Lightning: Nature and Culture

by Derek M. Elsom

Few phenomena inspire more awe than lightning. Streaking across the sky, it daunts us with its power and amazes us with its beauty. In Lightning , Derek M. Elsom explores this natural phenomenon and traces the long history of our study of it. From early civilizations’ assumptions that it was the work of gods, through eighteenth-century scientific analyses (and, yes, Ben Franklin’s kite), Elsom tells about our efforts to understand and explain lightning. He explores the many surprising folklore beliefs about lightning protection and contrasts these with today's scientific approaches. Alongside scientific explorations, he also tracks the path of lightning through our culture, from myths and legends to art and design. In addition, Elsom offers handy tips for avoiding getting struck by lightning.
           
Beautifully illustrated with stunning photographs and artistic renderings, this striking book will appeal equally to weather buffs and folklorists, scientists and artists. 

Genres: Nonfiction

240 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2015

Reviews

[Sophy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm a sucker for thunder and lightning! I love a good thunderstorm, especially sitting watching the skies light up in a frenzy while rain batters the windowsill and deafening thunder crashes all around.

This offering in the Earth series by Reaktion books really fed my obsession. Elsom writes brilliantly about lightning; looking at everything from the technical "how is it formed" to centuries of folklore and deity worship, to human injury to environmental hazards. The colour photographs are absolutely stunning and would be worth getting the book just for the photos!

A 5 star read that had me enraptured from beginning to end. Onto my weather shelf it goes!

[Katerina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good science. Good anthropology etc. if you're into that.

[Neal Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the book’s subtitle implies, it tries to give multiple perspectives on lightning, from scientific explanations to cultural importance. The author is a geographer, and the scientific part is the most instructive and, I believe, most valid. By contrast, for example, the idea that witch-hunts in early modern Europe were directed against thunder- and lightning-worship inherited from the Vikings is not consistent with more thorough studies I’ve read.

Although the illustrations are, overall, a strength of the book, they’re not always sourced properly. For example a carving of Indra holding a thunderbolt looked like what I’d seen in Cambodia, but the information provided didn’t let me check this. And the final chapter, on culture, lacks structure, rather seeming a concatenation of random examples.

On the positive side, the explanation of different ways of being struck directly and indirectly by lightning, and the risk factors for this, was credible and informative. Some aspects of lightning are still not understood, such as ball lightning. In terms of what counts as credible evidence in science, the author makes a good point, that ball lightning on aircraft was not taken seriously before an eyewitness account by a professor of electronics in 1963.

[10111111111 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read, giving quite a holistic view of lightning. I did find myself most looking forward to the scientific sections, but I found those rather lacking, and it felt more anecdotal in a lot of the information in there. The history sections were definitely the strongest, and the media section was basically just listing where it's seen, and not so much a breakdown of how it had influenced media. It was definitely an interesting read, but I would have liked a more solid approach to the subject