云彩收集者手册

by Gavin Pretor-Pinney, 王燕平 (Translator), 张超 (Translator)

《云彩收集者手册》介绍了46种云彩和大气光学现象，并且收录了全世界云彩爱好者拍摄的百余幅精彩摄影作品。从太空边缘的神秘夜光云，到我们周围的重重雾霭，都在这本手册之中。即使没有任何自然观察经验，读者也可以了解云彩的名称、特征、形成原因，鉴别云的种类，并利用书中的趣味记分系统与亲朋好友展开观云竞赛。

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Nature, Reference, British Literature, Field Guides, Adult

111 pages, Hardcover

First published June 11, 2009

About the author

Gavin Pretor-Pinney is cofounder of The Idler magazine in England and founded of The Cloud Appreciation Society in 2005.

Reviews

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was meant to find and buy this book.
I've been a cloud/sky appreciator for years, but it never crossed my mind that there is a Cloud Appreciation Society, a book about clouds and even different genera of clouds!

A Fallstreak hole, with a Circumhorizon arc


Mountain with a pink "cap"


It was great to find out a bit more about my hobby and it is a book I can re-read again and again.
Besides, there is now a guide that can help me identify the beautiful clouds I see and photograph.
Definitely recommend to everybody who likes clouds, even if you only notice them at sunrise/sunset!

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cloud collecting is my favorite hobby. I've always enjoyed watch the clouds, always considered myself a bit of a wonderbug, and have always had more pictures of clouds than people on my camera. Then one day when I was researching a supernumerary rainbow I had seen I came across the Cloud Appreciation Society, and subsequently, this book. Its forever changed the way I look at clouds. I've learned so much more about the different types, and the acquisition of bonus points for collecting is both fun and hilarious.

The book itself has a great way of presenting information, its both in awe of the clouds and often amusing, while also explaining the scientific facts behind different formations and good clues of how to spot them. The points system is a blast. The pictures are gorgeous.

Its easily worth the money you spend on it and the weight in the backpack.

[Arminzerella · Rating 3 out of 5]

This handy little guide offers a fun way to look at the heavens - clouds. With photographs of different cloud formations to help you identify types of clouds, this field guide will have you searching the sky for each kind. (Gavin Pretor-Pinney assigns point values to each of the cloud types/species, so you can rack up a nice score as you collect.) Cool concept. Wish there was an app available that you could use to id cloud types (i.e. take a photo and have it tell you what you're looking at). Since I'm not an expert on clouds, I had trouble distinquishing between some of the varieties. I guess it's something you get better at with practice.

[Joris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book suited me much better than The Cloudspotter’s Guide. It’s practical, simple, and beautifully focused. Not a book to read once and shelve, but something to keep close and revisit, especially when you catch an interesting cloud and wonder what it was called again and what it meant.

I love that it invites you to interact with the sky in a playful way. The checklist format and compact descriptions make it easy to dive in and out without needing to follow a narrative. It brings a sense of adventure and curiosity to everyday life.

[Camelama · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very lovely book that I wish I could afford to purchase, instead of get from the library. I say this because the book is set up so that you can keep notes on which clouds you've seen where - collect them, basically! As I am a birder, this aspect of "listing" clouds appeals to me. I can go birdwatching and cloudwatching at the same time! Keep a yard list of clouds, just like I do birds! A ferry list! An airplane list! Travel list! Oooo, cloud twitchers?

I wish there were more photos of each cloud type, and better descriptions of the differences between similar cloud types - side by side photo comparisons, for instance.

But what there is in this slim volume is very good. A few pithy comments scattered here and there liven up the descriptions and made me smile. But not too many of them - just enough.

[Katharine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tried from the library. 6 year old loves it and brings it everywhere. We're ordering a copy! It's great fun to spot different clouds - like looking for ever-changing constellations during the day!

