Firmament

The Hidden Science of Weather, Climate Change and the Air That Surrounds Us

By: Simon Clark

Narrated by: Simon Clark

Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins

Publisher's summary

A thin, invisible layer of air surrounds the Earth, sustaining all known life on the planet and creating the unique climates and weather patterns that make each part of the world different.

In Firmament, atmospheric scientist and science communicator Simon Clark offers a rare and accessible tour of the ins and outs of the atmosphere and how we know what we know about it. From the workings of its different layers to why carbon dioxide is special, from pioneers like Pascal to the unsung heroes working in the field to help us understand climate change, Firmament introduces us to an oft-overlooked area of science and not only lays the ground work for us to better understand the debates surrounding the climate today, but also provides a glimpse of the future that is possible with this knowledge in hand.

©2022 Simon Clark (P)2022 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

The Beauty & importance of atmospheric science

Learn the beautiful concepts of atmospheric science while hearing wonderful stories about the people and historical context in which each hard-fought discovery was made.

Very nice introduction to history of atmospheric science

I enjoyed this combination of an introduction to atmospheric science and the history of western (including Muslim civilizations) thinking about the atmosphere. Considering the number of years covered it is remarkably concise and yet introduced me to aspects of the subject I had not read about elsewhere. Most of the discussion of climate change is restricted to the last couple of chapters.

I wish all my teachers taught like this

lovely book, lovely narration, highly recommend

(if Mr. Simon Clark ever sees this I'm very impressed with all the pronunciation of the people's names nice job)

Up to snuff with the content you would expect

Very high quality information that is, of course, only as interesting as you imagine climate science to be. This is important, relevant information for those who wish to be well informed in the how and why of the mess we are getting ourselves in.

I find Simon to be reputable and trustworthy, so I was happy to listen along and feel secure that the information I was being fed was accurate.

I always love when an author narrates, and this is no different. Simon is perfectly capable in his role as narrator here.

Loved it

An fascinating book about something that I thought I wouldn't find nearly as interesting.

An excellent introduction to atmospheric physics

As a recent convert from condensed matter to atmospheric physics, I very much enjoyed using this book as a way to be introduced to the various ideas and pioneers of the field. Simon provided an entertaining and engaging overview of the history of the atmosphere and outlined many interesting rabbit holes to dive down and explore on my own.

Simon's enthusiasm for the subject is infectious and I think having him narrate this book was the best possible decision. The way he was able to place emphasis as the author gave a wonderful momentum and led to me devouring this short time.

I was also pleasantly surprised to see credit given to not just male European scientists, Simon clearly put a lot of time into this book.

Also as a fan of his YouTube content I loved the cheeky nod to warhammer near the end of the book.