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lizagee's review against another edition
5.0
I had a special interest in reading this book as my great-great grandfather was a member of the 19th century Transit of Venus expedition to measure the transit from Siberia. In my research of his travels, I was impressed by the enormity of such a task in such an age. Yet, his journey was 105 years after the brave astronomers and adventurers covered in this text.
I am a fan of Wulf’s style and appreciate the detailed research coupled with eloquent prose. As opposed to others in the genre, I find she writes with a great level of detail without falling victim to creeping scope or long winded treatises. This was a marvelous read and I enjoyed the mirrored structure of part 1 and part 2 (the two transits). I would highly recommend this book for lovers of science, history, and/or exploration.
I am a fan of Wulf’s style and appreciate the detailed research coupled with eloquent prose. As opposed to others in the genre, I find she writes with a great level of detail without falling victim to creeping scope or long winded treatises. This was a marvelous read and I enjoyed the mirrored structure of part 1 and part 2 (the two transits). I would highly recommend this book for lovers of science, history, and/or exploration.
lakiesha's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
slow-paced
3.25
I liked the book itself, but it was often quite long-winded and I had to force myself to finish reading it. This may be because the topic itself is not really in my area of interest. However, there were also many details that were not really necessary and took some of the excitement out of the book. Nevertheless, the book was (as you would expect from Andrea Wulf) excellently researched and the elements of the story were well-connected. I always enjoy reading books by her because she makes learning about new topics more interesting than a lot of other authors and while this book was not a favourite for me, I can still appreciate her work.
daed's review against another edition
2.0
Su mayor virtud (que es estar minuciosamente documentado) es también su peor defecto, ya que la cantidad de datos y anotaciones llega a ser bastante abrumadora, quitandole ritmo a la narración.
jklbookdragon's review against another edition
5.0
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Inpired by a challenge Edmund Halley, of comet fame, had set a few decades earlier, the astronomers of the world cooperate on a series of adventures to reach far-flung places around the world to measure the transit of Venus across the Sun. They have two chances, in 1761 and 1769, to take accurate measurements (no easy task at that time) -- then it will be 115 years before this happens again. From their data, they hope to be able to calculate for the first time the distance to the sun. And voila - the scientific expedition is born! Andrea Wulf spins a fascinating tale as she follows an unlikely collection of intrepid adventurers from Britain, France, Germany, Russia, America and other countries as they strive to reach remote outposts in Siberia, South Africa, Tahiti, Lapland, and more -- despite war, weather, and disease -- to be in time for the transits. I enjoyed learning about new scientists, and also finding familiar names in unexpected places. I'm also very glad that my husband and I showed the 2012 transit of Venus to our son's boy scout troop... I just wish I'd read this beforehand so I could truly appreciate what we were seeing.
alundeberg's review against another edition
4.0
If you're looking for a book about the actual science of how to measure the heavens, this isn't it. Wulf does a great a job of giving the reader just enough math to have the process make sense, but this narrative is about the coming together of scientists in the 18th century amid warring nations to gain knowledge of the universe and science. She tracks the various scientists and their often long, precarious routes to track Venus's trajectory across the sun. They faced great hardships in the name of science for very uncertain reward. Ultimately, this is a well-written adventure tale of those often unknown men who risked all to calculate the measurement of the universe.
septan's review against another edition
4.0
Reading about people all over the world coming together in the name of science really restored my faith in humanity a bit, and Andrea Wulf is an excellent non-fiction writer.