In his new book, The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind, New York Times bestselling author Simon Winchester chronicles the myriad ways in which the wind plays a role in our everyday lives — from cataclysmic to messianic to downright mundane. “Wind, in short, seems a universal,” Winchester writes. “Air in motion finds its way into just about every activity and inactivity of man, beast, plant, and thing that exists in the world above its waters.”