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Title details for American Eclipse by David Baron - Available

American Eclipse

A Nation's Epic Race to Catch the Shadow of the Moon and Win the Glory of the World

by David Baron
Jonathan Yen
Audiobook
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In the scorching summer of 1878, with the Gilded Age in its infancy, three tenacious and brilliant scientists raced to Wyoming and Colorado to observe a rare total solar eclipse. One sought to discover a new planet. Another-an adventuresome female astronomer-fought to prove that science was not anathema to femininity. And a young, megalomaniacal inventor, with the tabloid press fast on his heels, sought to test his scientific bona fides and light the world through his revelations. David Baron brings to three-dimensional life these three competitors-James Craig Watson, Maria Mitchell, and Thomas Edison-and thrillingly re-creates the fierce jockeying of nineteenth-century American astronomy. With spellbinding accounts of train robberies and Indian skirmishes, the mythologized age of the last days of the Wild West comes alive as never before. A magnificent portrayal of America's dawn as a scientific superpower, American Eclipse depicts a young nation that looked to the skies to reveal its towering ambition and expose its latent genius.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    June 6, 2017

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781681685786
      • File size: 248910 KB
      • Duration: 08:38:33

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      With verbal aplomb and a jaunty pace, Jonathan Yen deftly narrates this tale of scientific adventure. Every 100 years, a total solar eclipse darkens a path across the United States. In 1878, three notable research parties made extraordinary preparations to witness and measure the event. One was led by an eminent, though egotistical, asteroid hunter who was desperate to lay claim to planetary discovery. Another featured an up-and-coming inventor who was determined to be taken seriously in the scientific community. And, finally, another was organized by an accomplished astronomer whose gender prevented her advancement. While the story is filled with characters and rich in scientific detail, Yen keeps listeners engaged by embracing the momentum of discovery, driving the plot, and adding color through voices and accents. A.S. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from April 17, 2017
      Science journalist Baron (The Beast in the Garden) shares a timely tale of science and suspense in this story of rival Gilded Age astronomers contending with everything from cloudy skies to train robbers to observe the historic total solar eclipse of July 29, 1878. American scientists got little respect from their European counterparts in the 19th century, so when astronomers predicted an eclipse with a path of totality visible across much of the American West, reputation-bolstering plans to observe the spectacle were quickly hatched at universities across the nation. Baron focuses on three vibrant personalities: astronomy professor James Craig Watson, a planet hunter with a somewhat shady reputation; groundbreaking Vassar astronomer Maria Mitchell, who was determined to prove that women were as capable of great scientific work as any man; and ambitious inventor Thomas Edison, who’d built a scientific instrument that he hoped would prove he was more than a mere tinkerer. Hopping between the three narratives, Baron skillfully builds tension, giving readers a vivid sense of the excitement, hard work, and high stakes in play. With the first total solar eclipse to cross the U.S. in 99 years set to occur in late August 2017, this engrossing story makes an entertaining and informative teaser.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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