New Releases by Dava Sobel

Dava Sobel erzählt die Geschichte der berühmten Naturwissenschaftlerin und der 45 Frauen, die sie in ihrem Labor ausgebildet hat. Wie Marie Curie auch, waren sie fasziniert von der rätselhaften Radioaktivität und erforschten die Struktur der Atome als grenzenlose Energiequelle. Sie kamen aus aller Welt. Viele wurden später in ihrer Heimat einflussreiche Pionierinnen an Universitäten und in ihren Forschungsgebieten. Andere gaben unterm gesellschaftlichen Druck auf und heirateten. Einigen gelang es, Forschung und Ehe zu kombinieren. Viele blieben lange miteinander in Freundschaft verbunden und gründeten eine Gesellschaft zur Förderung von Frauen in der Forschung. In Paris trafen sie sich lange nach Mme Curies Tod, um ihrer Mentorin zu gedenken.

Península recupera la obra de una gran divulgadora científicas de nuestra época. Un viaje al corazón del Sistema Solar. Desde hace siglos, los planetas que orbitan alrededor del Sol han cautivado la imaginería del ser humano. Dava Sobel desvela a través de las anécdotas de ilustres astrónomos y físicos como Copérnico, Galileo o Kepler, los avances que han permitido comprender los planetas y su lugar en el cosmos a lo largo de los siglos. Explorando así, sus orígenes mediante la óptica de la cultura popular que abarca desde la astrología y la mitología hasta el arte y la historia. Una obra que nos invita a reflexionar sobre la relación de la humanidad con el universo y su significado.

«Ancora oggi, a quasi un secolo dalla sua morte, Marie Curie rimane l''unica scienziata donna che la maggior parte delle persone sa nominare» scrive Dava Sobel all''inizio di questa luminosa biografia. Nelle foto di gruppo scattate ai maggiori convegni scientifici internazionali, per decenni quello di Marie Curie è stato il solo volto femminile. È stata la prima donna a ricevere un Nobel (per la Fisica, vinto con il marito Pierre nel 1903) e la prima persona in assoluto a vincerne due (nel 1911 le fu assegnato quello per la Chimica). La strada per giungere fino a lì, però, non è stata certo agevole per Maria Salomea Skłodowska, sin da quando fu costretta a lasciare la nativa Varsavia per trasferirsi in Francia e potersi iscrivere all''università. A Parigi conobbe il grande amore, il fisico e matematico Pierre Curie, con cui per tanti anni condivise ricerche e traguardi. E, dopo la sua prematura scomparsa, prese il suo posto come docente di Fisica alla Sorbona e come direttrice del laboratorio Curie. Crebbe da sola due figlie brillanti, strinse un''amicizia speciale con Albert Einstein e altri luminari della fisica del Ventesimo secolo e, durante la Prima guerra mondiale, si adoperò come radiologa al fronte, pattugliando i campi di battaglia a bordo di vetture speciali dotate di apparecchiature a raggi X, soprannominate petites Curie. Una mente così prodigiosa non poteva non attirare numerose giovani donne di talento, aspiranti chimiche e fisiche provenienti dall''Europa orientale, dalla Scandinavia, dalla Russia, dalla Gran Bretagna e persino dal Canada: a tutte loro, Marie insegnò a credere nelle proprie capacità e a dedicarsi con determinazione alla carriera scientifica. Con il talento narrativo che la contraddistingue, Dava Sobel racconta Marie Curie attraverso una lente unica, quella delle donne che in qualche modo sono diventate la sua eredità: dalla francese Marguerite Perey, che ha scoperto l''elemento francio, alla norvegese Ellen Gleditsch, fino a Irène, figlia maggiore di Marie e Pierre, vincitrice del premio Nobel per la Chimica nel 1935.

