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205 reviews for:
The Glass Universe: The Hidden History of the Women Who Took the Measure of the Stars
Dava Sobel
3.52 AVERAGE
205 reviews for:
The Glass Universe: The Hidden History of the Women Who Took the Measure of the Stars
Dava Sobel
3.52 AVERAGE
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
It's all worth it to be a part of it
Well researched history of the Harvard Observatory. This reads better if you look at it as a series of mini-stories rather than a sing. narrative. Information dense, if you are looking for a quick read - this one is probably not for you. If, however, you are curious to learn more of many of the more famous names of early astronomy - this book is solid, and also covers the contributions of the men who ran these institutions that Harvard lent its name and resources to.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
informative
medium-paced
This is a fascinating story, but parts of the book are pretty tedious.
informative
inspiring
slow-paced
Terrible book. Dry. So many words, so little to learn from it. So many quotes so many references. Very little story.
informative
slow-paced
Brilliant tales of the women that made a glass universe of plates photographing and recording the night sky.
The audiobook is narrated by Cassandra Campbell and I did prefer it to the paper book. That said, it's still worth it to browse the physical book for the collection of photographs in the middle.
The audiobook is narrated by Cassandra Campbell and I did prefer it to the paper book. That said, it's still worth it to browse the physical book for the collection of photographs in the middle.
Read this review and more on my blog, uncovered-books.
I received a free copy of The Glass Universe from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.
The Glass Universe explains, in great detail, how women in astronomy helped create our current understanding of the stars, galaxies and the universes.
The Glass Universe covers astronomy from the 1870’s all the way to present day, so Sobel covers a vast time period which showed the advancement of technology and how it only in the last 30 odd years that it was able to benefit astronomy.
With The Glass Universe covering a humongous time period, Sobel managed to cover almost everything in detail. The main focus, however, was on the beginning period of how Mrs. Anna Draper and her fellow ‘human computers’ laid the foundation for future female astronomers.
My favourite part of The Glass Universe was probably finding out how a lot of astronomers were enlisted during the second world war as their skills in astronomy translated well into calculating trajectories, recognising patterns and variations and such-like. Whilst I can see how easily the skills can translate, I just never thought that they ever would. Also, the effect of WW2 on not only astronomy but all sciences was vast and when before the sharing of information was second nature, it suddenly became non-existent until well after the war had finished.
I personally found The Glass Universe quite a struggle to get through, it took me about 7 months of reading it on-and-off. I am not saying that it is a bad book, I quite enjoyed it, but with so much information to take in, and it not being particularly stimulating to read if you are not dedicated to reading this it would be very easy to put down.
If you really enjoy astronomy and want to find out how far along research astronomy has come along, or if you are just generally interested in history then The Glass Universe is perfect for you.
I received a free copy of The Glass Universe from the publisher in exchange for my honest opinion.
The Glass Universe explains, in great detail, how women in astronomy helped create our current understanding of the stars, galaxies and the universes.
The Glass Universe covers astronomy from the 1870’s all the way to present day, so Sobel covers a vast time period which showed the advancement of technology and how it only in the last 30 odd years that it was able to benefit astronomy.
With The Glass Universe covering a humongous time period, Sobel managed to cover almost everything in detail. The main focus, however, was on the beginning period of how Mrs. Anna Draper and her fellow ‘human computers’ laid the foundation for future female astronomers.
My favourite part of The Glass Universe was probably finding out how a lot of astronomers were enlisted during the second world war as their skills in astronomy translated well into calculating trajectories, recognising patterns and variations and such-like. Whilst I can see how easily the skills can translate, I just never thought that they ever would. Also, the effect of WW2 on not only astronomy but all sciences was vast and when before the sharing of information was second nature, it suddenly became non-existent until well after the war had finished.
I personally found The Glass Universe quite a struggle to get through, it took me about 7 months of reading it on-and-off. I am not saying that it is a bad book, I quite enjoyed it, but with so much information to take in, and it not being particularly stimulating to read if you are not dedicated to reading this it would be very easy to put down.
If you really enjoy astronomy and want to find out how far along research astronomy has come along, or if you are just generally interested in history then The Glass Universe is perfect for you.