Sobel talked about the tragedies that followed with not finding longitude at sea and then the discoveries and trials that had occurred to find a final. The act provided cash rewards for anyone able to solve longitude. Dava sobel wrote the planets to further increase the public knowledge and understanding of our solar system and what it consists of. 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. Sobel is the author of several bestselling books about the history of astronomy, including longitude, galileos daughter, and the planets. Planets is a whistlestop tour of the planets of the solar system. Dava pronounced dayva sobel is a petite, attractive woman, fashionably dressed and coiffed and with a flashingly expansive smile, who only half jokingly attributes all the good fortune that has. 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 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 sobel born june 15, 1947 is an american writer of popular expositions of scientific topics. The planets by dava sobel in chm, djvu, rtf download ebook. 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. The book is called longitude because it is about a clock maker who was able to determine longitude. The kindle edition of this book, however, is poorly converted. The suns family of planets become a familiar place in this personal account of the lives of other worlds. 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. She ranges from each planet s discovery, both mythic and historic, to the latest data from robotic space probes and images from the hubble space telescope. Longitude by dava sobel was a book that explained in great detail the struggle to find longitude at sea and way it was so necessary. Vivid trip across solar system dava sobel intertwines. At sea, there were no landmarks by which ones eastwest position could be tracked. It consists of dava sobels original text, this time swaddled in 178 illustrations intended to supplement sobels prose with the texture of a bygone era sumptuous pictures of the people and the instruments that populate this novelistic story.
She has also written a stage play about copernicus, called and the sun stood still. Adulthigh schoolthe authors lifelong fascination with our solar system is evident in these essays that blend the latest scientific knowledge with. The structure of sobel s book extends from the sun to the outer planets, with individual chapters devoted to the terrestrial planets of mercury, venus, earth, and mars. Read online the planets pdf book by on juggernaut books. Her 1997 bestseller, longitude, the tale of john harrisons struggles to crack the secret of navigation. The longitude prize 1714 the british parliament enacted the longitude act of 1714. 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. Solved the longitude problem invented the chronometer lunar distance method cook returned from his second voyage with bouquets of praise for the method of finding longitude by means of a timekeeper.
An analysis of dava sobels writing style in the book. The problem of longitude was long regarded as unsolvable. Written in her characteristically graceful prose, the planets is a stunningly original celebration of our solar system and offers a distinctive view of. After the huge national and international success of longitude. Its like writing one college term paper after another. In mythology, sobel notes that mercury the roman name for the greek messengergod hermes is probably sonamed because of the planet s swift. Dava sobel is the internationally renowned author of. After several years research and writing, im happy to report that the glass universe was published by viking in december 2016, and officially launched at an event in the old observatory building, among the halfmillion glass photographic plates still treasured by the harvardsmithsonian center for astrophysics.
The planets is dava sobels sweeping look at our heavenly galaxy. The true story of a lone genius who solved the greatest scientific problem of his time is written by dava sobel. Dava sobels book could accurately be labelled a popular history or science book. The concluding chapter of longitude is a very touching account of her personal visit to zero longitude in greenwich where this writer also straddled that magic line embedded in the pavement. Quotations are badly formatted and the illustrations are completely missing. Dava sobel gives the reader a good solid background of the events prior to harrisons discoveries. Sobels previous books galileos daughter, 1999, etc. 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. Her books include longitude, about english clockmaker john harrison, and galileos daughter, about galileos daughter maria celeste, and the glass universe. 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. 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. Twelve illustrations have been created for dava sobel to visually express the individual chapters in her book the planets. The inner solar system includes the four terrestrial planets and the main asteroid belt. Chapters 7 scifi mars and 10 night air uranus and neptune have the most.
Dava sobel has been entranced by the solar systems planets since she was 8 years old, and in this delightful book of essays one for each planet, including earth, plus. 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. 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. 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.
The glass universe, dava sobels latest masterpiece, tells the story of the women who worked at the harvard college observatory from the late 1800s through the mid1900s. Sobel effect the journal of science communication published by. Dava sobels new collection of essays is delightful and idiosyncratic. The planets by dava sobel overdrive rakuten overdrive. With her bestsellers longitude and galileos daughter, dava sobel intr. Dava sobels the glass universe will be available from viking in december 2016. How the ladies of the harvard observatory took the measure of the stars.
Dava sobel 2005 attempts to pinpoint why we are so fond of the. 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. Her most recent book, the glass universe, tells of a pioneering. Determining longitude was the superlative scientific question in the eigh. Dava sobel is the author of longitude, galileos daughter and the planets. Sobel explores the origins and oddities of the planets through the lens of popular culture, from. Now sobel brings her full talents to bear on what is perhaps her most ambitious topic to datethe planets of our solar system. In 1995, journalist dava sobels longitude caused an earthquake in the. She tells the reader in detail why the world needed to find the longitude and methods prior to harrisons clocks.
Dive deep into dava sobels the planets with extended analysis, commentary, and discussion. 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 20011 and 2012, and the sun stood still bloomsbury, 2016 and the glass universe viking, 2016. In the glass universe, dava sobel brings the women. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Informally, the solar system is sometimes divided into separate zones. Longitude was a huge problem, that was incredibly important to travel. Analysis of longitude by dava sobel 56 words 6 pages. The publication of longitude in 1995 and its unexpected success transformed me into a fulltime author of books. After the sucess of longitude and galileoss daughter, dava sobel tells the human story of the nine planets of our solar system. This gives the reader a good understanding of the pressures that the people faced and how they were dealing with them. Dava sobel is a former science writer for the new york times, as well as contributor to audubon, discover, life, and omni magazines. Because sequels and adaptations infest publishing as they do moviemaking, please note that the illustrated longitude is neither.
In the glass universe, dava sobel brings the women computers of harvard observatory to light women are at the center of a new book that delights not in isolated genius, but in. 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. Longitude is the story of english clockmaker john harrison and how he figured out how to track longitude, or the eastwest position of ships. Look for all of these beautiful artworks in the paperback version of the planets. Some define the outer solar system as comprising everything beyond the asteroids. The narratives she spins for each planet, while sometimes a bit silly, are always compelling. With her bestsellers longitude and galileos daughter, dava sobel introduced readers to her rare gift for weaving complex scientific concepts into a compelling narrative. I soliloquized the suns wish for companionship, which the planetactors granted by joining up with me.