The glass universe is sensitive, exacting, and lit with the wonder of discovery. Sobel explores the origins and oddities of the planets through the lens of popular culture, from astrology, mythology, and science fiction to art, music, poetry, biography, and history. Unlike parallels of latitude, which are fixed by nature, longitude is. Nov 10, 2015 the planets by dava sobel in chm, djvu, rtf download ebook. An awardwinning former science writer for the new york times, sobels work has also appeared in audubon, discover, and the new yorker. This is another book i bought because of its beautiful cover, especially in the hardcover edition, and one which, after reading, i thought had failed in its job. Dava sobel s the glass universe will be available from viking in december 2016with her bestsellers longitude and galileos daughter, dava sobel introduced readers to her rare gift for weaving complex scientific concepts into a compelling narrative.
Sobels previous books galileos daughter, 1999, etc. The glass universe, by dava sobel dava sobels new book is a history of the unheralded women called computers, rather than astronomers who worked at the harvard college. Nov 11, 2005 dava sobel has written a gem of a bookone of the best reads for the nonscientific writing to come along for many a moon. Dava sobel is a former new york times science reporter and a repeated new york times bestselling author. Former new york times reporter sobel coauthor, arthritis. Signed to title page by the author with a thumbnail planet sketch. She explains in detail the physical making of each of our planets and sun, while integrating mythology and her own creative illustrations to help the reader better understand the complex making of the planets of our solar system. Following the success of her bestselling book longitude, dava sobel, a former new york times science reporter, has. The planets is dava sobel s sweeping look at our heavenly galaxy. The science writer says that while researching her new book, the glass universe, she read fiction about the time period, such as the custom of the country and o pioneers. Dava made a shoebox model of the solar system when she was a child. The women youve never heard of who transformed astrophysics.
In a new book the glass universe, author dava sobel explores the invaluable contribution of harvard college observatorys women computers. After the huge national and international success of longitude and. Jan 12, 2017 the glass universe shines and twinkles as brightly as the stars themselves the economist. Longitude does not seem to be a topic that would set the readers interest and imagination racing, but dava sobel manages to make what is a seemingly boring topic into a tale that is gripping, exciting and educational. The narratives she spins for each planet, while sometimes a bit silly, are always compelling. Now sobel brings her full talents to bear on what i. Dava sobel, a former new york times science reporter, is the author of longitude walker 1995 and 2005, penguin 1996, galileos daughter walker 1999 and 2011, penguin 2000, the planets viking 2005, penguin 2006, a more perfect heaven walker bloomsbury 2011 and 2012, and the sun stood still bloomsbury, 2016 and the glass universe viking, 2016. Jul 03, 2006 planets is a whistlestop tour of the planets of the solar system.
From visionary author dava sobel comes the planets, a book that reveals the beauty of our solar system in ways that astronomers and laymen alike can enjoy. Written in her characteristically graceful prose, the planets is a stunningly original celebration of our solar system and offers a distinctive view of our. The planets is dava sobels sweeping look at our heavenly galaxy. In the 1870s, before women had the right to vote or a firm standing in the workplace, a lucky few found employment at the harvard college observatory. After the huge national and international success of longitude. Sobel explores the origins and oddities of the planets through the lens of popular culture, from. With her gift for weaving difficult scientific concepts into a compelling story, sobel explores the planets origins and oddities through the lens of popular culture, from astrology, mythology, and science fiction to art, music, poetry, biography, and history. In this recreation the past, present, and future coexist.
Now sobel brings her full talents to bear on what is perhaps her most ambitious topic to datethe planets of our solar system. Planets is a whistlestop tour of the planets of the solar system. Her books include longitude, about english clockmaker john harrison, and galileos daughter, about galileos daughter maria celeste, and the glass universe. When, in october 1707, the british admiral sir clowdisley shovell misjudged longitude, the majority of his fleet sank off the coast of the scilly isles with substantial loss of life. Writing in quite a different mode than in her bestselling longitude. In the planets, dava sobel takes the reader on a tour of planetary astronomy and the 9 objects currently classified as major planets plus the sun and the moon with 12 very different chapters and no feeling of having read a few chapters in an astronomy textbook. Books by dava sobel featured in the 1870s, before women had the right to vote or a firm standing in the workplace, a lucky few found employment at the harvard college observatory. Written in her characteristically graceful prose, the planets is a stunningly original celebration of our solar system and offers a distinctive view of. In the spirit of longitude and galileos daughter, sobel once again brings science and history deftly to life as she explores the origins of the planets and reveals the exotic environments that exist in each of these fascinating alien worlds.
History, astrology, and myth all play into her unique treatment of each planet. Dava sobel has written a gem of a bookone of the best reads for the nonscientific writing to come along for many a moon. Oct 02, 20 october 2, 20 dava sobel view fullsize writing this book allowed me to link todays scientific exploration of the solar system with popular cultureeverything from astrology and mythology to science fiction, music, and poetry. The planets by dava sobel in chm, djvu, rtf download ebook. An analysis of dava sobels writing style in the book. Her 1997 bestseller, longitude, the tale of john harrisons struggles to crack the secret of navigation. Dava sobel is the acclaimed author of the internationally bestselling titles longitude, galileos daughter, the illustrated longitude, and the planets. Dava sobel has a rare gift for weaving scientific concepts into a compelling story and her internationally bestselling books, including longitude and galileos daughter, attract readers from across the literary spectrum. The glass universe shines and twinkles as brightly as the stars themselves the economist. Her past books include longitude, galileos daughter, and. Extrasolar planet discoveries were to come much later as well. Even before the publication of longitude twentyfive years ago, i learned about a group of women who worked at the harvard college observatory in the nineteenth century, analyzing images of the stars to fantastic effect these ladies of pickerings harem aroused my curiosity, but i put them off while pursuing galileos daughter, exploring the planets, and turning copernicuss idea. That it has done so speaks well for the reading public in this country.
