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The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars Paperback – Illustrated, October 31, 2017

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 443 ratings

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From #1 New York Times bestselling author Dava Sobel, the "inspiring" (People), little-known true story of women's landmark contributions to astronomy

A New York Times Book Review Notable Book

Named one of the best books of the year by NPR, The Economist, Smithsonian, Nature, and NPR's Science Friday

Nominated for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award

"A joy to read.” —The Wall Street Journal

In the mid-nineteenth century, the Harvard College Observatory began employing women as calculators, or “human computers,” to interpret the observations their male counterparts made via telescope each night. At the outset this group included the wives, sisters, and daughters of the resident astronomers, but soon the female corps included graduates of the new women's colleges—Vassar, Wellesley, and Smith. As photography transformed the practice of astronomy, the ladies turned from computation to studying the stars captured nightly on glass photographic plates.

The “glass universe” of half a million plates that Harvard amassed over the ensuing decades—through the generous support of Mrs. Anna Palmer Draper, the widow of a pioneer in stellar photography—enabled the women to make extraordinary discoveries that attracted worldwide acclaim. They helped discern what stars were made of, divided the stars into meaningful categories for further research, and found a way to measure distances across space by starlight. Their ranks included Williamina Fleming, a Scottish woman originally hired as a maid who went on to identify ten novae and more than three hundred variable stars; Annie Jump Cannon, who designed a stellar classification system that was adopted by astronomers the world over and is still in use; and Dr. Cecilia Helena Payne, who in 1956 became the first ever woman professor of astronomy at Harvard—and Harvard’s first female department chair.

Elegantly written and enriched by excerpts from letters, diaries, and memoirs,
The Glass Universe is the hidden history of the women whose contributions to the burgeoning field of astronomy forever changed our understanding of the stars and our place in the universe.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Named one of the best books of the month by Flavorwire, Bustle, Harper’s Bazaar, Real Simple, Refinery29, Men’s Journal, BBCand The National Book Review

“Ms. Sobel writes with an eye for a telling detail and an ear for an elegant turn of phrase. . . . [
The Glass Universe is] a joy to read.” —The Wall Street Journal

“Sobel lucidly captures the intricate, interdependent constellation of people it took to unlock mysteries of the stars . . . 
The Glass Universe positively glows.” —NPR

“An elegant historical tale…[from] the master storyteller of astronomy.” –
The Boston Globe

"Sobel mixes discussions of the most abstruse topics with telling glimpses of her subjects’ lives, in the process showing how scientific and social progress often go hand in hand." –
The New Yorker

"A peerless intellectual biography.
The Glass Universe shines and twinkles as brightly as the stars themselves. –The Economist

“At once an exhaustive and detailed account of a breakthrough moment in the world of science, as well as a compelling portrait of pioneering women who contributed as much to the progress of female empowerment as they did to the global understanding of both astronomy and photography.” —
Harper’s Bazaar
 
"[Sobel] traces a remarkable line in American female achievement…[and] captures the stalwart spirit of Pickering’s female finds." —
USA Today

“Sobel has distinguished herself with lucid books about scientists and their discoveries . . . [She] vividly captures how her brilliant and ambitious protagonists charted the skies, and found personal fulfillment in triumphant discovery.” —
The National Book Review

“A fascinating and inspiring tale of . . . female pioneers who have been shamefully overlooked.” —
Real Simple

"Sobel shines a light on seven 19th- and 20th-century women astronomers who began as 'human computers,' interpreting data at Harvard Observatory, then went on to dazzle...An inspiring look at celestial pioneers." —
People

"An astronomically large topic generously explored." —O, The Oprah Magazine

"It takes a talented writer to interweave professional achievement with personal insight. By the time I finished 
The Glass Universe, Dava Sobel's wonderful, meticulous account, it had moved me to tears...Unforgettable." —Sue Nelson, Nature

"A compelling read and a welcome reminder that Ameri­can women have long desired to reach for the stars.” —Bookpage

"Sensitive, exacting, and lit with the wonder of discovery." —Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of 
The Sixth Extinction

"This is intellectual history at its finest. Dava Sobel is extraordinarily accomplished at uncovering the hidden stories of science." —Geraldine Brooks,
New York Times bestselling author of The Secret Chord and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of March

“[Sobel] soars higher than ever before...[continuing] her streak of luminous science writing with this fascinating, witty, and most elegant history...
The Glass Universe is a feast for those eager to absorb forgotten stories of resolute American women who expanded human knowledge." —Booklist, Starred Review

"Sobel knows how to tell an engaging story...With grace, clarity, and a flair for characterization, [she] places these early women astronomers in the wider historical context of their field for the very first time." —
Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Praise for The Planets

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

"[Sobel] has outdone her extraordinary talent for keeping readers enthralled. . . . A splendid and enticing book." —
San Francisco Chronicle

"An incantatory serenade to the Solar System." —
Entertainment Weekly

Praise for Galileo's Daughter

"Sobel is a master storyteller. . . . She brings a great scientist to life." —
The New York Times Book Review

