Christine L. Corton’s “biography” of London’s characteristic climate phenomenon is obviously deeply researched, so much so that it can be a bit plodding in parts, where runs out of superlatives for what was sometimes an extraordinarily dangerous cloud. She explores the worst of the white, yellow, and black fogs of the 1880s and the 1890s, and how they were captured in art and literature of the time. At the same time she has a handle on the growing trend toward data collection that will eventually help the government get control of it. (Londoners had difficulty picturing their cozy fireplaces without coal.) As a side benefit, the book has something to say about climate change, in that humans are loathe to give up habits invested with cultural meaning about home and family, but new consumer technologies can help. A fascinating read.