Mark Anderson's Blog, page 4
May 15, 2012
Reviews so far
Early reviews of The Day the World Discovered the Sun have been very positive. Reviews in at least three other major national publications are reportedly now in the pipeline. We hope more — reviews, articles, interviews, etc. — will be forthcoming beyond that too.
Here, though, courtesy of a helpful blog entry summarizing much of the major press and media during the book’s first week in print, are some key quotes. Please stay tuned. … And this wouldn’t be much of a book promotional website if there wasn’t also a ready link to the online retailers where a reader can buy the book!
“In this exciting tale—part detective story, part history of science—Anderson vividly recreates the torturous explorations and enthralling discovery of three peripatetic and insatiably curious explorers.”
-Publishers Weekly
“A scientific adventure tale in which astronomers risk their lives, traveling the high seas in winter, trekking over ice-bound Siberia and facing deadly diseases…A lively, fitting tribute to ‘mankind’s first international “big science” project.’”
-Kirkus Reviews
“Anderson has written an exciting chronicle…This is a fine combination of popular science and real-life adventure that will appeal to a broad spectrum of readers.”
-Booklist
“Read it…for an armchair travel adventure.”
-The Roanoke Times
May 14, 2012
A glowing review from New Scientist
“Truly excellent … Anderson writes as if the reader is on the very shoulders of the adventurers as they sledge across the icy wastes of Siberia or sail across uncharted oceans. … Communicate[s] the verve and energy - not to mention the perilous nature - of the expeditions. Mimsy scientists did not apply. Wrestling alligators for a living had nothing on being an 18th-century astronomer, risking life and limb on a daily basis.”
How to watch the June 5, 2012 Venus transit
At approximately 6 p.m. eastern (U.S./Canada) time on June 5*, the planet Venus will spend some six hours crawling like a june bug across the face of the sun. For perspective, it’ll look a little like a quarter slowly sliding across the dinner plate-sized sun.
But no description or even photographs can compare to seeing it in person. I highly recommend making the effort to check out the only remaining Venus transit that will be visible in our lifetimes. (The next one is in 2117!)
NASA has prepared a map (PDF) showing where in the world the June 5-6 Venus transit will be visible. Space.com has its own helpful visual guide to this year’s Venus transit too.
To see it for yourself, check your local newspaper’s event listings for regional astronomy clubs or schools that will be setting up telescopes outfitted to observe the transit.
This last point is especially important because the transit will be best viewed through a telescope. But looking at the sun through a telescope without a proper solar filter on it can permanently damage the eyes or even cause blindness. Two astronomy blogs have collected some good posts about safely viewing the transit.
Some Dutch astronomers have even written their own iPhone/Android phone Transit of Venus app that details the exact path of this year’s transit across the sun as seen from your location. It also will be collecting amateur astronomers’ Venus transit observations from around the world.
234 years ago, without GPS, smartphone apps (or, gasp, even email!), a dedicated group of scientists and explorers risked their lives to perform these same observations.
And that’s, of course, a page-turner for another time.
* The transit begins late in the day U.S. time on June 5. This means that for much of the world, including Australia, and eastern Europe and Africa (see NASA’s transit map for more), the Venus transit will begin on the morning of June 6.
May 10, 2012
Where to buy THE DAY THE WORLD DISCOVERED THE SUN
The Day the World Discovered the Sun is now onsale at booksellers everywhere, or online at:
iBook store (Apple)
May 9, 2012
A 4 minute video introducing the page-turning story behind the...
A 4 minute video introducing the page-turning story behind the acclaimed new book THE DAY THE WORLD DISCOVERED THE SUN, newly released by Da Capo Press (May 2012)
May 7, 2012
IEEE Spectrum magazine’s podcast interview with Mark Anderson...
IEEE Spectrum magazine’s podcast interview with Mark Anderson on The Day the World Discovered the Sun.
“This book—we already alluded to it—has more ups and downs than the Alps. Besides ambitious astronomers and fortune-seeking horologists, it’s got murderous banditos in New Spain, suspicious Russian villagers, Tahitian women trading views of their breasts for anything made of iron, and at least two actually mad, as in insane, European kings. Did you know when you went into this research what a wild ride this story would be?”
May 5, 2012
A book review from this month’s Discover magazine.
(h/t...
A book review from this month’s Discover magazine.
(h/t C.C.)
April 20, 2012
new review (AstroGuyz.com)
On June 5th-6th, depending on your respective position across the International Date Line, the planet Venus will transit across the face of the Sun for the last time this century. And I can think of no finer reading companion to warm you up for this event than this week’s review, The Day the World Discovered the Sun by Mark Anderson. Out this year from Da Capo Press, this book reads like a fine historical adventure novel, tracing the exploits of three expeditions that raced across the globe to observe the transit of Venus in 1769. This was truly the first international effort of its kind and marked the beginning of journeys made with scientific discovery in mind. …
The Day the World Discovered the Sun tracks the expeditions Jean-Baptiste Chappe to Baja California, Father Maximilan Hell to Vardø Norway, and most famously, the journey of Captain Cook and the Endeavour to the island of Tahiti. Tales of adventure ensue, as parties combat disease, despair, welcome and suspicion in their race to be in place for the celestial show of the century.
March 27, 2012
Press coverage (Mar. 27)
It can be tough to make the world of centuries ago feel alive, but Anderson does an excellent job of it, writing with a feel for just-right detail to evoke the drama of the 1769 expeditions to view the transit. He focuses on three: the voyage of French astonomer Jean-Baptiste Chappe c'Auteroche to South America; English Captain James Cook's to the Pacific; and Hungarian priest Maximilian Hell's to the Arctic. The last is of particular interest as the first English-language recounting of the trip, based on expedition journals (Anderson had them translated for the book).
In each case, Anderson employs the tools of a novelist, dramatizing the adventurers' tales in grand style. Such stuff seems to always require a certain suspension of disbelief—a good guess is, of course, all anyone has when it comes to a real person's thoughts. Go with it, and you'll find Anderson's prose gleaming with a stout and convincing imagining of the past.
March 19, 2012
Early book reviews coming in (Publishers Weekly)
"In this exciting tale—part detective story, part history of science—Anderson ("Shakespeare" by Another Name) vividly recreates the torturous explorations and enthralling discovery of three peripatetic and insatiably curious explorers. The French astronomer Jean-Baptiste Chappe d'Auteroche, the British naval captain James Cook, and the Hungarian scientist and priest Maximilian Hell chased Venus across the sky in 1761 and 1769 as its shadow crossed the sun and they sought to uncover one of the 18th-century's greatest scientific mysteries: the dimensions of the solar system. In these voyages, Cook, Chappe, and Hell determined that the Sun is 95 million miles from Earth and that the Sun's horizontal parallax is about eight and a half seconds. These discoveries also led to the establishment of lunar longitude methods and the use of the sextant to determine longitude. "
