Miss Leavitt's Stars
The Untold Story of the Woman Who Discovered How to Measure the Universe
Format:Paperback
Publisher:WW Norton & Co
Published:14th Jul '06
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George Johnson brings to life Henrietta Swan Leavitt, who found the key to the vastness of the universe—in the form of a “yardstick” suitable for measuring it. Unknown in our day, Leavitt was no more recognized in her own: despite her enormous achievement, she was employed by the Harvard Observatory as a mere number-cruncher, at a wage not dissimilar from that of workers in the nearby textile mills. Miss Leavitt’s Stars uncovers her neglected history.
"Illuminating." -- Richard Panek - New York Times
"The well-known science writer George Johnson fashions a fascinating picture of Miss Leavitt’s life…His grace in bringing her to life is matched by his lucidity in explaining difficult scientific concepts." -- Scientific American
"An elegant and absorbing account of a signal event in humanity’s discovery of the deeper cosmos." -- Timothy Ferris, author of The Science of Liberty
"Johnson paints a luminous portrait of Leavitt and shows how her patient work sparked an explosion of astronomical creativity." -- Laurence Marschall - Discover Magazine
ISBN: 9780393328561
Dimensions: 203mm x 140mm x 13mm
Weight: 164g
176 pages