Sun Moon Earth: The History of Solar Eclipses from Omens of Doom to Einstein and Exoplanets by Tyler Nordgren
Release Date: September 13, 2016
Genre: Nonfiction, Science
Source: I picked up an advance copy from the publisher at BEA thinking Jax would enjoy it
Rating: 4 Bookworms
Goodreads
Synopsis
On August 21, 2017, more than ten million Americans will experience an awe-inspiring phenomenon: the first total eclipse of the sun in American in almost forty years. In Sun Moon Earth, astronomer Tyler Nordgren illustrate how this most seemingly unnatural of natural phenomena was transformed from a fearsome omen to a tourist attraction. From the astrologers of ancient China and Babylon to the high priests of the Maya, Sun Moon Earth takes us around the world to show how different cultures interpreted these dramatic events. Greek philosophers discovered eclipses' cause and used them to measure their world and the cosmos beyond. Victorian-era scientists mounted eclipse expeditions during the age of globe-spanning empires. And modern-day physicists continue to use eclipses to confirm Einstein's theory of relativity.
Beautifully illustrated and lyrically written, Sun Moon Earth is the ideal guide for all eclipse watchers and star gazers alike.
***Jax's Review***
Sun Moon Earth is a delightful book about eclipses. Tyler Nordgren writes with a quasi-Bill Bryson style, as each of the nine chapters sufficiently wanders from the subject then brings it back in a conclusion where the stories and facts are proved relevant. He shows an enormous love for eclipses, yearning for the reader to understand the sensation one feels during an eclipse. The book covers subjects from the earliest records of eclipses to the cult following across the globe for a glimpse at the rare event. Most of the book is anecdotes from history, such as Columbus using an eclipse to secure dominance of the natives in the Bahamas. The author, Nordgren, is a professor and has written another book on astronomy, about stargazing in the national parks.
Welcome to my first Travel by the Book post. I mentioned on a Bought, Borrowed, & Bagged post one time that many, many of my vacations with Hubs have been inspired by a book. Hubs is kind enough to humor me and take me to said places. So I got the idea to share those books and vacations with y'all. This will be a monthly feature and I hope y'all enjoy it!
***The Book***
Way back in 1998 (maybe) I read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt. If you haven't read the book, I highly recommend it. It's non-fiction that reads like fiction. I mean, ghosts of bulldogs, voodoo, drag queens, and murder in Savannah? It's good stuff. Not to mention the description of the layout of the city - the squares - and the lovely old oaks dripping in Spanish moss. I loved reading about the more recent history of such an historic city. And the characters that inhabit such a place were quite...colorful. I just knew it was a place that I'd like to visit.
***The Travel***
In 2008, we finally made the trip. We went in June trying to avoid the higher temperatures of late summer. But Savannah is a city where the heat stays rather mild. The humidity on the other hand...well, coming from Colorado, it was thick.
We very much enjoyed walking about the town squares...the trees are beautiful draped in Spanish moss.
Savannah is designed in a grid-design...open squares around which residential and civic blocks reside. Each of the squares is named after someone and in the center of the square, there is typically some type of memorial to that person...statue, fountain, etc. This is the fountain at the center of Columbia Square.
The city is filled with gorgeous Victorian and Georgian architecture. It was fun to check out all the homes and speculate as to who lived there. Below is the Mercer House, built by Johnny Mercer's great-grandfather in 1860, and is the house in which the murder at the center of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil took place. Jim Williams, who was accused in the shooting death of his assistant Danny Hansford, is the only person to have been tried 4 times for the same crime in the state of Georgia.
There are tons of ghost tours offered in Savannah but we didn't go on any. I did get Hubs to take me sightseeing/treasure hunting in the local cemetery, however. (that's true love, folks!) Important events occur in the cemetery in the book - events involving voodoo. But I was looking for The Bird Girl, which is the statue on the cover of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. We never did find it. We later found out that was because it'd been removed from the cemetery and put in a museum. *ha* The cemetery was beautiful though.
And totally on a whim, we stopped in at The Lady & Sons - Paula Deen's restaurant. While perusing the shop there was a ruckus...here's the reason for that ruckus...
Uh-huh. I got to meet, touch, and converse with Bobby Deen. Yeah, Hubs asked if I wanted him in the picture too. I said "Uh, nope!"
Okay, so there you have it. The highlights of my trip to Savannah, Georgia, inspired by Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.
