Rains All the Time: A Connoisseur's History of Weather in the Pacific Northwest [Paperback]

David Laskin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1997

Here is the first social history of the weather in this notoriouslywet region--not just how damp it is, but what all of this extravagantweather does to the souls who have endured, cursed, and worshiped it.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Everyone talks about the weather, but not like northwesterners. In Rains All the Time, however, it soon becomes clear that the pat image of a perpetually soggy Pacific Northwest is a gross oversimplification. David Laskin points out that, despite the time-honored Seattle and Portland tradition of rain-bashing, these two cities get less rain on average than New York City, and regions east of the Cascade mountains never get enough. Yet, regardless of actual precipitation, rain remains the region's symbol, its favorite joke, and reliable scapegoat. Laskin says that northwesterners are connoisseurs of weather, and deserve a book devoted to its historic, literary, biologic, and cultural impact. He delves into the climatic complexity of the region (from rain forest to desert), and the complexity of its denizens (from boasters to whiners). If you can't escape the wet, you might as well wallow in it.

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Sasquatch Books (October 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570610630
• ISBN-13: 978-1570610639
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #909,717 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

David Laskin was born in New York in 1953 and educated at Harvard College and New College, Oxford. For the past twenty-five years, Laskin has written books and articles on a wide range of subjects including history, weather, travel, gardens and the natural world. His most recent book, The Children's Blizzard, won the Washington State Book Award and the Midwest Booksellers' Choice Award for Nonfiction. Laskin's other titles include Braving the Elements: The Stormy History of American Weather, Partisans: Marriage, Politics and Betrayal Among the New York Intellectuals, A Common Life: Four Generations of American Literary Friendship and Influence, and Artists in their Gardens (co-authored with Valerie Easton). A frequent contributor to The New York Times Travel Section, Laskin also writes for the Washington Post, the Seattle Times, and Seattle Metropolitan. He and his wife Kate O'Neill, the parents of three grown daughters, live in Seattle with their two sweet old dogs.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting., September 3, 2011

By 

Vai (Oregon, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rains All the Time: A Connoisseur's History of Weather in the Pacific Northwest (Paperback)

I loved this book! I wish it was available for Kindle so I could keep a copy around, the only copy I've ever found was in the library.

It's a nice "social history of weather" as the blurb puts it. I found it engaging, and not nearly as dry as I expected for a book about weather.

3.0 out of 5 stars Just OK, February 14, 2010

By 

Sarah D. Campbell - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Rains All the Time: A Connoisseur's History of Weather in the Pacific Northwest (Paperback)

This book is OK as a brief overview of northwest weather, including historical accounts by early explorers and a review of local writers whose work has featured the weather. However, I felt there was too much of the author's own reaction to the weather and too many excerpts from his personal weather diary. And there are much better accounts of the notorious storms and the mechanics of the weather in the Pacific Northwest (e.g., The Weather of the Pacific Northwest by Cliff Mass).