Snowflake Man: A Biography of Wilson A. Bentley

Book Description
The Snowflake Man is a biography of Wilson Alwyn Bentley, the farmer from Jericho, Vermont, who took more than five thousand photomicrographs of ice, dew, frost, and - especially - snow crystals. Although his photographs were taken between 1885 and 1931, they have never been equaled and are in great demand today. Bentley's story is one of courage and persistence against tremendous odds. He taught himself how to photograph snow crystals through a microscope while still in his teens and then pursued his obsession for years before having the beauty and scientific value of his work recognized by others. The Snowflake Man lays open the life of a simple, self-educated, sensitive man who pursued natural beauty with microscope and camera for nearly fifty years. The book contains 30 black and white photographs.


About the Author
Duncan C. Blanchard holds degrees in engineering (B.S., Tufts, 1947), physics (M.S., Penn State, 1951), and meteorology (Ph.D., MIT, 1961), and has conducted research in the atmospheric sciences at General Electric, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, SUNY-Albany. He has published more than 150 articles and books. His book From Raindrops to Volcanoes, written for a popular audience, has been printed in seven languages.


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Bentley, a Vermont farmer who spent a lifetime (1865-1931) studying and photographing snow crystals was the originator of the saying: "No two snowflakes are alike." Blanchard, a retired atmospheric scientist, pays tribute to this initially ridiculed autodidact. Includes a few of Bentley's 5,000-plus landmark photos and family pictures. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.


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