A HISTORY OF THE THEORIES OF RAIN

Dr. Middleton, now retired from Canada's National Research Council, became aware of the little attention paid to the subject of rain while he was writing a book on the barometer. To fill this gap, he has provided a thorough, detailed account of rain from biblical and classical times to the present and has included other wet weather phenomena as well. The exacting coverage of this book would probably limit its appeal for general readers, even though it is partof the Watts History of Science Library and aimed at a general audience. The material is very well organized, the chapters subdivided to ease comprehension. However, the book ends with a startling abruptness without any summarizing assessments of the theories discussed. The literary quotations introducing each chapter are ineffectual, but the abundant internal excerpts and footnotes make this a selective source book. The writing is formal, but with enough fresh expressions to make the book quite readable. The one dry aspect is the author's sense of humor -- welcome as rain.