Science Astronomy: Viewing Stars with Binoculars, Newton's Struggle with Chaloner, and Science's History

Newton and the Counterfeiter: The Unknown Detective Career of the World's Greatest Scientist (BOOK): by Thomas Levenson

In 1695, Isaac Newton--already renowned as the greatest mind of his age--made a surprising career change. He left quiet Cambridge, where he had lived for thirty years and made his earth-shattering discoveries, and moved to London to take up the post of Warden of His Majesty's Mint. Newton was preceded to the city by a genius of another kind, the budding criminal William Chaloner. Thanks to his preternatural skills as a counterfeiter, Chaloner was rapidly rising in London's highly competitive underworld, at a time when organized law enforcement was all but unknown and money in the modern sense was just coming into being. Then he crossed paths with the formidable new warden. In the courts and streets of London--and amid the tremors of a world being transformed by the ideas Newton himself had set in motion--the two played out an epic game of cat and mouse.

Science: A Four Thousand Year History (BOOK): by Patricia Fara

"For a very long time, reputable historians of science have lacked the desire, the knowledge, or the nerve to undertake a book like this -- an attempt to survey the development of science from Antiquity to the present, notably including non-European materials. Patricia Fara has succeeded: Science is an elegant and compact creative synthesis of the piecemeal researches of generations of academic historians. It deserves the widest possible readership." --Steven Shapin, Professor of the History of Science, Harvard, and author of The Scientific Revolution

"Dismantling popular myths, taking a truly global view and dispensing with false idols, Fara's highly readable survey of science's histories is a breath of fresh air. She unerringly pinpoints the defining moods of each age, treating the past with respect and the present with discernment. This wonderfully literate book tells a story that is far, far more interesting than the tidy fictions of hindsight." --Philip Ball, Consultant Editor of Nature

Stephen James O'Meara's Observing the Night Sky with Binoculars: A Simple Guide to the Heavens (BOOK): by Stephen James O’Meara

"The mythology and history of the stars and other objects are explained in engaging narrative, and the reader is left feeling as though they have truly learned about what they have seen. ...ideal for those who want to know more about astronomical objects easily seen with binoculars." - David Bowley, Astronomy Now

"The chapters cover all the major binocular deep-sky objects well, but unlike most such guides, the author devotes even more space to star patterns and individual stars. On the whole, I find this refreshing. ... As always, O'Meara's writing is lively, quirky, and infused with his personality." -Tony Flanders, Sky & Telescope

"[O'Meara] lends depth and richness to the observing experience. His skilled observations and side jaunts to obscure targets give both novice and seasoned skygazers fresh vistas to seek and explore." -Sky & Telescope on Deep-Sky Companions: The Caldwell Objects

The Brightest Stars: Discovering the Universe Through the Sky's Most Brilliant Stars (BOOK): by Fred Schaaf

"Fred Schaaf is one of the most experienced astronomical observers of our time. For more than two decades, his view of the sky-what will be visible, when it will be visible, and what it will look like-has encouraged tens of thousands of people to turn their eyes skyward."—David H. Levy, Science Editor, Parade magazine, discoverer of twenty-one comets, and author of Starry Night and Cosmic Discoveries

"Fred Schaaf is a poet of the stars. He brings the sky into people's lives in a way that is compelling and his descriptions have all the impact of witnessing the stars on a crystal-clear dark night." —William Sheehan, coauthor of Mars: The Lure of the Red Planet and The Transits of Venus

The Cosmic Connection: How Astronomical Events Impact Life on Earth (BOOK): by Jeff Kanipe

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. "Look anywhere beyond our little nook of the Galaxy and you will see a universe that is not only dispassionate, but dangerous and random"; escaping that nook, author and science writer Kanipe (Chasing Hubble's Shadows) examines in fascinating detail the countless astronomical events that, from remote distances and times, have steered the evolution of life on Earth. Kanipe explains how a serendipitous axis played a central role in shaping the planet's climate; meteor and comet strikes (as recently as 1908) have caused significant damage but not global catastrophe; and the explosion of ancient stars carved out the "Local Bubble" in which Solar System resides: "as if the region has been sterilized of potentially lethal galactic hazards." There's no guarantee those factors won't turn against us-a wayward neutron star could swing by and "scramble the atomic and molecular structure of the solar system"-but Kanipe is an infectious optimist who doesn't let these long-shot dangers curb his curiosity or enthusiasm. Exploring also the possibility of interstellar civilizations, the end of the universe and other topics, this detailed, broad-ranging astronomical meditation leave science buffs wondering at our good fortune.