American Eclipse

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. Best Read [ American Eclipse ] Author [ David Baron ] For Kindle ePUB or eBook – kino-fada.fr Another nonfiction book that wasn t bad but I didn t enjoy because of my own personal tastes I got pretty bored reading about scientists trying to go out of their way just to observe an eclipse, and I couldn t relate with the authors clearly visceral feelings towards eclipses I don t even get why properly measuring and observing an eclipse was even something that would put the US on the map and make our science community respectable because again I m jut like wow the sun was blocked out great Another nonfiction book that wasn t bad but I didn t enjoy because of my own personal tastes I got pretty bored reading about scientists trying to go out ...If I had any doubts that the world is still obsessed with eclipses, I need only turn on the television or look online or at a newspaper to set me straight In two days Americans will see the most famous total solar eclipse in decades and everywhere I go people are talking about it Granted, we no longer feel that we need to sacrifice virgins to volcanos to get the sun to return but in our way, we are still enthralled by a mystical attraction to the most astounding astronomical event most people If I had any doubts that the world is still obsessed with eclipses, I need only turn on the television or look online or at a newspaper to set me straight In two days Americans will see the most famous total solar eclipse in decades and everywhere I go people are talking about it Granted, we no longer feel that we need to sacrifice virgins to volcanos to get the sun to return but in our way, we are still enthralled by a mystical attraction to the most astounding astronomical event most people are ever likely to see Former NPR science correspondent David Baron witnessed his first total eclipse in 1998 and has been a confirmed umbraphile ever since, traveling the world to witness this amazing phenomenon whenever he can His new...This is a history of the 1878 solar eclipse I stayed up well past my bedtime reading this because every time I thought I had reached a good spot to put it down, something intriguing would happen and I would have to keep reading Until this book, I had never heard of Maria Mitchell Her battle for women s rights and respect in the scientific community were inspiring She is a fascinating historical figure and I would like to find a biography on her to get a broader picture of her full life.Side This is a history of the 1878 solar eclipse I stayed up well past my bedtime reading this because every time I thought I had reached a good spot to put it down, something intriguing would happen and I would have to keep reading Until this book, I had never heard of Maria Mitchell Her battle for women s rights and respect in the scientific community were inspiring She is a fascinating historical ...I personally loved this book As I sit in my home that is directly in the path of the August 21, 2017 Total Eclipse I can begin to experience to excitement that the 1878 Eclipse generated to a much less sophisticated society So much has happened in the last 139 years in terms of exploration of the galaxy, the moon, the stars and the sun and yet this book transports us back to a simpler time, a time when people did not know that helium existed and that it is one of the two elements that causes t I personally loved this book As I sit in my home that is directly in the path of the August 21, 2017 Total Eclipse I can begin to experience to excitement that the 1878 Eclipse generated to a much less sophisticated society So much has happened in the last 139 years in terms of exploration of the galaxy, the moon, the stars and the sun and yet this book transports us back to a simpler time, a time when people did not know that helium existed and that it is one of the two elements that causes the sun to burn so bright, as well as not knowing whether or not a planet named Vulcan existed.We follow 3 main characters James Watson, Thomas Edison and Maria Mitchell I loved the parts about Mitchell and her fight for Women s rights and the ability to work as Astronomers and Scientists Watson searches, we later discover, in vain for the planet Vulcan, and Edison goes West for both a rest and to try out a new invention the tasimeter...Very nice Baron uses the total eclipse of 1878 to frame the scientific progress that was just beginning to take off in America He also includes some interesting tangents about the history of astronomy, tales about outlaws of the West, and the battle for women involvement in the scientific community Through portraits of some of the leading scientific minds of the day, including Watson and Edison I also appreciate the extensive notes and sources listed at the end of the book Very well researc Very nice Baron uses the total eclipse of 1878 to frame the scientific progress that was just beginning to take off in America He also includes some interesting tangents about the history of astronomy, tales about outlaws o...July 29th, 1878 A total eclipse that made an arcing line from Alaska swooping down to Texas and the Gulf of Mexico It was a great American eclipse and the time was an alignment ofthan celestial bodies in American history This was a period in US history where a recognizably modern technological industrialized nation was emerging to become the major power we all recognize This book drinks in the spirit of the...I was fortunate enough to live just a couple hours from the path of totality of what is being called 2017 Great American Eclipse, and was evenfortunate to have a Mom who lived in the path so I had a convenient place to stay I purchased nd read this book to give me a better idea of what I could look forward to Although I did learn a whole lot about eclipses, what I enjoyed most about this book was how very difficult women scientist of the time had it I mean it really sucked being a femal I was fortunate enough to live just a couple hours from the path of totality of what is being called 2017 Great American Eclipse, and was evenfortunate to have a Mom who lived in the path so I had a convenient place to stay I purchased nd read this book to give me a better idea of what I could look forward to Although I did learn a whole lot about eclipses, what I enjoyed most about this book was how very difficult women scientist of the time had it I mean it really sucked being a female scientist in th...This was an interesting read after watching the total eclipse of the sun this summer shout out to my friend Beth who sent me this book after we viewed the eclipse together The author states that he purposely prepared and released this book to coincide with the 2017 American Eclipse He focuses on the 1878 total eclipse that crossed America and some of the major players that were making efforts to travel and study the event.We started by listening to this one in the car, but I would not recomm This was an interesting read after watching the total eclipse of the sun this summer shout out to my friend Beth who sent me this book after we viewed the eclipse together The author states that he purposely prepared and released this book to coincide with the 2017 American Eclipse He focuses on the 1878 total eclipse that crossed America and some of the major players that were making efforts to travel and study the event.We started by listening to this one in the car, but I would not recommend that for a couple of reasons First and most important, the printed book is full of illustrations people, maps, locations, etc The illustrations made a big difference in my ability to keep track of the names and places mentioned in the story just listening made itdifficult to follow along and stay engaged.Second, the book opens with kind of a gory scene, which took me off guard and made me hope that the kids weren t listening in It is for effect, and it works, but I w...I m at 35% and I have no motivation to go further The storyline with Maria Mitchell was interesting The writing style didn t work for me It felt like a lecture and came across so boring It may have gotten better if...This book perfectly captured the thrill of seeing a total solar eclipse, and gave me some interesting background on the scientists who pinned all their hopes on what the 1878 eclipse would bring them In the end, it was probably a lotbackground than I really wanted, for instance, on Thomas Edison, whose invention to be tested at the time of the eclipse turned out to be just reallyunimportant.I did find it interesting to read about the female astronomer Maria Mitchell, fighting for wom This book perfectly captured the thrill of seeing a total solar eclipse, and gave me some interesting background on the scientists who pinned all their hopes on what the 1878 eclipse would bring them In the end, it was probably a lotbackground than I really wanted, for instance, on Thomas Edison, whose invention to be tested at the time of the eclipse turned out to be just reallyunimportant.I did find it interesting to read about the female astronomer Maria Mitchel...

• English
• 20 September 2017
David Baron
• Hardcover
• 330 pages
• 1631490168
• David Baron
• American Eclipse