regions learned to adapt to recurring strong winds by reshaping architecture and daily life, building homes and cities designed to withstand regular gales. Tropical cyclones, however, show how devastating wind can become when combined with heat and moisture. Entire cities have been flattened in hours, forcing mass evacuations and costly rebuilding. These events highlight how vulnerable modern societies remain, despite technological advances.
In the context of climate change, wind takes on new significance. Winchester connects shifting wind patterns to rising temperatures, stronger storms, and changing weather extremes. Military leaders, planners, and scientists increasingly recognize that altered wind behavior can destabilize regions, displace populations, and strain resources. At the same time, wind energy represents one of the most promising tools for reducing the very emissions driving these changes. This dual role - both threat and solution - underscores the complexity of humanity’s relationship with the atmosphere.
In conclusion, "The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind" by Simon Winchester reveals that wind is far more than a background feature of daily life. It is a force that links distant places, drives ecological and human systems, and shapes both history and the future. From the quiet drift of seeds to the roar of hurricanes, from ancient sails to modern turbines, wind has always been at work. As the climate shifts and societies search for sustainable energy, understanding this invisible power becomes essential. Winchester leaves the reader with a renewed awareness that air, though unseen, is one of the most influential elements on Earth - and that learning to live with it wisely may determine what comes next.
December 28, 2025
Not what I expected. Pretty boring. There were a few interesting bits but overall I would not recommend.
March 17, 2026
2.5 stars rounded down, rounding down rather than up, even though it's already under 4 stars. The discursiveness, including man-made "wind" being part of it, is why, along with errors.
This guaranteed some sort of 3-star review at best on page 61, when he talked about Bing Crosby writing a song, “The Singing Sands of Alamosa,” actually about the somewhat nearby Great Sand Dunes National Park. The issue? Winchester says in a footnote he was then in Cincinnati and “there being few places of interest in the plains of western Kansas or eastern Colorado to detain the passing stranger, it turned out to be a journey, one very long and full day.”
On matters historical, we’ll start further east of western Kansas. There’s the Gateway Arch National Park, far more than the arch itself, but also including the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial with plenty of historical information in the Arch grounds. There’s the National Frontier Trails Museum in Independence, Missouri, chock full of Santa Fe, Oregon and California trails information. There’s the tourist attraction of Boot Hill in Dodge City, Kansas. There’s Bent’s Fort in southeastern Colorado, a key site for mountain men and other trappers, both Hispanics from Mexico and Anglos coming down the Santa Fe Trail, to trade with southern Plains Indians and which, per the book’s title, can be quite windy. (Later in the book, he talks about the Oklahoma Panhandle town of Willow, with the implication he stopped there, so he contradicts himself, unless he read about the marker there, but he still contradicts himself indirectly, I’d argue. And Tom Cole’s Congressional district does not include the Panhandle)
And, once again, although this time not technically an error of fact, Soy Boy the History Nerd, aka Brendan the Toddler, drives right by this. (He also misses an actual error later; let me not praise him with faint damns, and besides, I haven't called you, and your cult, out in a while.)
As for “The Great Stilling”? Wind speeds are slowing down only on land, and last I checked, water covered 70 percent or more of the planet’s surface.
While ancient Polynesians did not have compasses or sextants, they did use knowledge of ocean swells and birds as well as winds. And, Micronesians, considered a parallel group within Austronesians to Polynesians, today retain knowledge of a stick chart that plots “reflections” of waves and swells. For more, go here. (That said, technically, Austronesians invented the crab claw sail and everything else Winchester mentions before splitting into Micronesian, Polynesian and Melanesian.)
Scotland was not Catholic in 1588. Some Highland clans, yes; the nation, no. James VI (actually his regency) ratified changes that officially established Presbyterianism in 1567. By 1588, it had taken firm root in the Lowlands.
Walter Munk, I’ll admit I’d never heard of before. He surely played a part in the weather success of D-Day, but also surely should still take second place to James Stagg, better known for a reason. So, Munk as “The Man who Delayed D-Day”? Meh. That said, per Wiki, Stagg also gets too much credit, perhaps. Norway’s Sverre Petterssen deserves more accolade, it seems.
