Apollo's Fire: A Day on Earth in Nature and Imagination
by Sims, Michael
- Used
- Paperback
- Condition
- Like New
- ISBN 10
- 0670063282
- ISBN 13
- 9780670063284
- Seller
-
GORING BY SEA, West Sussex, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Synopsis
It?s the oldest story on Earth. You relive it every day. So much of our shared daily experience in the world is shaped by the sometimes dramatic, sometimes subtle effects of the Earth?s spin, its tilt on its axis, the alternation of light and darkness, the waxing and waning of the moon, the seemingly capricious growth of clouds. The ancient rhythm of the day and night was shaping life on Earth before there were even human beings to appreciate it. It rules our bodies and weather and calendars, and sets the tempo for our work and play. Each of us awakens each day to relive this primordial narrative. With his signature blend of science and poetry, history and mythology, Michael Sims serves as tour guide on an unforgettable journey through the wonders of an ordinary day, from dawn to nighttime. Long before we had the tools of knowledge to explain what we observed in the skies overhead, we built mythologies and folklore around these occurrences, immortalized them in poetry and art, created special places for them in our collective imagination and even our language. In Apollo?s Fire , Sims explores the celestial events that form our days, fusing lively explanations of these phenomena with a richly layered history of what they meant to us before we knew how they worked. He explains the colors of sunrise, the characteristics of shadow, the mysteries of twilight. Characters in this vital drama include Galileo watching sunrise on the moon, Eratosthenes measuring the Earth with a noontime shadow, and Edgar Allan Poe figuring out why the night sky is dark instead of glowing with the light of a million suns. Our story ranges from the movie High Noon to Darwin?s plant experiments, from The Time Machine to the afternoon rise in air pollution.In the witty and elegant style that has earned him the designation ?science raconteur,? Sims weaves a dazzling array of strands into a single tapestry of daily experience- and makes the oldest story on Earth new again.
Reviews
(Log in or Create an Account first!)
Details
- Bookseller
- World of Books Ltd (GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- GOR011053002
- Title
- Apollo's Fire: A Day on Earth in Nature and Imagination
- Author
- Sims, Michael
- Format/Binding
- Paperback
- Book Condition
- New Like New
- Quantity Available
- 1
- ISBN 10
- 0670063282
- ISBN 13
- 9780670063284
- Publisher
- Viking Adult
- Place of Publication
- New York
- This edition first published
- September 20, 2007
Terms of Sale
World of Books Ltd
If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase for any reason, simply email customerservice@worldofbooks.com and we will quickly resolve any issues you may have. If you have any other queries about your order, please email customerservice@worldofbooks.com. Our goal is to deliver to our customers the best possible service and we hope your experience of dealing with us lives up to our promise. If for whatever reason we fail to meet your expectations then please let us know.
About the Seller
World of Books Ltd
About World of Books Ltd
- Wob: Through Wob, we sell. We provide affordable, preloved books and media to customers all over the world. A book leaves our collection of over seven million titles and begins a new chapter every two seconds, enabling more goods to be reused.
- Ziffit: Through Ziffit, we buy. We give people around the world the opportunity to contribute to the circular economy, earn money and protect the planet, by trading their unwanted books and media.
- Shopiago: Through Shopiago, we help others. By sharing the technology that has grown World of Books Group into the business it is today, we're helping charities increase revenue and reduce waste through re-commerce.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...