American eclipse
About this book
In vibrant historical detail, American Eclipse animates the fierce jockeying that came to dominate late nineteenth-century American astronomy, revealing the challenges faced by three of the most determined eclipse chasers who participated in this adventure. James Craig Watson, in his day a renowned asteroid hunter; Vassar astronomer Maria Mitchell, who fought to demonstrate that science and higher learning were not anathema to femininity; and Thomas Edison, a young inventor and irrepressible showman. With vivid accounts of train robberies and Indian skirmishes, Baron's page-turning drama not only brings to life the mythologized age of the Wild West in a totally unexpected way but forever memorializes an historic eclipse that would come to symbolize American science in its ascendance.--
Details
- OL Work ID
- OL19710681W
Subjects
ScienceEclipsesCivilizationAstronomyHistoryUnited states, civilization, 1865-1918Science -- United States -- History -- 19th centuryScience -- United States -- History -- 20th centuryEclipses -- HistoryAstronomy -- United States -- History -- 19th centuryAstronomy -- United States -- History -- 20th centuryUnited States -- Civilization -- 1865-1918