UID:
kobvindex_ZLB35188985
ISBN:
9780593129739
Content:
" NATIONAL BESTSELLER &bull,&ldquo, riveting feat of science writing that recasts that most familiar of celestial objects into something eerily extraordinary, pivotal to our history, and awesome in the original sense of the word.&rdquo,mdash,d Yong, New York Times bestselling author of An Immense WorldA New York Times Book Review Editors&rsquo,Choice Many of us know that the Moon pulls on our oceans, driving the tides, but did you know that it smells like gunpowder? Or that it was essential to the development of science and religion? Acclaimed journalist Rebecca Boyle takes readers on a dazzling tour to reveal the intimate role that our 4.51-billion-year-old companion has played in our biological and cultural evolution.160 Our Moon&rsquo, gravity stabilized Earth&rsquo, orbit&mdash,nd its climate. It drew nutrients to the surface of the primordial ocean, where they fostered the evolution of complex life. The Moon continues to influence animal migration and reproduction, plants&rsquo,movements, and, possibly, the flow of the very blood in our veins.160 While the Sun helped prehistoric hunters and gatherers mark daily time, early civilizations used the phases of the Moon to count months and years, allowing them to plan farther ahead. Mesopotamian priests recorded the Moon&rsquo, position in order to make predictions, and, in the process, created the earliest known empirical, scientific observations. In Our Moon, Boyle introduces us to ancient astronomers and major figures of the scientific revolution, including Johannes Kepler and his influential lunar science fiction. Our relationship to the Moon changed when Apollo astronauts landed on it in 1969, and it&rsquo, about to change again. As governments and billionaires aim to turn a profit from its resources, Rebecca Boyle shows us that the Moon belongs to everybody, and nobody at all."
Content:
Biographisches: " Rebecca Boyle is a columnist at Atlas Obscura and a contributor to Scientific American , Quanta Magazine, The Atlantic , The New York Times, Popular Science, Smithsonian&rsquo, Air &,Space Magazine, and many other publications. She is a member of the group science blog The Last Word on Nothing . Boyle was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is the recipient of numerous writing awards. Her work has been anthologized three times in The Best American Science &,Nature Writing . She is a former Space Camp attendee and lifelong Moon enthusiast." Rezension(2): "〈a href=http://lj.libraryjournal.com/ target=blank〉〈img src=https://images.contentreserve.com/libraryjournal_logo.png alt=Library Journal border=0 /〉〈/a〉: August 1, 2023 A well-known Scientific American and Atlantic contributor, science journalist Boyle moves from the first days of the swirling universe to the Artemis launches to tell us everything we ever wanted to know about Our Moon . Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission. " Rezension(3): "〈a href=http://www.publishersweekly.com target=blank〉〈img src=https://images.contentreserve.com/pw_logo.png alt=Publisher's Weekly border=0 /〉〈/a〉: Starred review from October 2, 2023 Science writer Boyle debuts with an excellent exploration of how the moon has shaped life on Earth. She explains that the moon likely formed from debris loosed after a Mars-size planet collided with Earth in the early days of the solar system, and that the moon’s gravitational pull on Earth stabilizes the planet’s tilt and keeps seasonal change consistent. Noting the moon’s central role in early religion, Boyle argues that a god associated with the moon and worshipped in ancient Mesopotamia “was one of the first gods in human history, if not the very first.” The moon was also central to the development of modern science, Boyle contends, examining how systematic observations of the moon made by early astronomers Thomas Harriot, Johannes Kepler, and Galileo in the late 17th and early 18th centuries established a new approach for studying the natural world. Throughout, Boyle’s dexterous blend of science and cultural history is elevated by her spry prose (“The entire horizon dims to a livid red glow as Earth begins to moan and tremble, shockwaves rattling through its crust and deep into its mantle,” she writes of the cosmic collision that created the moon). This illuminates." Rezension(4): "〈a href=http://www.kirkusreviews.com target=blank〉〈img src=https://images.contentreserve.com/kirkus_logo.png alt=Kirkus border=0 /〉〈/a〉: November 1, 2023 The moon in myth, history, and reality. Science and nature journalist Boyle opens in 1943 with the Marine invasion of the Japanese-held island of Tarawa. Planners expected high tide to allow landing craft to pass over the reefs. Stuck, the