I’ll definitely confess to not knowing James Blyth as inventor of the first wind turbine way back in 1887. Charles Brush in the US added a braking mechanism to the general idea a few years later and so gets credit.
As for a half-sneer early in the book about modern Hawaiian Polynesians sailing west (edit) to Africa as part of recreating, or expanding on, old trips, with Winchester naming Ghana? Uhh, Austronesians of some sort sailed west (edit) to colonize Madagascar. (Don't want to perpetuate an error myself with wrong directions!)
And, he falls into 2-star-ish territory with the old, and untrue, claim that we dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in a mix of racism and a shot across the bow of the USSR. The latter is certainly not true. I've talked about this many times, like here. And, the jet streams could have been discussed without this, and the firestorms themselves are human-made "wind." (Side note: I've read Gar Alperovitz and others; do people like Winchester who read the likes of him also read the likes of Frank and Gallucchio?)
This guaranteed some sort of 3-star review at best on page 61, when he talked about Bing Crosby writing a song, “The Singing Sands of Alamosa,” actually about the somewhat nearby Great Sand Dunes National Park. The issue? Winchester says in a footnote he was then in Cincinnati and “there being few places of interest in the plains of western Kansas or eastern Colorado to detain the passing stranger, it turned out to be a journey, one very long and full day.”
On matters historical, we’ll start further east of western Kansas. There’s the Gateway Arch National Park, far more than the arch itself, but also including the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial with plenty of historical information in the Arch grounds. There’s the National Frontier Trails Museum in Independence, Missouri, chock full of Santa Fe, Oregon and California trails information. There’s the tourist attraction of Boot Hill in Dodge City, Kansas. There’s Bent’s Fort in southeastern Colorado, a key site for mountain men and other trappers, both Hispanics from Mexico and Anglos coming down the Santa Fe Trail, to trade with southern Plains Indians and which, per the book’s title, can be quite windy. (Later in the book, he talks about the Oklahoma Panhandle town of Willow, with the implication he stopped there, so he contradicts himself, unless he read about the marker there, but he still contradicts himself indirectly, I’d argue. And Tom Cole’s Congressional district does not include the Panhandle)
And, once again, although this time not technically an error of fact, Soy Boy the History Nerd, aka Brendan the Toddler, drives right by this. (He also misses an actual error later; let me not praise him with faint damns, and besides, I haven't called you, and your cult, out in a while.)
As for “The Great Stilling”? Wind speeds are slowing down only on land, and last I checked, water covered 70 percent or more of the planet’s surface.
While ancient Polynesians did not have compasses or sextants, they did use knowledge of ocean swells and birds as well as winds. And, Micronesians, considered a parallel group within Austronesians to Polynesians, today retain knowledge of a stick chart that plots “reflections” of waves and swells. For more, go here. (That said, technically, Austronesians invented the crab claw sail and everything else Winchester mentions before splitting into Micronesian, Polynesian and Melanesian.)
Scotland was not Catholic in 1588. Some Highland clans, yes; the nation, no. James VI (actually his regency) ratified changes that officially established Presbyterianism in 1567. By 1588, it had taken firm root in the Lowlands.
Walter Munk, I’ll admit I’d never heard of before. He surely played a part in the weather success of D-Day, but also surely should still take second place to James Stagg, better known for a reason. So, Munk as “The Man who Delayed D-Day”? Meh. That said, per Wiki, Stagg also gets too much credit, perhaps. Norway’s Sverre Petterssen deserves more accolade, it seems.
I’ll definitely confess to not knowing James Blyth as inventor of the first wind turbine way back in 1887. Charles Brush in the US added a braking mechanism to the general idea a few years later and so gets credit.
As for a half-sneer early in the book about modern Hawaiian Polynesians sailing west (edit) to Africa as part of recreating, or expanding on, old trips, with Winchester naming Ghana? Uhh, Austronesians of some sort sailed west (edit) to colonize Madagascar. (Don't want to perpetuate an error myself with wrong directions!)
