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Breathtaking is an engrossing read. Whoever heard of "thunderstorm" asthma? Kenner (politics; science, technology, and society, Drexel Univ.) makes no assumptions about the reader's knowledge of asthma's etiology, environmental influences, or management protocols; rather she advances three major arguments for consideration: that asthma management is context-specific--that is, reactive to time, changes in temperature, and climate; that pharmaceutical treatments by and large are intrapersonal and lack the interpersonal aspect of breath; and that government's shifting of responsibility to the individual sufferer is an abdication of its role to preserve a healthy, supportive environment. Until recently, most medical professionals classified asthma as an allergenic response. Few practitioners differentiated among nuanced forms of disordered breathing such as exercise induced asthma (treated with the preventive use of an inhaler); dust and daily living (treated with maintenance inhalers, which reduce reactivity); and seasonal allergies and resulting disordered breathing. Keener is careful to clarify that asthma is different but not always separate from allergy; asthma is complex. Through case studies, the text addresses daily controller medication, emergency inhaler intervention, and the practice of "making time" with breath.Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readers.