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    The Planets

    Author Dava Sobel
    Look inside
    Paperback
    $20.00 US
    Penguin Adult HC/TR | Penguin Books
    On sale Oct 31, 2006 | 288 Pages | 9780142001165
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    Dava Sobel's The Glass Universe will be available from Viking in December 2016

    With her bestsellers Longitude and Galileo's Daughter, Dava Sobel introduced readers to her rare gift for weaving complex scientific concepts into a compelling narrative. Now Sobel brings her full talents to bear on what is perhaps her most ambitious topic to date-the planets of our solar system. Sobel explores the origins and oddities of the planets through the lens of popular culture, from astrology, mythology, and science fiction to art, music, poetry, biography, and history. Written in her characteristically graceful prose, The Planets is a stunningly original celebration of our solar system and offers a distinctive view of our place in the universe.

    * A New York Times extended bestseller
    * A Featured Alternate of the Book-of-the-Month Club, History Book Club, Scientific American Book Club, and Natural Science Book Club
    * Includes 11 full-color illustrations by artist Lynette R. Cook

    "[The Planets] lets us fall in love with the heavens all over again."
    -The New York Times Book Review

    "Playful . . . lyrical . . . a guided tour so imaginative that we forget we're being educated as we're being entertained."
    -Newsweek

    " [Sobel] has outdone her extraordinary talent for keeping readers enthralled. . . . Longitude and Galileo's Daughter were exciting enough, but The Planets has a charm of its own . . . . A splendid and enticing book."
    -San Francisco Chronicle

    "A sublime journey. [Sobel's] writing . . . is as bright as the sun and its thinking as star-studded as the cosmos."
    -The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

    "An incantatory serenade to the Solar System. Grade A-"
    -Entertainment Weekly

    "Like Sobel's [Longitude and Galileo's Daughter] . . . [The Planets] combines masterful storytelling with clear, engaging explanations of the essential scientific facts."
    -Physics World
    Model Worlds
    (Overview)

    Genesis
    (The Sun)

    Mythology
    (Mercury)

    Beauty
    (Venus)

    Geography
    (Earth)

    Lunacy
    (The Moon)

    Sci-Fi
    (Mars)

    Astrology
    (Jupiter)

    Music of the Spheres
    (Saturn)

    Night Air
    (Uranus and Neptune)

    UFO
    (Pluto)

    Planeteers
    (Coda)

    Acknowledgments
    Glossary
    Details
    Bibliography
    Index

    © Mia Berg
    Dava Sobel, a former New York Times science reporter, is the author of Longitude, Galileo's Daughter, and Letters to Father. In her thirty years as a science journalist, she has written for many magazines, and coauthored six books, including Is Anyone Out There? with astronomer Frank Drake and The Illustrated Longitude with William J. H. Andrews. Sobel has been awarded the National Science Board's pretigious Individual Public Service Award, the Bradford Washburn Award from the Boston Museum of Science, and the Harrison Medal from the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers. View titles by Dava Sobel
    “Playful . . . lyrical . . . a guided tour so imaginative that we forget we’re being educated as we’re being entertained.” —Newsweek

    “[Sobel] has outdone her extraordinary talent for keeping readers enthralled. . . . Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter were exciting enough, but The Planets has a charm of its own . . . . A splendid and enticing book.” —San Francisco Chronicle

    “A sublime journey. [Sobel’s] writing . . . is as bright as the sun and its thinking as star-studded as the cosmos.” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

    “An incantatory serenade to the Solar System. Grade A-” —Entertainment Weekly

    “Like Sobel’s [Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter] . . . [The Planets] combines masterful storytelling with clear, engaging explanations of the essential scientific facts.” —Physics World

    About

    Dava Sobel's The Glass Universe will be available from Viking in December 2016

    With her bestsellers Longitude and Galileo's Daughter, Dava Sobel introduced readers to her rare gift for weaving complex scientific concepts into a compelling narrative. Now Sobel brings her full talents to bear on what is perhaps her most ambitious topic to date-the planets of our solar system. Sobel explores the origins and oddities of the planets through the lens of popular culture, from astrology, mythology, and science fiction to art, music, poetry, biography, and history. Written in her characteristically graceful prose, The Planets is a stunningly original celebration of our solar system and offers a distinctive view of our place in the universe.