Ive read sobels galileos daughter, which i really enjoyed with the mixture of history, science and story, so i had high hopes for the planets. Her books include longitude, about english clockmaker john harrison, and galileos daughter, about galileo s daughter maria celeste, and the glass universe. Writing this book allowed me to link todays scientific exploration of the solar system with popular cultureeverything from astrology and mythology to science fiction, music, and poetry. All content included on our site, such as text, images, digital downloads and other, is the property of its content suppliers and protected by us and international laws.
Her past books include longitude, galileos daughter, and the planets. Financial times a true life thriller, jampacked with political intrigue, international warfare, personal feuds and financial skullduggery. Now sobel brings her full talents to bear on what is perhaps her most ambitious topic to date the planets of our solar system. The planets by dava sobel overdrive rakuten overdrive. The subtitle here tells the reader exactly what the book is about. Quotations are badly formatted and the illustrations are completely missing. Dava sobels longitude achieved bestselling status on the new york times nonfiction list in both hardcover and paperback. Mar 20, 2017 dava sobel is a former new york times science reporter and a repeated new york times bestselling author. A former staff science reporter for the new york times, she has also written for numerous magazines, including discover, harvard magazine, smithsonian, and the new yorker.
Ive read sobel s galileos daughter, which i really enjoyed with the mixture of history, science and story, so i had high hopes for the planets. Dava sobel born june 15, 1947 is an american writer of popular expositions of scientific topics. After the huge national and international success of longitude and gallileos daughter, dava sobel tells the human story of the nine planets of our solar system. The greek astronomers could measure latitude as early as the third century b. Part biography, part history, part scientific exploration, longitude relates the quest for an accurate way to determine longitude.
The kindle edition of this book, however, is poorly converted. She wrote a twoact play to dramatize the encounter, and sandwiched it. Daily mail rarely have i enjoyed a book as much as dava sobels longitude. This groundbreaking work traces the lives of each member of our solar family, from myth and history, astrology and science fiction, to the latest data from the modern eras robotic space probes. A more perfect heaven how copernicus revolutionized the. The true story of a lone genius who solved the gre. Sobels purpose in this lovely and personal volume is to show us the planets as she sees them. Dava sobel wrote the planets to further increase the public knowledge and understanding of our solar system and what it consists of. Dava sobel s the glass universe will be available from viking in december 2016 with her bestsellers longitude and galileos daughter, dava sobel introduced readers to her rare gift for weaving complex scientific concepts into a compelling narrative. Dava sobel has 26 books on goodreads with 231056 ratings. Following the success of her bestselling book longitude, dava sobel, a former new york times science reporter, has turned her attention to. Oct 04, 2005 the planets is dava sobel s sweeping look at our heavenly galaxy.
The book celebrates earth and her nearest neighbors at this unique moment in history, when the old familiar sola. The structure of sobels book extends from the sun to the outer planets, with individual chapters devoted to the terrestrial planets of mercury, venus, earth, and mars. Dava sobels the glass universe will be available from viking in december 2016 with her bestsellers longitude and galileos daughter, dava sobel introduced readers to her rare gift for weaving complex scientific concepts into a compelling narrative. Sep 02, 2005 the planets by dava sobel 270pp, fourth estate. Sobel s purpose in this lovely and personal volume is to show us the planets as she sees them. Dava sobel s longitude achieved bestselling status on the new york times nonfiction list in both hardcover and paperback. Most of the planet s moons were not known during davas childhood, but they are known today and appear on the rooms wallpaper. The book tells the story of each member of our solar family, from myth and history, astrology and science fiction, to the latest data from the modern eras space probes. In the spirit of longitude and galileos daughter, sobel once again brings science and history deftly to life as she explores the origins of the planets and reveals the exotic environments that exist in. Most of the planets moons were not known during davas childhood, but they are known today and appear on the rooms wallpaper. As dava sobel describes so well, in the 18th century, loss of orientation was both common and potentially fatal. With her bestsellers longitude and galileos daughter, dava sobel introduced readers to her rare gift for weaving complex scientific concepts into a compelling narrative. She explains in detail the physical making of each of our planets and sun, while integrating mythology and her own creative illustrations to help the reader better understand the complex making of the.
Dava sobel born june 15, 1947 is the author of longitude, galileos daughter, the planets, and most recently a more perfect heaven. Sep 17, 2005 the planets by dava sobel fourth estate. The suns family of planets become a familiar place in this personal account of the lives of other worlds. But rather than sigh over this lacuna, as most historians do, dava sobel came up with an odd but artful solution. This groundbreaking new work traces the lives of each member of our solar family, from myth and history, astrology and science fiction, to the latest data from the modern eras. How the ladies of the harvard observatory took the measure of the stars.