The book is small, hardbound, "pocket" sized.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

a cloud handbook

Just as the title said, it is a practical handbook to star identifying the cloud, do not explain how are formed, but give a beautiful description, and as most of the name are in latin, somehow i felt like a magician ☺️ (my lack of experience with the language)

Entertain way to push you to start #CloudChasing

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have recently started gaining an appreciation for clouds and how chaostic yet peaceful they seem. Really brighten up my day. This book came really handy in helping me identify clouds through thier discriptions and also gives example of similar looking vloud so you can learn to differentiate them. Overall reallly enjoyed this book and can not wait to grow my cloud collection. If you want to start learning about clouds and their formations and the various phenomenas that they can produce, I'd recommend picking this one and going out and read. You might just spot a cloud you're reading about.

[Daan Otte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een erg goed boek voor het leren en optisch identificeren van verschillende wolken. Wel is het erg lastig omdat alle wolken is zoveel verschillende vormen voorkomen dat het niet altijd representatief is.

De verschillende wolkentypes en optische effecten worden erg goed besproken, alleen graag had ik ook wat meer diepgang gezien over de theorie achter de vorming van de wolken.

[Liv · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gift from Zee that has absolutely improved my life a million-fold. I adore it I can name clouds now! I love being alive.

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun little book to look through!

[Daniel Clemence · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clouds are beautiful. Who would have thought?

[Reinier Vos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant guide! Very nice to get to know all the clouds. Beautiful pictures and fun descriptions with your nice touch of British humor. Gamifies my interest in clouds. Also takes into account the upper atmospheric clouds such as noctilucent and nacreous, and touches upon cloud features such as halo's. I love it!

[Stasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome! This is definitely not the kind of book you'd read straight through, but it's a great reference for when you're looking in the sky and wondering what you're looking at. I keep bringing it out to get some background info about the amazing fall clouds we're seeing in Portland right now.

The pictures are amazing, and it gives you a lot of information in a very accessible way. I have NO background knowledge about sky or weather patterns or anything, but the book all makes sense to me. Pretor-Pinney also does a great job cross-referencing different parts of the book (for example, the "don't confuse this cloud with this other cloud on page 24," for example, sections). I feel like I'm learning a lot.

I'm psyched about it!

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Few people can geek out like my good man Gavin Pretor-Pinney, and I am for sure thankful that for every book that he puts out. His book on waves (traffic waves, ocean waves, light waves, all kinds of waves) is one of my favorite books of all time. And his previous book on clouds shows the art available to every human being on the earth –clouds! This is a companion piece, and light as it is, it can travel with us everywhere there are clouds – which is everywhere.

[Michelle-Marie]

Especially handy for a trip through the Southwest or out Midwest or out East in the summertime. Amusingly written, less dry than most field guides, and you get to add up points for the clouds you see. Covers the banal cloud ("It feels wrong to devote as much space to the rather drab and featureless Altostratus...few cloudspotters will be seen to punch the air and high-five upon adding this one...) to the breathtaking Stratocumulus Lenticularis.

[Jenette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprehensive to the point and page turning. Photos are magnificent. I know I will be referring to this book quite frequently as my kids and I are tracking weather phenomena for a year. I like Ganin Pretor-Pinney's writing style and I like the humor he throws in. Covers not just meterological, but optical, genera, accessory, supplimentary, and other. Helps are fantastic and point system is very fun. A great addition to the other books in my meterological library.

[Post Defiance]

Originally posted at http://postdefiance.com/literary-gift..., written by Sweet Pea Flaherty.

This book is filled with every magical thing a cloud has ever done.Nature-lovers of all ages will become cloud connoisseurs and have a place to transcribe every wonder discovered.

[Yaaresse · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such fun! I've known about the Cloud Appreciation Society for ages, and I've often wished they would come out with an app where you could use the phone camera to identify clouds. This is the next best thing, plus it turns cloud-spotting into a game. I don't load many books on my phone, but I want this one handy for quick look-ups.

The spouse is pretty chuffed that he spotted the rare and fleeting horseshoe vortex cloud, although he had no idea what it was at the time. It was good for 50 points, although he's bummed that he missed out on the bonus points. (I, on the other hand, am happy he stuck to the "no taking photos while driving" rule.). He's going to be bummed when I show him the photo I took last night of a stacked lenticularis (45 points for the lenticular and 25 bones points for the stacked set.).

