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23+ Works 19,453 Members 407 Reviews 27 Favorited

About the Author

Dava Sobel was born in the Bronx, New York on June 15, 1947. She received a B.A. from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1969. She is a former New York Times science reporter and has contributed articles to Audubon, Discover, Life, Harvard Magazine, and The New Yorker. She has show more written several science related books including Letters to Father, The Planets, and A More Perfect Heaven: How Copernicus Revolutionized the Cosmos. Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time won the Harold D. Vursell Memorial Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love won the 1999 Los Angeles Times Book Prize for science and technology and a 2000 Christopher Award. She has co-authored six books with astronomer Frank Drake including Is Anyone Out There? She also co-authored with William J. H. Andrewes The Illustrated Longitude. Because her work provides awareness of science and technology to the general public, she has received the Individual Public Service Award from the National Science Board in 2001, the Bradford Washburn Award in 2001,the Klumpke-Roberts Award in 2008, and the Eduard Rhein Foundation in Germany in 2014. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Disambiguation Notice:

Do not split into two authors. The author of the popular science books and the co-author of the backache books are one and the same (her website notes that she has written five books and co-written six books).

Image credit: reading at National Book Festival By Slowking4 - Own work, GFDL 1.2, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=62180034

Works by Dava Sobel

Associated Works

On the Map: Why the World Looks the Way it Does (2012) — Foreword — 1,465 copies
Cosmos (1666) — Introduction, some editions — 245 copies
Galileo's treasure box (1987) — Introduction, some editions — 94 copies
Longitude [2000 film] (2000) — Original book — 31 copies
NOVA: Galileo's Battle for the Heavens [2002 TV episode] (2004) — Screenwriter — 14 copies
Omni Magazine March 1983 (1983) — Contributor — 4 copies
Omni Magazine November 1989 (1989) — Contributor — 2 copies

Tagged

17th century (90) 18th century (123) astronomy (913) biography (1,368) cartography (60) chronometers (59) clocks (106) ebook (75) England (57) exploration (112) fiction (152) Galileo (277) geography (211) historical (64) historical fiction (123) history (2,322) history of science (606) Italy (189) John Harrison (74) Kindle (77) longitude (173) maritime (60) math (67) memoir (109) navigation (308) non-fiction (1,696) own (87) physics (88) planets (95) popular science (137) read (168) religion (104) Renaissance (100) science (2,298) solar system (70) technology (86) time (92) to-read (821) unread (117) women (79)

Common Knowledge

Birthdate
1947-06-15
Gender
female
Nationality
USA
Birthplace
The Bronx, New York, USA
Education
Bronx High School of Science, New York, New York, USA
Antioch College
City College of New York
State University of New York, Binghamton (B.A.|1969)
Occupations
science writer
journalist
Awards and honors
National Science Board's Public Service Medal (2001)
Bradford Washburn Award (2001)
Klumpke-Roberts Award (2008)
Guggenheim Fellowship (2007)
Disambiguation notice
Do not split into two authors. The author of the popular science books and the co-author of the backache books are one and the same (her website notes that she has written five books and co-written six books).

Members

Reviews

I liked it. Was afraid the math and physics might be too much for me, but the author gave enough for the reader to understand what these women were doing and why it was important without getting the reader bogged down in the details. I especially enjoyed when there was a glimpse into the thoughts of one of the people, a diary or letter extract, wish there had been more of that but probably not much available
 
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cspiwak | 33 other reviews | Mar 6, 2024 |
loved the details of everyday life revealed in the daughter's letters
 
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cspiwak | 108 other reviews | Mar 6, 2024 |
This is a history of the role of the women who analyzed photographic plates of stars produced at the Harvard College Observatory from the mid-nineteenth century onward. Ironically, the work of making the observations themselves at night on telescopes in Harvard and observatories elsewhere was deemed too difficult for women to undertake. Originally the women who did the compilations were wives, sisters and daughters of astronomers, but eventually graduates of women's colleges were hired to continue the work. It is amazing to learn how many of the computations and discoveries were made by women in a scientific field usually dominated by men. The approach was rather dry, but I enjoyed listening to it.… (more)
½
 
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terran | 33 other reviews | Feb 21, 2024 |
(1995)Very good story of Englishman John Harrison who came up with a chronometer that allowed seamen to figure out longitude on their voyages. While sailors can readily gauge latitude by the height of the sun or guiding stars above the horizon, the measurement of longitude bedeviled navigators for centuries, resulting in untold shipwrecks. Galileo, Isaac Newton and Edmund Halley entreated the moon and stars for help, but their astronomical methods failed. In 1714, England's Parliament offered #20,000 (equivalent to millions of dollars today) to anyone who could solve the problem. Self-educated English clockmaker John Harrison (1693-1776) found the answer by inventing a chronometer?a friction-free timepiece, impervious to pitch and roll, temperature and humidity?that would carry the true time from the home port to any destination. But Britain's Board of Longitude, a panel of scientists, naval officers and government officials, favored the astronomers over humble "mechanics" like Harrison, who received only a portion of the prize after decades of struggle. Yet his approach ultimately triumphed, enabling Britannia to rule the waves. In an enthralling gem of a book, former New York Times science reporter Sobel spins an amazing tale of political intrigue, foul play, scientific discovery and personal ambition. (Publisher's Weekly)… (more)
 
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derailer | 181 other reviews | Jan 25, 2024 |

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Statistics

Works
23
Also by
9
Members
19,453
Popularity
#1,121
Rating
3.8
Reviews
407
ISBNs
253
Languages
17
Favorited
27

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