Set sail with professional captain Elliot Rappaport as he takes readers on a journey around the world, through the oceans, and into the atmosphere in Reading the Glass: A Captain’s View of Weather, Water, and Life on Ships. A 30-year veteran of the seas, Rappaport’s unique experiences allow him to offer a sailor’s-eye-view of our atmosphere in his debut book, unveiling larger patterns related to weather and the long arc of climate. What’s in a cloud? What distinguishes one type of storm from another? What exactly is El Niño? Rappaport answers these questions and more while also exploring historical moments of discovery and sharing captivating personal tales. He takes readers to places most would never dream of venturing, from the ice-filled seas near Greenland to the Roaring Forties of the South Pacific, where all four seasons can be experienced in an hour.
On other voyages, he transits the turbulent and crowded waters of the Strait of Gibraltar and encounters violent tropical squalls while crossing through the deceptively named equatorial doldrums. Featuring several diagrams and maps to illustrate some of the underlying principles of weather, the book brilliantly examines the complexity of our atmosphere and the challenges of life at sea. Written in stunning prose, brimming with wisdom, curiosity, and humor, Reading the Glass: A Captain’s View of Weather, Water, and Life on Ships effortlessly blends science and memoir to reveal how weather has shaped our oceans, our history, and ourselves.
Elliot Rappaport has sailed as a captain in the US maritime industry since 1992, involved primarily in the training of other mariners aboard a variety of traditional sailing ships. Presently a faculty member at Maine Maritime Academy, preparing cadets for professional careers at sea, he has also worked extensively at the SEA Education Association in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, an organization that offers shipboard programs in ocean science and leadership to college undergraduates. A graduate of Oberlin College and the University of Maine, Elliot lives in coastal Maine when not at sea.