[John Michael Strubhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clouds are so interesting. This book helps you to identify the different cloud types and subtypes. There is a brief explanation of how each cloud type or subtype forms. The explanation is not very deep, but then this book is about the science of cloud formation so much as it is about simply identifying them. I'm certainly motivated to learn more about the science of cloud formation having read this excellent little book. I think that the idea of "collecting" clouds is a neat one that can be easily turned into a game that you can play with friends who might be similarly interested. Clouds are fascinating and often inspirational. Go collect some clouds today!

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Make the most of a cloudy day!

this is a fabulous beginner’s book with excellent photographs. Easily explained (and often with a great sense of humour) different types of clouds - with photographs to illustrate. They had a point system so you could add up how many you have seen which would be fun to do with children. And how many to look for. I would have liked to have seen this cloud could lead to that cloud, or this cloud is that cloud but at a different elevation or wind speed etc. We need a bigger book. And this IS an introduction book and a very fine one at that. I’m still laughing over some of the definitions and point system.

[Robin Barnwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just like everyone else in the World I love clouds. So it comes as no surprise that I wished to educate myself.

What an education!! They aren’t just nice fluffy things in the sky anymore.

I can now name any cloud just by looking at it. Not naming it Bob but it’s real scientific name! Just imagine how much I bore people with this new found skill 🧐

And it’s taken my ability to notice continuity errors in films to a whole new level. Seeing a cloud change from a Cumulus Humilis to Stratocumulus between shots is a great new skill I can share.

So it’s a great book that everyone should read and impress their knowledge on to unappreciative friends and relatives 😎

[Ms. Arca · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5.

I’ve already got 3 clouds collected and counting ! This one is staying in my bag. I’m officially on my way to becoming a cloud nerd (this book is perfectly compact, informative, and fun.. to me anyways;). I do wish they provided a few more pictures of examples of each type of cloud (like the different species within one cloud type), as well as a little more information about the cloud types.. but mostly, that’s if I was being openly picky. Great concept and the new book that’s always with me.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book because I am learning to draw. The internet only likes only one kind of aesthetic cloud. This book covers everything else. It's kind of dry and overwhelming. Some of the pictures are less about the artistry and more about capturing the phenomenon. So, why 5 stars?...BECAUSE I LIKE CLOUDS!!! that's why. Once you get the hang, this book is so soothing, pretty and cozy. If you're an artist looking for inspiration, this book is it.

[Mary Keen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heard an NPR interview with the author.

Then, after checking it out from the library, i ordered myself a used copy to have as a reference --as an adjunct to an excellent pocket guide i already have --Clouds and Storms, from Nat Audubon Society.

Wonderful photographs, easy to find, along with useful information.

[Justin Norman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick, light, but informative and beautiful read

A nice introduction to different types of clouds and the weather conditions which cause them to form. Filled with beautiful photography and a fair amount of humor. However, the author’s other book, A Cloud a Day, covers pretty much everything in this book, plus a ton more. If you have to pick one, choose the other.

[Anna Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nonfiction reference book, so never really "finished." I set the date of purchase and the date finished as the same just so I could get it in my books on Goodreads. I agree with the publisher: "a fun and useful guide, the perfect incentive to keep your head in the clouds, this clever handbook with have everyone looking up."

[Chris Meads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learn Your Clouds

Easy to read, this book explains the different types of clouds and cloud phenomena. There is also a collection point system for collecting each type of cloud. A good book to have for those interested in clouds and in the weather.

[Chris Meads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy to read,, this book explain the different types of clouds and loud phenomena. There is also a collection point system for collecting each type of cloud. The author has provided pictures for the reader to identify with. A good book to have for those interested in clouds and in the weather.

[Léna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone should have something they enjoy doing. It can be observing a bird, clouds, or nature. It’s much cheaper and healthier than collecting physical things. No matter how simple it is, just enjoy yourself!