And, he falls into 2-star-ish territory with the old, and untrue, claim that we dropped the bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in a mix of racism and a shot across the bow of the USSR. The latter is certainly not true. I've talked about this many times, like here. And, the jet streams could have been discussed without this, and the firestorms themselves are human-made "wind." (Side note: I've read Gar Alperovitz and others; do people like Winchester who read the likes of him also read the likes of Frank and Gallucchio?)
March 5, 2026
Reading this book is rather like enduring a series of very loosely connected monologues from an aged relative.
"Sure is windy today, Gramps."
"Wind! That reminds me of a story. It was back in World War II. Preparations for D-Day were underway, and the weather forecast was critical..."
"Pretty windy out there, Gramps."
"Wind! That reminds me of a story. One of the fiercest naval battles of the Age of Sail. The Spanish Armada was..."
"Gee, listen to that wind, Gramps."
"Speaking of wind, did you know that the oboe is the world's most beautiful-sounding musical instrument? Now, that's not an opinion, that's an objective fact. You see, the double reed of the oboe is fashioned from..." [There really is a six-page lecture on this in the book.]
"Excuse me, Gramps, but what does wind have to do with the oboe?"
"Well, it's a WIND instrument, isn't it? Don't they teach you anything in that school of yours?"
"Wow, Gramps, look at those snow drifts."
"Reminds me of my days in the Sahara. You know, wind piles up flakes of snow and grains of sand in much the same way. [The following is an actual quote from the book.] The seasons, however, bring a welcome physical change of state to snowfalls. The regular onset of warmer springtime weather causes the snow to melt, the water's wintertime solid phase to be returned to its customary liquid phase, and then to be absorbed as liquids can be, either into the unfrozen ground or up into the gaseous atmosphere. With such changes duly made, the many challenges of winter snow start to vanish, and come soon to be regarded as only a matter of temporary inconvenience. Sand, however, does not enjoy the benefit of any phase change, no matter the environment that envelops it."
"So I think what you're trying to tell me, Gramps, is that snow melts but sand doesn't?"
"Well, you may have missed a few of the finer points..."
"You're a nice guy, Gramps, but did anyone ever tell you that you're kind of a blowhard? You know, a windbag?"
"Are you insinuating that I'm verbose, prolix, wordy, repetitious, redundant?"
"Yeah. One might even say you're... long-winded."
"Sure is windy today, Gramps."
"Wind! That reminds me of a story. It was back in World War II. Preparations for D-Day were underway, and the weather forecast was critical..."
"Pretty windy out there, Gramps."
"Wind! That reminds me of a story. One of the fiercest naval battles of the Age of Sail. The Spanish Armada was..."
"Gee, listen to that wind, Gramps."
"Speaking of wind, did you know that the oboe is the world's most beautiful-sounding musical instrument? Now, that's not an opinion, that's an objective fact. You see, the double reed of the oboe is fashioned from..." [There really is a six-page lecture on this in the book.]
"Excuse me, Gramps, but what does wind have to do with the oboe?"
"Well, it's a WIND instrument, isn't it? Don't they teach you anything in that school of yours?"
"Wow, Gramps, look at those snow drifts."
"Reminds me of my days in the Sahara. You know, wind piles up flakes of snow and grains of sand in much the same way. [The following is an actual quote from the book.] The seasons, however, bring a welcome physical change of state to snowfalls. The regular onset of warmer springtime weather causes the snow to melt, the water's wintertime solid phase to be returned to its customary liquid phase, and then to be absorbed as liquids can be, either into the unfrozen ground or up into the gaseous atmosphere. With such changes duly made, the many challenges of winter snow start to vanish, and come soon to be regarded as only a matter of temporary inconvenience. Sand, however, does not enjoy the benefit of any phase change, no matter the environment that envelops it."
"So I think what you're trying to tell me, Gramps, is that snow melts but sand doesn't?"
"Well, you may have missed a few of the finer points..."
"You're a nice guy, Gramps, but did anyone ever tell you that you're kind of a blowhard? You know, a windbag?"
"Are you insinuating that I'm verbose, prolix, wordy, repetitious, redundant?"
"Yeah. One might even say you're... long-winded."