The acclaimed Pulitzer Prize finalist and #1 New York Times bestselling author of Galileo’s Daughter crafts a luminous chronicle of the life and work of the most famous woman in the history of science, and the untold story of the many young women trained in her laboratory who were launched into stellar scientific careers of their own “Even now, nearly a century after her death, Marie Curie remains the only female scientist most people can name,” writes Dava Sobel at the opening of her shining portrait of the sole Nobel laureate decorated in two separate fields of science—Physics in 1903 with her husband Pierre and Chemistry by herself in 1911. And yet, Sobel makes clear, as brilliant and creative as she was in the laboratory, Marie Curie was equally passionate outside it. Grieving Pierre’s untimely death in 1906, she took his place as professor of physics at the Sorbonne; devotedly raised two brilliant daughters; drove a van she outfitted with x-ray equipment to the front lines of World War I; befriended Albert Einstein and other luminaries of twentieth-century physics; won support from two U.S. presidents; and inspired generations of young women the world over to pursue science as a way of life. As Sobel did so memorably in her portrait of Galileo through the prism of his daughter, she approaches Marie Curie from a unique angle, narrating her remarkable life of discovery and fame alongside the women who became her legacy—from France’s Marguerite Perey, who discovered the element francium, and Norway’s Ellen Gleditsch, to Mme. Curie’s elder daughter, Irène, winner of the 1935 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. For decades the only woman in the room at international scientific gatherings that probed new theories about the interior of the atom, Marie Curie traveled far and wide, despite constant illness, to share the secrets of radioactivity, a term she coined. Her two triumphant tours of the United States won her admirers for her modesty even as she was mobbed at every stop; her daughters, in Ève’s later recollection, “discovered all at once what the retiring woman with whom they had always lived meant to the world.” With the consummate skill that made bestsellers of Longitude and Galileo’s Daughter, and the appreciation for women in science at the heart of her most recent The Glass Universe, Dava Sobel has crafted a radiant biography and a masterpiece of storytelling, illuminating the life and enduring influence of one of the most consequential figures of our time.

A mediados del siglo XIX, el Observatorio de Harvard comenzó a emplear a mujeres como calculadoras o "computadoras humanas" para interpretar las observaciones que sus contrapartes masculinas realizaban por telescopio cada noche. Al principio este grupo incluía a las esposas, hermanas e hijas de los astrónomos residentes, pero pronto incluyó a graduadas de las nuevas universidades de mujeres Vassar, Wellesley y Smith. A medida que la fotografía transformaba la práctica de la astronomía, las damas pasaban de la computación a estudiar las estrellas capturadas en placas fotográficas de vidrio. El universo de cristal del medio millón de placas que Harvard acumuló durante las décadas siguientes permitió a las mujeres hacer descubrimientos extraordinarios: ayudaron a identificar de qué estaban hechas las estrellas, las dividieron en categorías significativas y encontraron una manera de medir distancias en el espacio por la luz que emiten. Entre estas mujeres destacaban Williamina Fleming, una escocesa contratada originalmente como criada que identificó diez novas y más de trescientas estrellas variables; Annie Jump Cannon, que diseñó un sistema de clasificación estelar adoptado por los astrónomos de todo el mundo y que sigue vigente; y la doctora Cecilia Helena Payne, que en 1956 se convirtió en la primera profesora titular de astronomía, y la primera mujer jefa de departamento de Harvard.

Es war die Zeit, in der Edison mit seiner elektrischen Glühbirne für Aufsehen sorgte, als Frauen an der amerikanischen Ostküste erstmals die Gestirne erkundeten. Ein Professor der Harvard University engagierte sie Anfang der 1880er-Jahre zunächst als »Computer« – als Rechnerinnen – am Observatorium. Darunter nicht nur Familienmitglieder von Astronomen, sondern auch Absolventinnen der neuen Frauen-Colleges und begeisterte Sternbeobachterinnen. Und sie leisteten wahrlich Erstaunliches: Die ledige Mutter und ehemalige Haushälterin Williamina Fleming etwa machte durch ihre Berechnungen allein schon an die 300 Sterne ausfindig. Die Pfarrerstochter Antonia Maury entwickelte eine eigene Klassifikation der Planeten, die heute als Grundstein der modernen Astrophysik gelten kann. Doch wenige der Harvard-Frauen fanden später die verdiente Anerkennung auf einer eigenen Forschungsstelle. Dem Wirken der ambitionierten Wissenschaftlerinnen ein Denkmal zu setzen ist daher Dava Sobels Anliegen mit ihrem neuen, spannend erzählten Buch.

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 of 2017 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.

Dava Sobel, autora del best-seller de culto Longitud, recrea la vida de Copérnico, el hombre que se atrevió a decir, hace casi quinientos años, que la Tierra no era el centro del universo. Cómo lo supo, cómo lo intentó demostrar, cómo lo escribió... es una historia que Sobel convierte en una narración llena de encanto, la crónica de un hombre enfrentado a la ciencia, la religión y la sociedad de su época. Pero entonces aparece un segundo personaje, un joven admirador, aspirante a científico y astrónomo amateur, que oye aquella extraña teoría, lee lo que Copérnico ha escrito casi avergonzado de su idea, y decide que aquello debe ver la luz. Rético, ese joven, cambia completamente el curso de los acontecimientos; y un descubrimiento se convierte en una revolución, aún hoy una de las más asombrosas del intelecto humano.