    * A New York Times extended bestseller
    * A Featured Alternate of the Book-of-the-Month Club, History Book Club, Scientific American Book Club, and Natural Science Book Club
    * Includes 11 full-color illustrations by artist Lynette R. Cook

    "[The Planets] lets us fall in love with the heavens all over again."
    -The New York Times Book Review

    "Playful . . . lyrical . . . a guided tour so imaginative that we forget we're being educated as we're being entertained."
    -Newsweek

    " [Sobel] has outdone her extraordinary talent for keeping readers enthralled. . . . Longitude and Galileo's Daughter were exciting enough, but The Planets has a charm of its own . . . . A splendid and enticing book."
    -San Francisco Chronicle

    "A sublime journey. [Sobel's] writing . . . is as bright as the sun and its thinking as star-studded as the cosmos."
    -The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

    "An incantatory serenade to the Solar System. Grade A-"
    -Entertainment Weekly

    "Like Sobel's [Longitude and Galileo's Daughter] . . . [The Planets] combines masterful storytelling with clear, engaging explanations of the essential scientific facts."
    -Physics World

    Table of Contents

    Model Worlds
    (Overview)

    Genesis
    (The Sun)

    Mythology
    (Mercury)

    Beauty
    (Venus)

    Geography
    (Earth)

    Lunacy
    (The Moon)

    Sci-Fi
    (Mars)

    Astrology
    (Jupiter)

    Music of the Spheres
    (Saturn)

    Night Air
    (Uranus and Neptune)

    UFO
    (Pluto)

    Planeteers
    (Coda)

    Acknowledgments
    Glossary
    Details
    Bibliography
    Index

    Author

    © Mia Berg
    Dava Sobel, a former New York Times science reporter, is the author of Longitude, Galileo's Daughter, and Letters to Father. In her thirty years as a science journalist, she has written for many magazines, and coauthored six books, including Is Anyone Out There? with astronomer Frank Drake and The Illustrated Longitude with William J. H. Andrews. Sobel has been awarded the National Science Board's pretigious Individual Public Service Award, the Bradford Washburn Award from the Boston Museum of Science, and the Harrison Medal from the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers. View titles by Dava Sobel

    Praise

    “Playful . . . lyrical . . . a guided tour so imaginative that we forget we’re being educated as we’re being entertained.” —Newsweek

    “[Sobel] has outdone her extraordinary talent for keeping readers enthralled. . . . Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter were exciting enough, but The Planets has a charm of its own . . . . A splendid and enticing book.” —San Francisco Chronicle

    “A sublime journey. [Sobel’s] writing . . . is as bright as the sun and its thinking as star-studded as the cosmos.” —The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

    “An incantatory serenade to the Solar System. Grade A-” —Entertainment Weekly

    “Like Sobel’s [Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter] . . . [The Planets] combines masterful storytelling with clear, engaging explanations of the essential scientific facts.” —Physics World

    Additional formats

    Other Books by this Author

    • The Glass Universe
      The Glass Universe
      How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars
      Dava Sobel
      9780143111344
      $20.00 US
      Paperback
      Penguin Books
      Oct 31, 2017
    • Longitude
      Longitude
      The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
      Dava Sobel
      9780739323793
      Audiobook Download
      Random House Audio
      Oct 11, 2005
    • The Planets
      The Planets
      Dava Sobel
      9780739322895
      Audiobook Download
      Random House Audio
      Oct 04, 2005
    • Galileo's Daughter
      Galileo's Daughter
      A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love
      Dava Sobel
      9780739322925
      Audiobook Download
      Random House Audio
      Oct 04, 2005
    • The Glass Universe
      The Glass Universe
      How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars
      Dava Sobel
      9780143111344
      $20.00 US
      Paperback
      Penguin Books
      Oct 31, 2017
    • Longitude
      Longitude
      The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
      Dava Sobel
      9780739323793
      Audiobook Download
      Random House Audio
      Oct 11, 2005
    • The Planets
      The Planets
      Dava Sobel
      9780739322895
      Audiobook Download
      Random House Audio
      Oct 04, 2005
    • Galileo's Daughter
      Galileo's Daughter
      A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love
      Dava Sobel
      9780739322925
      Audiobook Download
      Random House Audio
      Oct 04, 2005

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