November 26, 2025
At some point we’re going to need to stage an intervention with Simon Winchester. The man has already written definitive histories of dictionaries, maps, precision engineering, the Pacific Ocean, land itself, and the entire concept of human knowledge. Now he’s written a book about wind. Just wind. And the maddening part? It’s terrific.
Winchester’s perfected a particular magic trick: taking subjects you’d politely nod through at a dinner party and turning them into books you stay up too late reading. You will learn about tumbleweed. You will learn about the aerodynamics of maple seeds. You will find yourself emotionally invested in the history of the anemometer. This is not a drill.
He roams from the trade winds that powered empires to the firestorms of World War II, from the murderous gales off Cape Horn to the promise--and problems--of modern wind energy. He wanders through it all like a man on a long country walk with no agenda and an encyclopedic mind: here’s Chernobyl, now napalm, now the doldrums.
Do the early chapters include some throat-clearing atmospheric physics? Yes. Push through. The payoff is worth it: shipwrecks, forgotten characters, and prose vivid enough to make you feel ice forming on the rigging.
Winchester will probably write a book about dust next. I will read it immediately.
Winchester’s perfected a particular magic trick: taking subjects you’d politely nod through at a dinner party and turning them into books you stay up too late reading. You will learn about tumbleweed. You will learn about the aerodynamics of maple seeds. You will find yourself emotionally invested in the history of the anemometer. This is not a drill.
He roams from the trade winds that powered empires to the firestorms of World War II, from the murderous gales off Cape Horn to the promise--and problems--of modern wind energy. He wanders through it all like a man on a long country walk with no agenda and an encyclopedic mind: here’s Chernobyl, now napalm, now the doldrums.
Do the early chapters include some throat-clearing atmospheric physics? Yes. Push through. The payoff is worth it: shipwrecks, forgotten characters, and prose vivid enough to make you feel ice forming on the rigging.
Winchester will probably write a book about dust next. I will read it immediately.
December 28, 2025
Readable, resonant, and quietly unsettling in all the right ways. Winchester takes a force we treat as background noise — wind — and turns it into a protagonist with history, agency, and mood. This is creative nonfiction at its most inviting: complex ideas distilled into clear, memorable stories without losing their scientific backbone.
What impressed me most is how he frames atmospheric science as a kind of planetary biography. Concepts like the “Great Stilling” aren’t just explained; they’re contextualized, mythologized, and made emotionally legible. Winchester has a gift for taking sprawling, interdisciplinary material and shaping it into something that feels both intimate and vast.
The book leans pop‑science rather than technical climatology, but that’s part of its charm. It’s the kind of nonfiction that sparks curiosity rather than closing the conversation. I found myself pausing to look up terms, trace his sources, and follow the threads he lays down — not because the text is unclear, but because it opens doors.
If you enjoy narrative science, atmospheric history, or books that make you rethink the invisible architecture of the world around you, this is a rewarding, surprisingly immersive read.
Thank you to the publisher and Goodreads for the Print Galley ARC that I read.
What impressed me most is how he frames atmospheric science as a kind of planetary biography. Concepts like the “Great Stilling” aren’t just explained; they’re contextualized, mythologized, and made emotionally legible. Winchester has a gift for taking sprawling, interdisciplinary material and shaping it into something that feels both intimate and vast.
The book leans pop‑science rather than technical climatology, but that’s part of its charm. It’s the kind of nonfiction that sparks curiosity rather than closing the conversation. I found myself pausing to look up terms, trace his sources, and follow the threads he lays down — not because the text is unclear, but because it opens doors.
If you enjoy narrative science, atmospheric history, or books that make you rethink the invisible architecture of the world around you, this is a rewarding, surprisingly immersive read.
Thank you to the publisher and Goodreads for the Print Galley ARC that I read.
