Review by Choice Review
Preston's book is an extreme example of what might be called the People Magazine approach to scientific popularization. One looks in vain amid sketches of biography and background for the search announced in the subtitle. These sketches, and the descriptions of night-to-night operations of the Hale Telescope on Mt. Palomar, are entertaining and well done; the astronomers and their assistants turn out to be a strikingly gifted, diverse, and in many cases idiosyncratic group of people whom it is a pleasure to meet, but the book contains little of astronomy. Far more substantial is Dennis Overbye's Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos (CH, Jul'91), which more thoroughly covers some of the same material and it also provides striking portraits of a largely different group of searchers. A quick and pleasant read for general readers and undergraduate students. D. Park; emeritus, Williams College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
First Light skillfully presents the human side of advanced astronomical research in addition to wonderful tales about Palomar Observatory, site of the 200-inch Hale telescope. With affection and respect, Preston portrays the two investigating teams that spend chilly nights extending the boundary of ``lookback time,'' searching for Earth-crossing comets, and devising relevant theories. Preston brings the environment of Palomar vividly to life: the telescopes (``Big Eye'' and two smaller ones), their makers, and the life experiences that led the likable group of scientists and nonscientists to the mount. Astoundingly clever or dreamily absorbed in the starry element, these men and women are cooperative and generous coworkers whose curiosity and drive lead them to the edge of knowledge and their own capabilities. A fascinating look at cosmological astronomy and the importance of Palomar to that enterprise. Index. VND. 522.19'794 Astronomical observatories / Mount Palomar (California) [OCLC] 87-14654
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Profiles of Palomar Mountain's telescopes and astronomers lend a basic framework to this book about our understanding of the solar system and universe. Preston, a New Yorker contributor, portrays two sets of researchers: one group looking for the ultimate limits of the universe, the other focusing on the minor planets within our solar neighborhood. Whether profiling Caltech gadgeteers hunting quasars or Carolyn Shoemaker racing to discover more comets, Preston makes general readers understand the significant advances in astronomy and appreciate the scientist's joy of endeavor. Humor, vivid imagery, and a keen sense of language add to this book's appeal. (Macmillan Book Clubs alternate.)Laurie Tynan, Montgomery Cty.-Norristown P.L., Pa. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by School Library Journal Review
YA As the title suggests, this is a book on astronomy, but it is also a great deal more than that. Nominally, First Light is about the efforts of a group of astronomers who are attempting to map the edge of the known universe. Because the sheer size of the numbers and concepts involved in astronomy have an almost universal gee-whiz fascination, that subject is interesting reading all by itself. What really makes this book something special, however, are the portraits of the people involved: how they approach their work, how they interact with each other. What is made clear in First Light is that for all their genius, for all their magnificent achievements, these astronomers are just like the rest of us: subject to the same emotions and frustrations, foibles and shortcomings. With no index or bibliography, this is not a book for students who just want to get through their next science report, nor is it intended to be. Karl Penny , Houston Public Lib . (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A razzle-dazzle tale of scientific puzzles and sleuths; easily the best popular account of astronomy-in-action since Timothy Ferris' The Red Shift. At the heart of Preston's study, and at the heart of world astronomy, looms the seven-story-high Hale reflecting telescope on Mt. Palomar in southern California. Preston spent over a year living on Palomar, observing and interviewing the scientists and engineers who peer through the Big Eye. We meet Juan Carrasco, a former barber who keeps the one-million-ton device humming on course; Maarten Schmidt, an aristocratic Dutchman who searches for quasars at the rim of the universe when he's not mesmerized by TV wrestling tournaments; Gene and Carolyn Shoemaker, a jolly husband-and-wife team hunting for asteroids that might one day smash into the Earth. Astronomers, it seems, come from cracked molds: George Ellery Hale, who designed the Big Eye, received instructions from a personal elf; Hale and most of his followers would certainly applaud one astronomer's comment that ""the only thing the earth is good for is to serve as a platform for a telescope."" Preston brilliantly captures the ambitions, rivalries, successes, and failures of these star-struck men and women. He details the grit and spit of their daily routines, and he delivers succinct, vivid lessons in the basics of modern astronomy: we learn, for instance, that if a black hole the size of a tomato orbited the earth, our planet ""would melt, vaporize, emit X-rays, and churn down the black hole. After the tomato had eaten the earth, the tomato would be a little fatter, tending toward a Bur-pee's Big Boy."" A witty, exciting Baedeker for travelers to the outer limits of the universe. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by School Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