soldiers were forced to wade to shore under fire, and more than 1,000 were killed. The lesson: Ignore the Moon at your peril. Most readers know that the Moon influences the tides, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. Rewinding the clock, the author delves deeply into prehistoric artifacts, monuments, cave art, and cryptic etchings on bones and stones, and she agrees with archaeologists that these markers mostly functioned as time reckoners for ceremonies and seasonal planning. Then, as the first literate civilizations arose in Mesopotamia and Egypt, the Moon became...a recorder of events,a predictor of fates,an instrument of might,and a god in its own right. In the final 100 pages, Boyle turns from calendars and myth to astronomy. Greek thinkers delivered an occasional insight, but it was Enlightenment figures who determined that the Moon was a physical body no less than the Earth. Because of its huge relative size (compared to other planet satellites), astronomers consider the Earth-Moon a dual planetary system. The Moon's gravity stabilizes Earth's rotation and wobble, which means that it stabilizes the climate. Boyle emphasizes that life may have been impossible without the Moon, and it plays an essential role in the growth, mating, feeding, and reproduction of countless plants and animals. The author does not treat the Apollo moon landing as an expensive technological spectacular but a scientific triumph. Rocks brought back turned out to be identical with those on Earth, suggesting that the Moon was torn from the Earth, likely from a planetary collision, and has evolved in predictable ways. A solid education on our closest celestial neighbor. COPYRIGHT(2023) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. " Rezension(5): "〈a href=http://lj.libraryjournal.com/ target=blank〉〈img src=https://images.contentreserve.com/libraryjournal_logo.png alt=Library Journal border=0 /〉〈/a〉: December 1, 2023 Science writer Boyle divides this examination into three sections: the scientific creation of the Moon and its relation to Earth's atmosphere,the Moon's philosophical meaning and the advent of measured time,and contemporary exploration efforts. She chronicles the Moon's impact on Earth's oceans, coral reefs, lunar standstills, human behavior, and even menstruation. The second section is the most enlightening,it showcases archaeological findings related to the Moon and its meaning for ancient civilizations like the Sumerians and the Babylonians. The lunar-related work of Ptolemy, Copernicus, Galileo, Julius Caesar, and Anaxagoras of Clazomenae (a scientist/philosopher who predates Socrates) rounds out these chapters. The book also discusses astronomer Johannes Kepler's correlations between the Moon and ocean tides, the work of French novelist/poet/playwright Jules Verne, and details of the 1969 U.S. Apollo 11 mission,the descriptions will engage readers, especially if their only reference point is a Neil Armstrong quote or sound bite. Boyle ends by expressing concern about the privatization of contemporary space exploration. VERDICT A solid biography of the Moon. There's plenty here for readers who enjoy planetary and earth science books. --Tina PanikCopyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission. " Rezension(6): "〈a href=https://www.booklistonline.com target=blank〉〈img src=https://images.contentreserve.com/booklist_logo.png alt=Booklist border=0 /〉〈/a〉: December 1, 2023 Despite being more than 238,000 miles away from Earth, the moon exerts enormous influence over our planet and its inhabitants. Science writer Boyle reviews how the moon was created and the composition of Moon rocks, how human life has been shaped by it (sleep patterns, maybe menstrual cycles, timekeeping), and what a fundamental symbol the moon is, especially in mythology and culture. The moon's gravity is responsible for the ebbs and flows of tides. The moon steadies the Earth's tilted axis. It sways migrations and illuminates the night's sky. Boyle's prose can really pop. Her admiration of Earth's silvery sister and silent eternal companion is striking. She describes the lonely, lifeless moonscape as a crater-pocked wasteland that smells of doused firecrackers. Her exuberant retellings of the adventures of intrepid Apollo astronauts and moonwalkers are particularly enjoyable. The history of astronomy and its luminaries (Galileo, Copernicus, Kepler) receive abundant attention. The moon's place in our art, music, and literature, including lunar sf, are noted. An appealing literary trip to the moon and an appreciation of the moon's immense importance. COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. "
Language:
English
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