January 28, 2026
I have read several books by Simon Winchester, which have all been fascinating, and have several more of his books on my "to-read" shelf at home. I was very excited to learn that the author had a new book coming out and was intrigued by the topic: the wind. Then, I saw that Mr. Winchester was coming to St. Louis to give a live interview about his book at our local library. One of my daughters agreed to go hear the talk with me, which gave a wonderful introduction to the topic of this book. So, I was excited when I had the chance to listen to the audiobook version of this book. Who knew that "the wind" could be such a delightful topic! This book covers so, so many aspects of the wind - how it comes about, how it is described/rated/ranked, how it can be harnessed for energy, how it can wreak havoc through weather events, etc. The summary of this states that the author's description of wind includes elements of "history, literature, science, poetry, and engineering", which is true! The variety of topics that are presented, each of which connects in some way with the invisible force of nature known as wind, was truly astounding. I learned a lot from this book but also was thoroughly entertained. Very interested book overall! One added bonus - the author reads the audiobook himself; his delightful English accent was a true pleasure to listen to for several hours!
January 5, 2026
We know that storms are getting more frequent and stronger, but I didn’t know that this has been accompanied by The Great Stilling. Wind speeds around the globe generally fell as much as 15% between 1980 and 2010 – but only over land. Wind speeds at sea were unchanged, despite the increase in violent cyclonic windstorms. Interestingly, by 2024, it seemed to be changing back again. Why? Who knows.
I have loved all Simon Winchester’s books, although this one wasn’t as good as his books that focus on geology. Best thing I learned in there is that there is a movement afoot to build hybrid ships, (wind-assisted propulsion systems), that use the wind along with fossil fuels. A good thing, since “one large container ship is said to pollute as much each year as do fifty million cars.”
The author talked about how winds have contributed to history, often determining who wins a particular battle, or which city gets bombed, as well as wind’s beneficial effects and destructive effects. I liked the description of how scientists sought a way to measure wind speeds, and the extraordinary adventures they had pursuing legendary winds. There was a lengthy glossary of named winds at the end, but I was disappointed that he missed the derecho that devasted parts of Iowa in 2020.
I have loved all Simon Winchester’s books, although this one wasn’t as good as his books that focus on geology. Best thing I learned in there is that there is a movement afoot to build hybrid ships, (wind-assisted propulsion systems), that use the wind along with fossil fuels. A good thing, since “one large container ship is said to pollute as much each year as do fifty million cars.”
The author talked about how winds have contributed to history, often determining who wins a particular battle, or which city gets bombed, as well as wind’s beneficial effects and destructive effects. I liked the description of how scientists sought a way to measure wind speeds, and the extraordinary adventures they had pursuing legendary winds. There was a lengthy glossary of named winds at the end, but I was disappointed that he missed the derecho that devasted parts of Iowa in 2020.
January 6, 2026
Just as it is impossible to capture the wind in a bottle, it's impossible to capture all its facets in a single novel, but Simon Winchester does his best. Simon, who is also the book's wonderful narrator, takes the approach of a warm summer's fog, meandering along encompassing a wide area. The book covers everything from the global wind's potential slowing down, to the sinking of a New Zealand ferry, to the author's own experience travelling to a tornado wrecked area. While there are sections that discuss the science behind wind, this is largely a collection of stories of the wind, people's experience with wind, and wind's role in mythology, both ancient and current day.
Thank you Netgalley and HarperAudio Adult for the ARC.
Thank you Netgalley and HarperAudio Adult for the ARC.
March 1, 2026
You wouldn't think the wind would be enough to center a whole book around, but this is packaged in a way that *generally* works well. We gradually progress from gentle to intense winds, exploring historical and/or cultural backgrounds among select ones.
The author certainly has a poetic way with words, which usually made for an engaging read but sometimes was irritating. On more than one occasion, an entire page is just one or two sentences. I get the point of why he did it, but it was a little much. I also caught a few factual errors (like the claim that mammatus clouds become tornadoes)... I found it curious that his acknowledgements don't mention a meteorologist fact-checking a book about wind.
The author certainly has a poetic way with words, which usually made for an engaging read but sometimes was irritating. On more than one occasion, an entire page is just one or two sentences. I get the point of why he did it, but it was a little much. I also caught a few factual errors (like the claim that mammatus clouds become tornadoes)... I found it curious that his acknowledgements don't mention a meteorologist fact-checking a book about wind.
