Soul of the Night: An Astronomical Pilgrimage

Rating:
Summary: Intrinsic Radiance
Review: A remarkable book written by a remarkable man. Not often have I come across a book that speaks of an utter enchantment with the stars, and so accurately tells of the grace inherent in them. I, too, am an astronomer, and am often at a loss for words for a description of the beauty that I try to relate to friends and, indeed, to myself. Chet Raymo's work is pure poetry, containing the symmetry of a love-affair with science and the acknowledgement of the unknown. From "Snakes and Ladders" to "The Blandishments of Color", he guides you through the convoluted terrain of the night sky. Delirious with his sublime prose, I can only finish by saying this- Read This Book. It ought to be required reading for every survey class in astronomy, and will be well-loved by anyone enthralled by the stars.

Rating:
Summary: An amazing blend of physics, religion and prose
Review: I have to add my five stars for THE SOULD OF THE NIGHT. As a scientist, reader and Christian, I found this book absorbing. Raymo has a marvelous way with words and an interesting viewpoint on the sciences.

Rating:
Summary: Engrossing
Review: I read this book for a college course on Ecocriticism and was totally spellbound. I read it in one sitting and it made me crave for that feeling you get while standing under the stars--realizing how small you are--and how infinetly wonderous at the same time. Everybody should read this book, it is beautiful and important for understanding humankind's place within nature.

Rating:
Summary: Raymo is a gift!
Review: In THE SOUL OF THE NIGHT, a collection of tender, lyrical essays praising the night sky, astronomer, physicist and college professor Chet Raymo teaches by example that science and passion are intimately, irrepressibly connected; they're meant for each other.

Through his eyes and pen, Raymo draws breathtaking pictures of our universe and connects them to mythology, literature, religion, history and anthropology. He calls on Roethke, Rilke, Shelley, Thoreau, Buddha, the Bible and the Koran, among others, to inspire his instructive reveries. He compares the night sky to Moby Dick, a butterfly's chrysalis to stardust, and the Earth's cone-shaped shadow in outer space to a wizard's cap "8000 miles wide in diameter at the rim, where it fits snugly on the Earth's brow." And when the sun and moon come together in eclipse, he transforms the view into a gentle kiss between lovers.

Now THIS is the way to learn astronomy.

Raymo deserves to be savored slowly, by candlelight.