Praise for Longitude

"This is a gem of a book." —
The New York Times

"A simple tale, brilliantly told." —
The Washington Post 

Praise for A More Perfect Heaven

"Ms. Sobel is an elegant stylist, a riveting and efficient storyteller, a writer who can bring the dustiest of subjects to full-blooded life." —
The New York Times

"Lively, inventive . . . a masterly specimen of close-range cultural history."—
The Wall Street Journal

About the Author

DAVA SOBEL is the author of five books, including the New York Times bestsellers Longitude, Galileo’s Daughter, The Planets, and The Glass Universe. A former New York Times science reporter and longtime contributor to The New Yorker, AudubonDiscover, and Harvard Magazine, she is the recipient of the National Science Board’s Individual Public Service Award and the Boston Museum of Science’s Bradford Washburn Award, among others.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; Reprint edition (October 31, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 352 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0143111345
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0143111344
  • Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1330L
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.49 x 0.73 x 8.36 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 443 ratings

About the author

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Dava Sobel
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Dava Sobel (born June 15, 1947, The Bronx, New York) is an American writer of popular expositions of scientific topics. Her books include Longitude, about English clockmaker John Harrison, and Galileo's Daughter, about Galileo's daughterMaria Celeste.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Ragesoss (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
443 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book interesting and well-researched. They describe it as an engaging history of space exploration. The writing style is described as clear and conversational, with a unique gift for distilling information into clear sentences. Readers praise the book as inspiring and honoring unsung heroines during the birth of modern science. However, some feel the narrative is dry and frustrating at times.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

46 customers mention "Readability"46 positive0 negative

Customers find the book interesting and well-researched. It's a must-read for fans of astronomy, science, women's history, or history in general. The book tells a good story.

"...Previous books (Longitude and Galileo's Daughter) are also well worth reading. She is thorough but never plodding in her retelling of history...." Read more

"...It's extremely interesting, but does read much like a textbook. Recommended to readers interested in astronomy." Read more

"...Though unrelated to Sobel's work, the appearance of the book is rather lovely as well." Read more

"...Sobel does an excellent job of telling these ladies stories in The Glass Universe...." Read more

44 customers mention "Research quality"39 positive5 negative

Customers appreciate the book's research quality. They find it well-researched and accurate, with descriptions of the women's contributions to astronomy. The book is described as educational and delightfully written. Readers recommend it to those interested in astronomy.

"...women changing the course of astronomy by their hard work, scientific acumen and strokes of genius...." Read more

"...Recommended to readers interested in astronomy." Read more

"...Detectives", but her examination brings an unprecedented level of detail that demonstrates the significance of the women of the Harvard..." Read more

"...So, yes, Sobel does a good job of describing their contributions. But her narrative is on the dry side. I'm a big astronomy fan so I liked this book...." Read more

23 customers mention "History"23 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's history fascinating and engaging. They appreciate the accurate information about astronomy and space exploration from the end of the 19th century. The book blends little-known facts about astronomical and astrophysical discovery with an amazing story about events in the 1950s. Readers praise the writing and storytelling as excellent.

"...She is thorough but never plodding in her retelling of history. It feels alive, moving at times, and always interesting." Read more

"The Glass Universe gives us a unique history of the study of the Universe starting in the late 1800's, and highlights all of woman who tirelessly..." Read more

"...There is so much information -- unwrapping the life stories of many astronomers -- that I frequently flipped back and forth between sections to..." Read more

"This was a fantastic book about the early days of astronomy and the importance of Harvard University in many, many discoveries that led to..." Read more

23 customers mention "Writing quality"20 positive3 negative

Customers find the book's writing clear and engaging. They appreciate the author's ability to distill information into simple sentences. The book is written in a conversational style, making it easy for general readers to understand. Readers also praise the author's skill in describing the lives and work of 19th-century physicians. Overall, they describe the writing as thoughtful and fair.

"...course of astronomy by their hard work, scientific acumen and strokes of genius...." Read more

"...For the rest of us, this is an upbeat, insightful, and hopeful work that shows the work of exploration is not just for the boys anymore." Read more

"...Written in a conversational style and aimed at general readers, this is an engaging story of clues and discoveries made possible by the ambitious..." Read more

"...Great reading. Also enjoy Longitude by this same author. Great writer." Read more

11 customers mention "Female empowerment"11 positive0 negative

Customers find the book inspiring and encouraging. They appreciate the portrayal of women's accomplishments and achievements in science. The book honors unsung heroines during the birth of modern technology. Readers enjoy the depiction of brilliant women pioneers in photography, spectroscopy, and stellar origins.

"...Instead, we see strong and brilliant women changing the course of astronomy by their hard work, scientific acumen and strokes of genius...." Read more

"...her subject astronomers with admiration and love, describing women pioneers in photography; spectroscopy; stellar origins, evolution, and chemistry;..." Read more

"...A must read for fans of astronomy, science, women's history or history in general." Read more

"...and astrophysical discovery and invention, with the appreciation of underappreciated folks, in this case the women "computers" of Harvard..." Read more

8 customers mention "Narrative quality"0 positive8 negative

Customers find the narrative dry and hard to read. They say it could have been more compellingly told. The book is too technical for them and a dense recital of events and facts.