March 23, 2026
(Audiobook) This work looks at the impact of wind on humanity. While it does cover weather and impacts of climate on human evolution and major weather events, from major storms to the impacts of weather on military operations (think D-Day), it also discusses other aspects of wind’s impact on humanity. In particular, it looks at music and wind instruments, noting how wind is a part of that feature. Using a natural weather phenomenon, Winchester expands on various themes, some obvious links, and some no so obvious. However, it is creative and engaging for a topic that doesn’t necessarily lend itself to such interest. Overall, a solid listen/read and one worth the time to checkout from the library.
November 25, 2025
everything you wanted to know about the wind
Like many of his previous books, Simon Winchester spins an enjoyable story about wind. Why it occurs, where it occurs, how it has influenced human history and our progress. He retains the amazing ability to weave together the science, history, the references to how it has impacted humanity throughout history. He includes many interesting anecdotes and personal experiences that altogether make the book educational, relatable, informative and enjoyable. I would highly recommend it.
Like many of his previous books, Simon Winchester spins an enjoyable story about wind. Why it occurs, where it occurs, how it has influenced human history and our progress. He retains the amazing ability to weave together the science, history, the references to how it has impacted humanity throughout history. He includes many interesting anecdotes and personal experiences that altogether make the book educational, relatable, informative and enjoyable. I would highly recommend it.
December 12, 2025
The Breath of the Gods is a delightful, thought-provoking journey through a force we often take for granted. Its greatest strength lies in making something invisible tangible—showing how wind has guided explorers, shaped civilizations, inspired scientists, and continues to influence our planet’s future. Readers who enjoy narrative science, environmental history, and wide-ranging essays will find much to savor here. At its best, Winchester’s book reminds us that even the air we cannot see has a history—and perhaps a destiny—worth understanding.
February 4, 2026
An encyclopaedia of wind
Winchester is like a bower bird, hoovering up every conceivable miniature and diverse element of the wind and piling it up in his great nest of a book.
From the doldrums to the disasters of gigantic hurricanes, including a section on Cyclobe Tracy, Winchester chronicles aspects of wind through history from the zephyr to the hurricane.
Some of it is genuinely fascinating, little known stories unearthed. Other parts, like the whole section on how weather works, go on way too long.
Winchester is like a bower bird, hoovering up every conceivable miniature and diverse element of the wind and piling it up in his great nest of a book.
From the doldrums to the disasters of gigantic hurricanes, including a section on Cyclobe Tracy, Winchester chronicles aspects of wind through history from the zephyr to the hurricane.
Some of it is genuinely fascinating, little known stories unearthed. Other parts, like the whole section on how weather works, go on way too long.
November 26, 2025
Your narrative style is beautifully visual, every scene feels like it’s been composed rather than just written. It’s cinematic, emotional, and alive.
As a commissioned artist who makes comics and webtoons, I couldn’t help but imagine how naturally this story would translate into illustrated form.
You’re always welcome to reach out on Instagram (@eve_verse_) or Discord (bennett_lol) if that ever interests you.
As a commissioned artist who makes comics and webtoons, I couldn’t help but imagine how naturally this story would translate into illustrated form.
You’re always welcome to reach out on Instagram (@eve_verse_) or Discord (bennett_lol) if that ever interests you.
January 12, 2026
2-1/2* Disappointing. I found this book very uneven. Some chapters I found interesting and learned a bit, but some were somewhat repetitive in their examples of wind damage and excerpts from weather related books. The author also has viewpoints on topics covered that I found unnecessary and distracting from the topic he was presenting. I love weather and find it ceaselessly interesting. Unfortunately, this book did not fill that bill.
January 23, 2026
I listened to the audio version of this book, as it may be quicker than reading a non-fiction book for me. The audiobook was read by the author himself! I really enjoyed listening to it. Thanks for writing about “wind”, which seems boring, but affects us all tremendously. If there was no wind, our world would be unimaginable (bad). The effect of climate change will continue to re-shape our world in the years to come.
January 23, 2026
There is so much more I wanted to know about the wind, and he’s such a good writer! Instead there are many tangents about life on a ship, for example, and disasters caused by winds. I would have liked more science in nontechnical terms. What do wind farms do to surrounding landscapes? How are wind changes worldwide affecting agriculture, e.g. what to grow. The subtitle says “and future of the wind,” but there wasn’t much of anything about the future of the wind. I’m disappointed.
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