Eclipse: The Celestial Phenomenon That Changed the Course of History [Hardcover]

Duncan Steel (Author), Paul Davies (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2001

Advanced astronomy students will enjoy this in-depth exploration. Author expertly captures our continuing fascination with all manner of eclipses.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Many books have been written about eclipses, but few are as comprehensive as this one, first published in Britain in 2001 and now rewritten for a U.S. audience with new chapters that describe famous American eclipses, such as the Rocky Mountain eclipse of 1878. Steel, an astronomer and author of two previous books on asteroid and comet-impact hazards, clearly describes the science and history of solar and lunar eclipses. He also explains other kinds of eclipses, such as transits (when a planet passes in front of the sun) and occultations (when a planet or asteroid passes in front of a star or other body). Some cultures, he continues, saw eclipses as a message from God, and some used advance knowledge of them to manipulate the ignorant. Steel adds that eclipses have played a role in advancing scientific knowledge about, for example, the sun's chromosphere. His informative book is recommended for all astronomy collections. Jeffrey Beall, Univ. of Colorado Lib., Denver
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Astronomer Steel surveys eclipses of all types, although the solar variety get marquee billing. Frequently Steel relates the circumstances surrounding particularly famous eclipses, such as the one in 1919 that vindicated Einstein's theory of general relativity; elsewhere, he reaches back in history to describe superstitious reactions to eclipses. Steel's compendium ranges from entertaining information about eclipses to the scientific significance of the vast amount of technical information astronomers have teased out of these events. Such information includes that derived from studying the sun's corona; measurements of distances to the moon and sun; and, in combination with eclipse records made by ancient civilizations, deductions made about the lengthening day or the moon's recession from the earth. Steel's ambit also encompasses the uses made of occultations, such as measuring the shapes of asteroids, and of the rare transits of Venus across the solar disk, which James Cook measured during saunters in the South Seas in 1769. Generously illustrated, Steel's informative discourse also promises staying power by ending with a guide to the next two decades of solar eclipses. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 492 pages
• Publisher: Joseph Henry Press; 1st edition (October 15, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 030907438X
• ISBN-13: 978-0309074384
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,721,042 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Unusually comprehensive, but in small format, September 24, 2004

By 

Evan Zucker (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eclipse: The Celestial Phenomenon That Changed the Course of History (Hardcover)

This is an unusually comprehensive book about lunar and solar eclipses. I only wish that the book were a larger format and contained color illustrations instead of just black and white.

The book is relatively small at 7.25 x 5.25 inches, and so the illustrations are quite small. The only color photo is on the cover jacket, which is a shame. I recognize a number of the B&W illustrations, and so I know that the originals were in color.

Despite its shortcomings, this book is a welcome addition to my eclipse library.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars History meets science, April 4, 2003

By 

Stephen Rives "Steve" (Kansas City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Eclipse: The Celestial Phenomenon That Changed the Course of History (Hardcover)

Steel melds his knowledge of history and science in a highly readable book. To propel his discussion of celestial bodies, he uses the fuel of such stories as:

* Einstein's theory of relativity as vindicated by an Eclipse
* Alexander's defeat of Darius the day after an eclipse in 331 BC.
* The bible's use of moon language, speaking of days where the moon will be darkened (some kind of eclipse?)

With facts like this, Steel keeps us following a provocative discussion of the moon and its cycles. The history lessons are interspersed with scientific facts so that after a while one doesn't know if he is reading a history book or a science novel.

As the author points out, the Eclipse as a phenomena in the sky held special cultic meaning for the Ancient Near Eastern religions (esp. the Egyptians). But one is left wondering if Steel is accurate at all points of history. For example, when arguing from the Bible about supposed eclipse accounts therein, he sees the story Abraham as alluding to one, "And when the sun was going down...great darkness fell upon him." Because he sees this text as an eclipse, he dates the time of Abraham to 9 May 1533 BC 6:30pm. What is interesting in this is that there is an actual internet database maintained by NASA that allows the author (and us!) to track all eclipses for all time. Indeed, there was an eclipse visible in Jerusalem in 1533, but does that mean that the text in question is talking about an eclipse? Steel may be misreading the biblical data, but it is only a small distraction from his great book.

It should be noted, Steel's book is not only about the moon, but about all of the celestial bodies and man's reaction to their appearances (Mars, comets, famous meteor storms, etc.).

This book is a good introduction for the novice about such things as "blue moons", "the diamond ring" affect, eclipses in general, the calendar and the moon, and other such relevant topics.

I first heard of Duncan Steel when he was interviewed on NPR in June of 2002; the audio of that was once available on the internet.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Big surprise in a small package, July 30, 2009

By 

John Me Wallace "Keymaster of Gozer" (San Antonio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Eclipse: The Celestial Phenomenon That Changed the Course of History (Hardcover)

I got this book as a Christmas gift, after which it sat on my shelf unread for years, only occasionally glanced at. Yet, on some whim I picked it up, started reading, and was hooked at once, and soon wondered why I didn't do this a long time ago.

I've read quite a few astronomy books in my day (and browsed many more), and found none quite as nifty as this one: equal parts science, history, and trivia, it's a light and thoroughly engaging read that I recommend for anyone interested in the eclipse phenomenon. Serious enthusiasts might prefer a harder, more mathematically-bent text, but chances are that many newbies will come away from this book feeling they could write about eclipses themselves, and they might be half-right.

A keeper.