"...than from the science viewpoint, you're going to find this history a little tedious. Recommended for science and astronomy buffs...." Read more

"...I admire their dedication. Their work was tedious, but they never gave up." Read more

"...is so vast that too much of the book is a rapid and dense recital of events and facts, nonetheless it proves interesting to the end." Read more

"...are not in those fields, then you will probably find this book tedious and frustrating...." Read more

Bloody Interesting
5 out of 5 stars
Bloody Interesting
I’m giving this 5 stars because I assume the book is great...On the Amazon side of things... there’s a spot of what looks like blood on the book which is concerning...
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2018
    I've been teaching general education astronomy classes for several years and had brought up the Harvard "Calculators" in lecture, so I was eager to get a more in-depth understanding of that era in astronomy. I had expected to read about how poorly the women were treated, kept from telescope work and relegated to menial tasks of looking at photographic plates, etc. Instead, we see strong and brilliant women changing the course of astronomy by their hard work, scientific acumen and strokes of genius. The expected resistance to women in leadership roles is there, to be sure, but not so much within the Harvard observatory community as from the university higher-ups. Several of these "calculator" women were internationally recognized as leaders in the field. Even the wealthy benefactors (such as Henry Draper's widow, Anna Draper), who helped the observatory's work to greatly expand, were women.

    Whether you're specifically interested in the subject of women in science or not, this book is just a great snapshot of science history, period. From the late 1800's, when next to nothing was known about what stars were made of, their lifecycle, whether there were other galaxies or not, etc., to the work of Edwin Hubble in the 1920's and 30's, with the discovery of an expanding universe populated by untold numbers of galaxies, a scientific road runs through the work of the ladies of the Harvard Observatory. The "big names" (like Hubble, Hertzsprung, Russell) were indebted to their work.

    In short, another great book from Dava Sobel. Previous books (Longitude and Galileo's Daughter) are also well worth reading. She is thorough but never plodding in her retelling of history. It feels alive, moving at times, and always interesting.
    4 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2023
    The Glass Universe gives us a unique history of the study of the Universe starting in the late 1800's, and highlights all of woman who tirelessly gave of their talent to categorized stars. It's extremely interesting, but does read much like a textbook. Recommended to readers interested in astronomy.
    2 people found this helpful
    Report
  • Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2017
    In "The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars", Dava Sobel examines the spectroscopy work performed at Harvard under the auspices of the Henry Draper Memorial. Sobel's narrative begins with the work of Draper, who took spectroscopic photographs of the stars through a telescope, but died before having the opportunity to examine them. His widow, wishing to see the work completed, endowed the Harvard Observatory with a grant to catalogue the images and make further photographic and spectroscopic examinations, leading to the discovery of the chemical nature of the stars. Sobel's work examines the lives and work of the women who worked as computers, counting the Fraunhofer lines on the stellar spectra and creating a system to interpret it. Most interesting of all, despite working in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in a field dominated by men, the ladies and their contributions were recognized both in the United States and abroad. Williamina Paton Stevens Fleming, who worked as a maid before establishing a system to classify the stars, and Annie Jump Cannon, a Wellesley graduate, both stand out in this narrative for their dedication and exactitude in their work as well as their lasting contributions to science. The history Sobel examines is fundamental to our understanding of the universe and so has appeared before, in "Cosmos" and Alan Hirshfeld's "Starlight Detectives", but her examination brings an unprecedented level of detail that demonstrates the significance of the women of the Harvard Observatory in their own time along with the challenges they faced, often working on a shoestring budget or without pay. Beyond her subjects' research, Sobel explores the nature of academia and academic funding in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, showing how research that would easily receive university and financial support in the twentieth century struggled at times in the era on which she focuses. Sobel's title refers to the massive collection of glass photographic plates accumulated in the Harvard collection as a result of their research (pg. 203). The research and writing are everything readers expect of Sobel and a delight to delve into, sharing in her narrative. Though unrelated to Sobel's work, the appearance of the book is rather lovely as well.
    4 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

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  • Francois Boucher
    5.0 out of 5 stars Dava Sobel, again, tells a great story!
    Reviewed in Canada on February 25, 2023
    Fascinating story (just as Longitude…) very well told. Ms Sobel is a fine storyteller.
  • Sally
    5.0 out of 5 stars Credit where Credit is due!!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 27, 2024
    This book is very well researched and very informative. For anyone with connections to any of the people mentioned or for people interested in the history of astronomy and the contributions of brilliant women, this book is for you,
  • Dola Bhattacharyya
    4.0 out of 5 stars Awesome book
    Reviewed in India on July 15, 2019
    Nice book
  • Cliente Amazon
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excelente compra!
    Reviewed in Brazil on February 23, 2017
    O livro chegou em ótimo estado, bem protegido, bem embalado. Este é um livro excelente para quem está interessado em conhecer um pouco mais sobre a história da física. Super indicado!!
  • roderick garland
    4.0 out of 5 stars Ladies Rule the Universe
    Reviewed in Canada on June 30, 2022
    These ladies weren't men's equals, they were superior, pioneering scientific advances into the realm of the new astronomical knowledge of the Universe. Great and easy read.