The Prometheans: John Martin and the Generation that Stole the Future by Max Adams Published by Quercus, 2009, 300 pp. There are young radicals calling for the overthrow of the system; here is art and literature stirring up popular unrest, and incurring a culture war backlash; and bewildering advances in science and technology giving people… Continue reading Firestarters
Category: Review
But where is everyone?
But where is everyone? The Fermi Paradox (reported from a casual conversation between Enrico Fermi and colleagues about extra-terrestrial life, in 1950 Jump in… Introduction Inspiration Discrimination Elsewhere… Alien Worlds: Planet Hunting in the Cosmos by Lisa Kaltenegger Published by Allen Lane / Penguin Random House books (2024), 275 pages Introduction Please don’t be put… Continue reading But where is everyone?
Re-reading Karamazov
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky, 1880, translated by by David McDuff in Penguin Classics series, 1993/2003, 1013 pages. These are my personal reflections on re-reading the novel. There are no spoilers and no attempt at a plot summary. A symphony Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov is a Mahler Symphony of a novel: it is… Continue reading Re-reading Karamazov
A Year in the Dark
Review of Phillip’s Stargazing 2024 & Night Sky Almanac 2024 There are several publications that offer a guide to the night sky for the year ahead, and here are two of them. Of course if you are interested in astronomy, you may already have reference books, star charts and on-line aids to navigating the night… Continue reading A Year in the Dark
Teaching the garden to weed itself
What do you get if you cross an unconventional economist with a talented journalist? If the economist if Steven D Levitt and the writer is Stephen J Dubner, then the result is a series of best-selling books and a hugely popular podcast. Along the way it will entertain and astonish a lot of people, make… Continue reading Teaching the garden to weed itself
Galactic Archaeology
A review of “The Ins and Outs of the Milky Way” The Vectis Astronomical Society public talk for May 2023 by Professor Sean Ryan Seeing the Milky Way Do we ever look up at the night sky and think how the view is never-changing, except for the wandering planets against a timeless backdrop of the… Continue reading Galactic Archaeology
Our Past is in the Stars
Beneath the Night: How the stars have shaped the history of humankind By Stuart Clark (2020, Guardian Faber), 290 pp. Starry night Why do we look at the stars? We are interested in the nature of the Universe, a drive to understand and interpret what we see. Equally valid is an appreciation of the beauty… Continue reading Our Past is in the Stars
Darken our Lightness
Under The Stars: A Journey into Light By Matt Gaw (2020, Elliott & Thompson) Walking in the Dark Matt Gaw is a writer and naturalist whose fascination with darkness leads him to seek out experiences of being outside at night. In Under The Stars he is inspired to write by taking walks in the moonlight,… Continue reading Darken our Lightness
Other Worlds
A History of Delusions: The Glass King, a Substitute Husband and a Walking Corpse by Victoria Shepherd (2022, Oneworld Publications) Distorted Mirrors A book of famous case histories of delusional individuals, could so easily become a distasteful sideshow, like visiting a Hall of Mirrors, or paying your penny to gawp at the inmates in Bedlam.… Continue reading Other Worlds
Reaching for the sky
The Comet Sweeper: Caroline Hershel’s Astronomical Ambition by Claire Brock (Icon Books, 2007) Caroline Hershel’s reputation has long been in the shadow of her brother William, who was the discoverer of Uranus and first president of The Astronomical Society of London (which later became the Royal Astronomical Society). She is rightly portrayed as the utterly… Continue reading Reaching for the sky