Review: Rain -- A Natural and Cultural History

 Rain: A Natural and Cultural History 

by Cynthia Barnett 

Hardcover: 368 pages

Publisher: Crown (April 21, 2015)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0804137099

ISBN-13: 978-0804137096

If you're someone who loves non-fiction, especially informational non-fiction about natural phenomenon, you will love this book. 

It's a great solid, beautiful, thoroughly-researched book. And I do mean "thoroughly-reserched." The author writes about Rain in all its forms, function, manifestations, causes, effects, power, powerlessness, cultural, historical forms. Seriously, there is the cinematic power of rain. There is evolution and rain. There is cosmology and rain. There is literature and rain. There is religion and rain. There is geography and rain. There is history and rain.  Rain has changed history, destroyed kingdoms, been responsible for great literature and great films. 

It deals with rain as a chemical, mathematical, biological, nutritional, artistic, and powerful entity.  I seriously cannot tell you how well-researched this book is. But in addition to that, this is one beautifully-written book. 

As a Christian I really liked the discussion of Earth's evolution and rain. Not that the author is a Christian. (There are a few moments when I got antsy with some typical dismissive anti-religion sentences but overall, she was pretty respectful.) But the way Barnett descrbes how rain affected Earth's formation, it reminded me of the Genesis Creation account where Earth is described as having a watery firmament around it. The description of the effect of a great flood also reminded me of the story of Noah's flood where water came up from inside the earth. 

Again, this is not a religious book. But the author does make one see how wonderful and magical and powerful rain is. 

I received this book for free in exchange for a fair and honest review.