Book of Rain

The contents of the future are the contents of a cloud. So begins translator David Larsens introduction for the Book of Rain by ancient Arabic linguist and hadith narrator Ab Zayd Sa'd ibn Aws al-Anr. While far from a definitive list, The Book of Rain is the earliest known catalogue of Arabic weather-words. In Larsen's translation, Ab Zayd's lexicography of rain is simultaneously an academic, archival, and poetic pursuit. These rich, extensive lists provide detailed descriptions of The Dribble, The Discharge, The Flat, The Beetle-Brow, and The Nebulineall specific types of rainas well as words for frosts, dews, thunder, lightning, clouds, and, of course, the various and plentiful words for waters. Coupled with Larsens introduction, The Book of Rain is a source of endless interdisciplinary inquiry which is sure to fascinate readers for years (if not centuries) to come.