In the summer of 1878 three ruthless and brilliant scientists raced to Wyoming and Colorado to observe a total solar eclipse. One sought to discover a new planet. Another fought to prove that science was not an anathema to femininity. And a young, megalomaniacal inventor sought to test his bona fides and light the world through his revelations.

David Baron brings to life these three competitors-James Craig Watson, Maria Mitchell and Thomas Edison-re-creating the jockeying of nineteenth-century astronomy. With accounts of train robberies and Indian skirmishes, the last days of the Wild West come alive. A magnificent portrayal of America's dawn as a superpower, American Eclipse depicts a nation looking to the skies to reveal its ambition and expose its genius.

About the Author
David Baron, an award-winning journalist and author of The Beast in the Garden, is a former science correspondent for NPR and former science editor for the public radio program The World. An incurable umbraphile whose passion for chasing eclipses began in 1998, he lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Reviews
"Baron's stories are good ones, well told." -- Nature
"American Eclipse is an incredibly well written work of non-fiction. It is clearly the result of considerable research and careful thought. And it tells a great story." -- Book of the Month - BBC Sky at Night
"... Eclipse is a shining example of scientific curiosity at work." -- New Scientist
"The author gives a skillful account of the scientific aims of the various teams of eclipse-watchers, from the examination of the solar corona to the more precise calculation of the Moon's orbit." -- 12 Books of Christmas - Sky at Night


Awards
Short-listed for PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award 2018.



Book Information
ISBN 9781631490163
Author David Baron
Format Hardback
Page Count 352
Imprint Liveright Publishing Corporation
Publisher WW Norton & Co
Weight(grams) 620g
Dimensions(mm) 244mm * 170mm * 30mm