The Secret World of Weather: How to Read Signs in Every Cloud, Breeze, Hill, Street, Plant, Animal and Dewdrop Gooley, Tristan, Sceptre 2021 Hardback £20.00 375 pp. ISBN 978‐1‐52‐933955‐0

Many previous authors have attempted to describe the natural world for the lay person in an uncomplicated manner – this book does exactly that, focusing on microclimates, ‘the weather we actually experience’. It contains a wealth of material to persuade readers to look at every aspect with renewed interest and to help them interpret what they perceive. The author is a well‐travelled writer, navigator, explorer and expedition leader, who has both flown solo and sailed single‐handed across the Atlantic. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and of the Royal Institute of Navigation.

There is a fund of interesting facts in this book, albeit with many generalisations. At times it is somewhat simplistic and anecdotal, while at others very detailed and descriptive. The 22 chapters, enhanced by black‐and‐white sketches, cover every aspect of meteorology, such as thermodynamic processes, cloud forms, air masses and storms, but the author avoids scientific jargon. His knowledge is ably conveyed by concentrating more on simple descriptions of processes and how they relate to the reader's outdoor perceptions. The detail is impressive and, for novices, the complexities described are a lot to assimilate. The author's interpretations are novel and easy to understand, with items of weather lore thrown in. Past civilisations and countryside communities were much more attuned before the advent of our noisier and built‐up world, but even our own lives can be enhanced by his explanations. Two of the chapters (called interludes) describe personal overseas visits that, in my opinion, add little to the narrative although others may find them interesting.

Three of the chapters illustrate weather signs that one can learn from wildlife – vegetation, animals and insects. I found these chapters fascinating but they could have been considerably expanded. The reader's appreciation of the intricate relationships portrayed would require some wildlife identification skills. I particularly liked the chapter on trees, where he describes the effect of the atmosphere on the colours, and even sounds, of individual species.

Although many of his observations are obvious to the trained eye, they will nevertheless go a long way to inform those with a love of the outdoors. Readers of Weather will be familiar with the meteorological content of most of the chapters, but I would recommend this book to all who seek explanations of the incredible variety of natural sights and sounds detectable in the open air.

天气的秘密世界：如何阅读每朵云，微风，山丘，街道，植物，动物和露珠·古利 ，特里斯坦，权杖2021精装本£20.00 375页。ISBN978-1-52-933955-0

以前的许多作者都试图以一种不复杂的方式描述外行人的自然世界–本书正是针对小气候，即“我们实际经历的天气”而做到的。它包含大量材料，以说服读者以新的兴趣看待各个方面，并帮助他们解释自己的看法。作者是一位出差旅行的作家，导航员，探险家和探险队的领导人，他既单人飞行，又单人航行过大西洋。他是皇家地理学会和皇家航海学院的院士。

尽管有许多概括，但本书中有很多有趣的事实。有时它有些简单化和轶事，而在另一些情况下则非常详细和描述性。由黑白素描增强的22章涵盖了气象学的各个方面，例如热力学过程，云形式，气团和暴风雨，但作者避免使用科学术语。通过更专注于对过程的简单描述以及它们与读者的户外感知之间的关系，可以很好地传达他的知识。细节令人印象深刻，对于新手来说，所描述的复杂性令人难以忘怀。作者的解释新颖且易于理解，并附带各种天气知识。在我们嘈杂的，建成的世界出现之前，过去的文明和乡村社区就更加协调了，但他的解释甚至可以改善我们的生活。在我看来，其中两个章节（称为插曲）描述了个人的海外访问，尽管其他人可能会觉得它们很有趣，但这些叙述几乎没有增加。

其中三章说明了人们可以从野生动植物中学习的天气信号-植被，动物和昆虫。我发现这些章节很有趣，但是本来可以扩展的。读者对所描绘的复杂关系的欣赏将需要一些野生动植物识别技能。我特别喜欢关于树木的章节，他在其中描述了气氛对单个物种的颜色甚至声音的影响。

尽管他的许多观察结果对训练有素的人来说都是显而易见的，但对于那些热爱户外运动的人来说，它们仍将走很长的路要走。天气的读者会熟悉大多数章节的气象内容，但是我将向所有寻求对户外自然可见光和声音令人难以置信的变化做出解释的所有人推荐这本书。