Air: Nature and Culture (Earth) - Exploring the Science and Beauty of Earth's Atmosphere | Perfect for Environmental Studies & Nature Lovers

I tried to like this book, and read it twice. It contains some interesting information, and the illustrations are intriguing (the most interesting is a photo of the massive air conditioning apparatus used to cool the US Capitol building in the 1930s). The writing is good, but some sections are essentially literary analyses of novels and other material, and the style makes difficult reading.The best part of the book is the early section that describes how scientists (we're talking here of the 1600s, 1700s and 1800s) discovered what air was, detected oxygen and other content of air. That's readable and informative.The structure of the chapters could work, but this is supposed to be about air, so where are sections on aeroplankton, temperature, the genesis of storms and winds? Chapter 1 "Airborne" examines discovery of what air is, mostly with a wide sampling of people and ideas. Chapter 2 is "Excess of Air," looks at such things as miasmas (recall that "malaria" means "bad air"), corrupted air and pollution, with an account of the Bhopal chemical disaster. Chapter 3, "Restoration" looks at ideas (lots of Victorians liked mountain or fresh sea air) such as fresh air, and air as a panacea for tuberculosis, articulated in the form of sanitaria. Chapter 4, "Insulation" looks at the biosphere and building design, and I hate to say it, but this is a chapter that did not hold together for me. Chapter 5, "Mirage" perhaps speaks for itself.The book will be useful for some readers. It would be useful for anyone researching Bhopal or tuberculosis sanitoria. So, my advice is sample a few pages at random before you buy the book. The writing is good but the concept of the book just didn't work for me.