I love astronomy. Just love it.
We often forget how amazing and beautiful it is in the midst of the crazy hectic week of life we have just had. Hence the dark chocolate for breakfast. And hence the headache I am still experiencing. Ugh. But again....
The title says it all!
We forget that we are part of this amazing vastness called the universe.
I picked this book for a few reasons:
I love, like, LOVE astronomy! I love the stars. One reason why another book I reviewed was based on the night sky (just in a different context). I love astronomy so much that I took astronomy courses while pregnant and again while my son was a baby. My professor, Raja, used to joke that he better be paying attention because one day he is going to take us to Mars. Lo and behold, Raja spoke truth... sort of.
My son as well loves and adores astronomy. If he could study one thing, that would be it. We have done several reviews in fact involving homeschooling and astronomy because of his love for it! One of them being for an entire astronomy course and the other for a unit study on stars!
So I picked this book because after I read it my 5th grader will also be able to read it.
So now to the waiting for the book...
... Got the book very intriguing from the start.
I love that he is honest that there are many that can't mix science and faith/religion. It is a sad fact that many think that they can't both be right. But they can be and he is the prime example of that.
I love that he shows a page from his notebook from when he was 9 years old. He drug out a chair in the middle of winter with his kiddy telescope and looked in to the night sky and took notes on it. He still does it 50 years later. The love of science and astronomy.
We forget the love for things we have as a kid and how that impacts us as adults. It is amazing to see that he followed what he loved regardless of his faith. That alone is inspiration.
However, some of the things he claims as truths in terms of science, astrology, and the bible do the very things that he is saying of them to criticise them. Which is to claim they have little to no proof that astrology is real. But the same can be said on the opposite side of the spectrum. That being said, he does present an easy read for it. I appreciate more that he is willing to talk about it.
I love that he incorporates easy to know references in this book such as Star Wars and other pop culture references. That makes the reading more accessible to people. Even if we haven't read or watched Star Wars. (gasp, I know, I am one of the few).
I love how he also gives you knowledge without expecting you to know astronomical terms that would baffle the normal non-astronomy lover and scientist.
He even goes back chronically from the beginning and does so in an easy story telling kind of way to talk about what ancient Egypt used to believe to what Native Americans. I love that there is also a history behind this. It is not just a bunch of "believe this" "believe that" outright (even though there are tinges of it which I am not a fan of) but he tries to provide insight into different views. Not wholly but he does try.
If you have wondered how science and faith could intertwine, or you don't struggle as much with faith this is a great read for you. You can learn more about how science can and does fit for you.
If you do struggle with faith, you can actually just read and skips the biblical points and still get a lot out of it. I know that seems like "why pick up the book then?" The answer is simple. You will still learn something! And there is some pretty cool stuff in here.
And pictures... did we mention pretty astronomy pictures? Because that is a must in a book about astronomy... just saying...
Overall, I think there is something to be had and learned no matter where you are in faith, history and science.
* I received this book in exchange for my honest review*
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