Used to be that I hated seeing most kinds of clouds. The big fluffy ones set against a blue sky were OK. So were the dark gray ones rolling in and promising a good, creepy thunderstorm. But as for all of the others? Eh. Until now. I’ve been reading The Cloudspotter’s Guide: The Science, History, and Culture of Clouds by Gavin Pretor-Pinney — the founder of The Cloud Appreciation Society — and I love it.

So far of particular interest was the tale of a pilot — Lt.-Col. William Rankin — who as Pretor-Pinney puts it, “got intimate with a Cumulonibus.” While flying directly over a large storm, Rankin’s aircraft experienced engine trouble, and Rankin was forced to eject. He parachuted right through the Cumulonibus — complete with lightning, torrential rain, and hail — and managed to get away with only decompression sickness, frostbite, welts, assorted bruises, (and a phenomenal story to tell at dinner parties.)

–S.