The Weather Factor : How Nature Has Changed History

Despite major improvements in collecting information and forecasting the weather, the 'factor of the unpredictable' is as real today, as it was in days when Noah was forced to set sail on the ark. Floods have drowned millions, droughts and famines have wiped out entire populations, frost has brought a sudden halt to invincible armies, and storms have sunk unsinkable armadas. When man comes to face nature's elements, it is not so much human incompetence as the uncertainty of the weather that leads on to disaster.

Erik Durschmied was born in Vienna in 1930. After the Second World War he emigrated to Canada. A television war correspondent for the BBC and CBS, Durschmied covered every major crisis including Vietnam, Iran, Iraq, Belfast, Beirut, Chile, Cuba and Afghanistan. Winner of numerous awards, Newsweek wrote 'Durschmied is a supremely gifted reporter who has transformed the media he works in.' And in Le Monde: 'He's survived more battles than any living general.' He lives in Paris and Provence with his family.