Blame It on the Rain: How the Weather Has Changed History

Due to its very short chapters that are unrelated to each other, this book is great for those of us who only have time to read once in awhile. It is interesting and pseudo educational with historical tidbits throughout. However, the chapters are so different from one another that I found it difficult sometimes to read one right after the other.

Good history is hard to find. For example, did you know? --At one point in human history, there may have been as few as 500 women capable of procreation. They were very popular. --Because of the bubonic plague which first...well, plagued Europe in the 6th century, English is the dominant language in the world today. --The hostile climate in Siberia made it possible for the eruption of modern American culture. --Napoleon lost the battle of Waterloo because it was raining. --Had it not been for the Little Ice Age in the 15-16th centuries, we would not have Stradivarius violins today. --In 1947, a scientist proved you could change the course of a hurricane headed to the coast of Florida by dropping two hundred pounds of dry ice into its eye. What the scientist didn't demonstrate was that he could control the new direction, which was Savannah, Georgia where it did about five million dollars worth of damage. The Georgians weren't amused. Of course you didn't know all this. How could you? There's a lot more history than there's time to read it, which is why the world owes a great debt of thanks to Laura Lee for bringing into the light so much that had been hidden in mist and fog. With a dry sense of humor and a keen eye for recognizing and marrying apparently unrelated events, she has created the perfect excuse for abandoning Gibbon's 25,000 page Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and relying on her slim volume for the truth behind much of world history. The book brings to mind that most august and definitive history of the island of Britain, 1066 and All That: A Memorable History of England, comprising all the parts you can remember, including 103 Good Things, 5 Bad Kings, and 2 Genuine Dates. Written by W.C. Sellar and R.J. Yeatman and published in 1930, it proved that history need not be long, complicated, or even accurate in order to be interesting. To her credit, Ms. Lee tackles the entire world. At one point she toys with the notion of bring the Big Bang Theory into her thesis, but, in this reviewer's eyes, wisely backs away. That's a black hole from which few if any historians, even of Ms. Lee's caliber, ever return. There are books that, like potato chips, cannot be put down. There are others that, like fine chocolate, must be savored a bit at a time. Blame it on the Rain clearly falls into the latter category. One only need pick it up to read a brief chapter (few are longer than five or six pages,) smile, and feel ennobled by the wisdom one has gained. While not a large box of chocolates, the book, if read properly, can keep one's appetite sated for months. There is one significant flaw in the book that cannot be overlooked. Ms. Lee has been duped by Sir Thomas Moore (when he was still a lackey publicist for Henry VIII) who influenced Shakespeare into creating the pernicious lie that King Richard III of England murdered two young princes and stole the throne of England for himself. This is not true. Nor was Richard a hunch-back. Nor w

Blame it on the Rain by Laura Lee is a terrific, enjoyable read about how the weather affects us in ways we don't realize. I love books like this: filled with short bits of historical trivia that often inspire me to read other books and dig deeper. From pre-historical times to the present, episodes in history are explained with some form of weather as their primary cause. The reason the Anglo-Saxons were able to completely conquer Great Britain? A drought in Africa. The reason several rulers including Hitler and Napoleon were unable to conquer Russia? The cold. Even Truman's triumph over Dewey is explained by the heavy rains that probably kept conservative voters away from the polls on voting day. Her conclusions are heavily notated at the end of the book. Perhaps most entertaining about the book is Lee's writing style. She includes occasional sarcastic and snarky comments within the text making the book feel less like a history book and more like fun.

In no less than fifty-six chapters, the author guides the reader through just as many thrilling historical moments where the weather, not just the rain, has played a major role in shaping the events. The many stories are recounted in chronological order. They start with the Stone Age and go right up to the end of the twentieth century. The author's writing style is particularly noteworthy; it is clear, friendly and very often witty and tongue-in-cheek. Unusual or foreign terms are defined as they occur. If you are a history buff, you will find this book particularly difficult to put down; each exciting historical event which is described in, on average, about five pages, is followed by another one just as exciting. So, one is continuously tempted to read "just one more short chapter". The book ends with an eighteen page bibliography, for those wanting to know more. Highly recommended to everyone!