Using her deep knowledge, her skills as a storyteller, and her imagination, Dava Sobel illuminates one of history''s most significant and far-reaching meetings. In the spring of 1539, a young German mathematician--Georg Joachim Rheticus--journeyed hundreds of miles to northern Poland to meet the legendary, elderly cleric and reluctant astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus. Some two decades earlier, Copernicus had floated the mind-boggling theory that the Sun, not the Earth, was stationary at the center of the universe, and he was rumored to have crafted a book that could prove it. Though exactly what happened between them can never be known, Rheticus shepherded Copernicus''s great work into production and De revolutionibus orbium coelestium ultimately changed the course of human understanding. Dava Sobel imagines their dramatic encounter, and with wit and erudition gives them personality. Through clever and dramatic dialogue, she brings alive the months Rheticus and Copernicus spent together--the one a heretical Lutheran, the other a free-thinking Catholic--and in the process illuminates the historic tension between science and religion. An introduction by Dava Sobel will set the stage, putting the scenes in historical context, and an afterword will describe what happened after Copernicus''s book was published detailing the impact it had on science and on civilization.

Um elegante e primoroso relato sobre a vida do homem que transformou nossa concepção da vida no universo. Em 1514, Nicolau Copérnico desenvolveu o esboço da teoria que desafiava as crenças da época, colocando o Sol, e não a Terra, no centro do universo. Ao longo das duas décadas seguintes, ele compilou seu trabalho num manuscrito secreto, o qual se recusava a publicar. Em 1539, o alemão Georg Joachim Rheticus, atraído pelos rumores de uma revolução científica, viajou à Polônia para procurar Copérnico. Dois anos depois, o jovem publicou As revoluções dos orbes celestes, com os trabalhos que transformaram o lugar do homem no Universo. Com elegância, Dava Sobel descreve as personalidades conflitantes dos dois e cria uma peça teatral que imagina a luta de Rheticus para convencer o mestre a publicar seu manuscrito.

The bestselling author of Longitude and Galileo''s Daughter tells the story of Nicolaus Copernicus and the revolution in astronomy that changed the world.

John Harrison, ein schottischer Uhrmacher, setzte sich ein ehrgeiziges und unmöglich erscheinendes Ziel: eine Methode zu ersinnen, die es Seeleuten ermöglicht, den genauen Längengrad ihrer Position auf See zu bestimmen. Über vierzig Jahre arbeitete Harrison wie besessen an der Herstellung eines perfekten Chronometers und kam schließlich — trotz Missgunst und zahlreicher Anfeindungen — zum Erfolg. Dava Sobels in luzider Prosa erzählte Geschichte dieser wissenschaftlichen Gralssuche wurde ein überwältigender internationaler Erfolg.

Inspired by a long fascination with Galileo, and by the remarkable surviving letters of Galileo''s daughter, a cloistered nun, Dava Sobel has written a biography unlike any other of the man Albert Einstein called "the father of modern physics- indeed of modern science altogether." Galileo''s Daughter also presents a stunning portrait of a person hitherto lost to history, described by her father as "a woman of exquisite mind, singular goodness, and most tenderly attached to me." Galileo''s Daughter dramatically recolors the personality and accomplishment of a mythic figure whose seventeenth-century clash with Catholic doctrine continues to define the schism between science and religion. Moving between Galileo''s grand public life and Maria Celeste''s sequestered world, Sobel illuminates the Florence of the Medicis and the papal court in Rome during the pivotal era when humanity''s perception of its place in the cosmos was about to be overturned. In that same time, while the bubonic plague wreaked its terrible devastation and the Thirty Years'' War tipped fortunes across Europe, one man sought to reconcile the Heaven he revered as a good Catholic with the heavens he revealed through his telescope. With all the human drama and scientific adventure that distinguished Dava Sobel''s previous book Longitude, Galileo''s Daughter is an unforgettable story

Ud fra datteren Virginias breve til sin far tegner forfatteren et portræt af Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) som videnskabsmand, troende katolik og familiemenneske og giver et billede af den tids dramatiske kollision mellem religion og videnskab.

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