Book details

Book description

The Sun is so powerful, so much bigger than us, that it is a terrifying subject. Yet though we depend on it, we take it for granted. Amazingly the first book of its kind, CHASING THE SUN is a cultural and scientific history of our relationship with the star that gives us life.

Richard Cohen, applying the same mix of wide-ranging reference and intimate detail that won outstanding reviews for By the Sword, travels from the ancient Greek astronomers to modern-day solar scientists, from Stonehenge to Antarctica (site of the solar eclipse of 2003, when penguins were said to sing), Mexico's Aztecs to the Norwegian city of Tromso, where for two months of the year there is no Sun at all. He introduces us to the crucial 'sunspot cycle' in modern economics, the religious dances of Indian tribesmen, the histories of sundials and calendars, the plight of migrating birds, the latest theories of global warming, and Galileo recording his discoveries in code, for fear of persecution.

And throughout, there is the rich Sun literature -- from the writings of Homer through Dante and Nietzsche to Keats, Shelley and beyond. Blindingly impressive and hugely readable, this is a tour de force of narrative non-fiction. 'Mighty, lively, thoroughly readable...Cohen leaves no sunbeam unturned in this dazzling history of our solar system, and epic human efforts to understand it. The science Cohen recounts is mind-boggling, yet this book is as much a tribute to the sun's elusive magic. As any air traveller knows, you can chase the sun, but you can never catch up with it' Metro 03/11 'Richard Cohen's meaty history of our cultural and scientific relationship with this 4. 6 billion year old star is full of fascinating facts and theories without blinding the reader with science. Dazzling' Hitlist, Metro 05/11 'Excellent... fascinating...Beautifully illustrated and competitively priced. Chasing the Sun is not a book to be read in a sitting. But I found it endlessly informative and diverting over a fortnight's holiday in the rain' Lewis Jones, Daily Telegraph 21/10 'Entertaining... Cohen's charm and erudition keep Chasing the Sun consistently lively, and the pages fly by like a dinner with a master raconteur... richly satisfying... Cohen's mission is accomplished. We are left sharing both his wonderment at all that modern science has taught us about the sun' Brian Schofield, Sunday Times 22/10 'A book of wonders...brilliant' The Times 13/11 'Wonderful' Choice Magazine November 2010 'Charming and erudite chronicle of man's relationship with our home star' The Sunday Times MUST READS 31/10 'Captivating' BBC Sky at Night Magazine November 2010 'Everything you could want to know about the scientific and cultural history of the star we orbit' Daily Express 01/11 'Richard Cohen's exhaustive story of the sun takes us from its beginning to its end, touching on just about everything that has anything to do with the sun in between, from ancient sun worship to modern sun bed worship, the history of astronomy to the future of solar power. Here is the story of the sun in all its splendour. Perfect for brightening dark winter evenings' New Scientist 27/11 'Dazzling..., Chasing the Sun is an epic synthesis of science, anecdote and poetry. Cohen tells a good tale and is equally good on science and literature.' Christmas Book Roundup, Independent 26/11 'A warming book for short winter days, blending myth with history and science, and guaranteed to please and fascinate almost any reader' Hilary Mantel, Telegraph Books of the Year for Christmas, 19/11 'An encyclopaedic and endlessly informative compendium of the star that gives us all life, seen from every conceivable perspective' Daily Telegraph 21/5

Richard Cohen is the author of By the Sword. He was previously publishing director of Hutchinson and Hodder & Stoughton and the founder of Richard Cohen Books. He has written for the New York Times, the Guardian, the Observer, the Daily Telegraph, and the New York Times Book Review and has appeared on BBC radio and television. In 2004 he was appointed Visiting Professor of creative writing at Kingston University and is the recipient of a Sloan Foundation grant for this book. He lives in New York City.