The Race is not really a book about wind, more about racing around the world on a really big cat! A great read for the winter.

As far as "What is the wind doing?" get a good pair of polarized sunglasses so you can see the puffs coming down the lake. Of course the closer to the shore you are, the harder it is to see them coming, and lakes usually have big variations in both wind strength and direction, so you have to really pay attention when it's gusty. It is not uncommon to "tack" without ever changing direction when the wind switches, especially close to a windward shore.