David Baron
The origins of AMERICAN ECLIPSE stretch back nineteen years.
In February 1998, I witnessed my first total solar eclipse—in Aruba—and was spellbound. Standing beneath the sun’s glorious corona proved magical, and I vowed to repeat the experience. Indeed, since then I have continued to stalk eclipses—across Europe, Australia, and Asia.
I also resolved back in 1998 that I would write a book about eclipses, but not right away. Even as a rookie eclipse chaser, I knew that the grandest eclipse of our era would occur on August 21, 2017, when the moon’s shadow will, for the first time in 99 years, traverse the entire breadth of the continental United States. It seemed obvious that the summer of 2017 offered the right opportunity to release my book, so I put the project on hold for more than a decade.
In 2011, I finally got down to work and started hunting for a dramatic eclipse-related tale. I soon settled on the forgotten story of the great American eclipse of 1878, which crossed the nation’s Wild West. Thank goodness I started my research well in advance of publication. Digging up archival documents and reconstructing this historical tale proved a gargantuan, though enjoyable, task.
In February 1998, I witnessed my first total solar eclipse—in Aruba—and was spellbound. Standing beneath the sun’s glorious corona proved magical, and I vowed to repeat the experience. Indeed, since then I have continued to stalk eclipses—across Europe, Australia, and Asia.
I also resolved back in 1998 that I would write a book about eclipses, but not right away. Even as a rookie eclipse chaser, I knew that the grandest eclipse of our era would occur on August 21, 2017, when the moon’s shadow will, for the first time in 99 years, traverse the entire breadth of the continental United States. It seemed obvious that the summer of 2017 offered the right opportunity to release my book, so I put the project on hold for more than a decade.
In 2011, I finally got down to work and started hunting for a dramatic eclipse-related tale. I soon settled on the forgotten story of the great American eclipse of 1878, which crossed the nation’s Wild West. Thank goodness I started my research well in advance of publication. Digging up archival documents and reconstructing this historical tale proved a gargantuan, though enjoyable, task.
More Answered Questions
John Behle
asked
David Baron:
David--good book--I just uploaded my GR review of "American Eclipse." I placed a paragraph in there about your impressive resume. Where is your next travel adventure? Do you keep up with your Yale mates? Vera and I spent March 2017 in Ecuador and Peru--we did not faint in the nearly 4000 meter heights in the Andes. Loved The Galapagos Islands and we swam with the sharks.
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