Dava Sobel Books

The book explores the life and contributions of a groundbreaking female scientist, highlighting her significant impact on the field and the lesser-known stories of the young women who trained under her guidance. It offers a glimpse into their experiences and the challenges they faced, shedding light on the historical context of women in science. Through this narrative, the author emphasizes the importance of mentorship and the legacy of female empowerment in scientific pursuits.

Focusing on the life and contributions of a groundbreaking female scientist, the book explores her significant impact on the field and highlights the lesser-known stories of the young women who trained in her laboratory. Through a blend of biography and historical context, it sheds light on their struggles and achievements, offering a fresh perspective on women's roles in science. The narrative emphasizes both the individual's legacy and the collective experiences of women in a male-dominated profession.

During the great ages of exploration "the longitude problem" was the greatest of scientific challenges. Lacking the ability to determine their longitude, sailors were literally lost at sea as soon as they lost sight of land. Ships ran aground on rocky shores; those traveling welt-known routes were easy prey to pirates.In 1714, England's Parliament offered a huge reward to anyone whose method of measuring longitude could be proven successful. The scientific establishment -- from Galileo to Sir Isaac Newton -- had mapped the heavens in its certainty of a celestial answer. In stark contrast, one man, John Harrison, dared to imagine a mechanical solution -- a clock that would keep precise time at sea, something no clock had been able to do on land. And the race was on.

This is an account of the relationship between Italian scientist Galileo and his daughter, Marie Celeste. It contains letters sent from Marie Celeste to her father from a Florence convent.

Exploring the contributions of women to the field of astronomy, this book highlights the lives and achievements of the female "computers" at Harvard College Observatory. It delves into their groundbreaking work in analyzing glass photographic plates that revolutionized the understanding of the universe. Through vivid storytelling, the author reveals how these women overcame societal barriers and played a crucial role in scientific advancements, ultimately changing the way we perceive the cosmos.

'A biographical orrery - intricate, complex and fascinating' The Observer 'A peerless intellectual biography. The Glass Universe shines and twinkles as brightly as the stars themselves' Economist Bestselling author Dava Sobel returns with a captivating, little-known true story of women in science Before they even had the right to vote, a group of remarkable women were employed by Harvard College Observatory as 'Human Computers' to interpret the observations made via telescope by their male counterparts each night. The author of Longitude, Galileo's Daughter and The Planets shines light on the hidden history of these extraordinary women who changed the burgeoning field of astronomy and our understanding of the stars and our place in the universe.

By 1514, the reclusive cleric Nicolaus Copernicus had developed an initial outline of his heliocentric theory-in which he defied common sense and received wisdom to place the sun, and not the earth, at the center of our universe, and set the earth spinning among the other planets. Over the next two decades, Copernicus expanded his theory and compiled in secret a book-length manuscript that tantalized mathematicians and scientists throughout Europe. For fear of ridicule, he refused to publish. In 1539, a young German mathematician, Georg Joachim Rheticus, drawn by rumors of a revolution to rival the religious upheaval of Martin Luther's Reformation, traveled to Poland to seek out Copernicus. Two years later, the Protestant youth took leave of his aging Catholic mentor and arranged to have Copernicus's manuscript published, in 1543, as De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres)-the book that forever changed humankind's place in the universe. In her elegant, compelling style, Dava Sobel chronicles, as nobody has, the conflicting personalities and extraordinary discoveries that shaped the Copernican Revolution. At the heart of the book is her play "And the Sun Stood Still," imagining Rheticus's struggle to convince Copernicus to let his manuscript see the light of day.