First Light: The Search for the Edge of the Universe - Hardcover

Preston, Richard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0679449698 ISBN 13: 9780679449690

Publisher: Random House Inc, 1996

Synopsis

First Light is perhaps the best book about astronomy ever written. It tells the story of the men and women at the Palomar Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains of California who peer through the amazing Hale Telescope at the farthest edges of space, attempting to solve the riddle of the beginning of time. "Science is a lot weirder and more human than most people realize," Preston writes in his foreword to this revised and updated edition of his first book, and he skillfully weaves together stories of the eccentricities of his characters and the technical wonders of their work to create a riveting narrative about what scientists do and why they do it.

About this title

About the Author

Richard Preston received The Overseas Press Club of America's 1995 Whitman Bassow Award for "best reporting in any medium on environmental issues" for The Hot Zone. First Light, Preston's first book, won the American Institute of Physics Science Writing Award. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker. Preston lives in Princeton, New Jersey, with his wife and children.

From the Back Cover

before Richard Preston wrote about horrifying viruses in The Hot Zone, he turned his attention to the cosmos. In First Light, he demonstrates his gift for creating an exciting and absorbing narrative around a complex scientific subject--in this case the efforts by astronomers at the Palomar Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains of California to peer to the farthest edges of space through the Hale Telescope, attempting to solve the riddle of the creation of the universe.

Richard Preston's name became a household word with The Hot Zone, which sold nearly 800,000 copies in hardcover, was on The New York Times's bestseller list for 42 weeks, and was the subject of countless magazine and newspaper articles. Preston has become a sought-after commentator on popular science subjects.

For this hardcover reprint of what has been called "the best popular account of astronomy in action," (Kirkus Reviews) he has

From the Inside Flap

before Richard Preston wrote about horrifying viruses in <b>The Hot Zone</b>, he turned his attention to the cosmos. In <b>First Light</b>, he demonstrates his gift for creating an exciting and absorbing narrative around a complex scientific subject--in this case the efforts by astronomers at the Palomar Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains of California to peer to the farthest edges of space through the Hale Telescope, attempting to solve the riddle of the creation of the universe.<br><br>Richard Preston's name became a household word with <b>The Hot Zone</b>, which sold nearly 800,000 copies in hardcover, was on <b>The New York Times's</b> bestseller list for 42 weeks, and was the subject of countless magazine and newspaper articles. Preston has become a sought-after commentator on popular science subjects.<br><br>For this hardcover reprint of what has been called "the best popular account of astronomy in action," (<b>Kirkus Reviews</b>) he has

Edition details

• Publisher: Random House Inc
• Publication date: 1996
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0679449698
• ISBN 13: 9780679449690
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 275