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For tens of millions of years the westerly winds have blown steadily round
the temperate latitudes. The winds that arose over the great continental masses
as Gondwana and Laurasia split apart are newcomers, only a few million years
old. When they change direction, they leave clues: a ripple in sandstone can
tell you which way the wind blew thousands of years ago. Writer Jan DeBlieu
lives on the windswept Outer Banks of North Carolina, inspiration for her book
Wind. She’s tracked down the scientists boring holes in dunes to read
old wind patterns, the natural history and the lore of winds. Pretty
breathtaking stuff. Paperback published by Mariner/Houghton Mifflin, $14,
ISBN 039595794X.