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OverviewA BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week 'A STUNNING AND UNFORGETTABLE VOYAGE THROUGH THE STARS' STEPHEN FRY A sweeping inquiry into how the night sky has shaped what it means to be human. One of our species' most enduring and universal relationships has been with the night sky itself - yet in the glow of today's artificial lighting, we have forgotten this intimacy with the cosmos. In Starborn, cosmologist Roberto Trotta reveals how stargazing has shaped the course of civilisation. Origin myths made the Sun into a life-giving creator and the Milky Way a gateway for departed souls. The motion of celestial bodies sustained the illusion that the Earth was at the centre of the cosmos - until looking at them more closely sparked the Scientific Revolution. Across the ages, the stars have served as clocks, maps, compasses, muses, and gods, defining our laws of reality and our dreams of the sublime. How radically different would we be if we looked to the night sky and saw . . . nothing? Trotta also offers a dramatic alternate history, imagining how a world without stars would change our understanding of science, art, and ourselves. Revealing the fundamental connections between astronomy and the story of civilisation, Starborn summons us to lose ourselves in the immeasurable vastness above - and will change how you think of the night sky forever. Full Product DetailsAuthor: Roberto TrottaPublisher: John Murray Press Imprint: Basic Books Dimensions: Width: 15.40cm , Height: 3.00cm , Length: 23.40cm Weight: 0.440kg ISBN: 9781529346091ISBN 10: 1529346096 Pages: 352 Publication Date: 09 November 2023 Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Tertiary & Higher Education , Professional & Vocational Format: Paperback Publisher's Status: Active Availability: In stock  We have confirmation that this item is in stock with the supplier. It will be ordered in for you and dispatched immediately. Table of ContentsReviewsPRAISE FOR ROBERTO TROTTA: A delightful, poetic, and informative read about all there is in the Universe -- Edward Frenkel, Professor of Mathematics, University of California, and author of LOVE AND MATH Trotta's deft word choices quickly draw the reader into a surprisingly vivid alternate reality . . . elegant, even poetic. Literary experiments tend either to work or to flail with awkwardness; in Trotta's hands, this beautifully written book . . . soars -- Publishers Weekly, starred review A stunning and unforgettable voyage through the stars. Almost every page will make you gulp in astonishment. To be so authoritative and yet so readable and companionable, that is a rare and priceless achievement -- Stephen Fry, actor Author InformationRoberto Trotta is Professor of Theoretical Physics at the International School for Advanced Study in Trieste, Italy, and a visiting professor of astrostatistics at Imperial College London. The award-winning author of The Edge of the Sky, he lives under dark skies near Trieste. Tab Content 6Author Website:Countries AvailableAll regions |
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