W. E. KNOWLES MIDDLETON was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and of the Optical Society of America. In 1959 the latter Society awarded him its Ives Medal for his work in meteorological optics, photometry, and colorimetry. He wrote 15 books and approximately 100 scientific papers on the science of meteorological sciences and instruments.Spilhaus A.F. :

ATHELSTAN F. SPILHAUS is Dean of the Institute of Technology, University of Minnesota. He was formerly head of the Department of Meteorology, New York University.

" …. Middleton has with his instrument book made an excellent contribution … It is clearly written and thorough in the portion of the field that is covered. One feels that it is not a re-hash or digest of older contributions but a book written by an expert in the field of instruments. For the training of students it fills a badly-felt need. The book is practical in tenor, yet it does not shun theory that leads to a full understanding of the principles underlying the various meteorological instruments." Review of Scientific Instruments

"There is a dearth of modern books on meteorological instruments written in the English language, and those who wish for information on the subject have perforce to turn to foreign publications ... Meteorologists will therefore afford a warm welcome to the present volume, in the 213 pages of which Mr. Knowles Middleton has compressed a surprisingly large amount of information upon the design and construction of meteorological instruments. The numerous references scattered throughout its pages show a wide knowledge of the literature of the subject ... " Journal, Royal Meteorological Society