Mask of the Sun Audiobook By John Dvorak cover art

Mask of the Sun

The Science, History and Forgotten Lore of Eclipses

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Mask of the Sun

By: John Dvorak
Narrated by: Corey M. Snow
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About this listen

Eclipses have stunned, frightened, emboldened, and mesmerized people for thousands of years. They were recorded on ancient turtle shells discovered in the Wastes of Yin in China, on clay tablets from Mesopotamia and on the Mayan "Dresden Codex". They are mentioned in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey and at least eight times in the Bible. Columbus used them to trick people, while Renaissance painter Taddeo Gaddi was blinded by one. Sorcery was banished within the Catholic Church after astrologers used an eclipse to predict a pope's death.

In Mask of the Sun, acclaimed writer John Dvorak explains the importance of the number 177 and why the ancient Romans thought it was bad to have sexual intercourse during an eclipse (whereas other cultures thought it would be good luck). Even today, pregnant women in Mexico wear safety pins on their underwear during an eclipse. Eclipses are an amazing phenomena - unique to Earth - that have provided the key to much of what we now know and understand about the sun, our moon, gravity, and the workings of the universe.

Both entertaining and authoritative, Mask of the Sun reveals the humanism behind the science of both lunar and solar eclipses. With insightful detail and vividly accessible prose, Dvorak provides explanations as to how and why eclipses occur.

©2017 John Dvorak (P)2017 Tantor
Astronomy Biographies & Memoirs Cosmology History Social Sciences Ancient History
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Critic reviews

"A splendid introduction to all aspects of eclipses; for all readers interested in science." ( Library Journal, Starred Review)

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Very enjoyable

A fantastic explanation of the eclipse phenomenon throughout history. Includes physics, mythology, and discoveries accumulated over the centuries from f this awe inspiring act of nature. Very well written and read.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

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Total Eclipse of the Ahhhhh!

I loved the eclipse prediction and lore calendar research. I am a sucker for planetary science and three-body hi jinx, so those parts were enjoyable.

However, the needless tedium, retelling of the same story and restatements of facts already covered could drive one to pull out their hair! And I tend to like John Dvorak’s books!

The monotonous male voice of this volume’s reader only exasperates this aspect of the book. If you’re an insomniac, the reader and this tedium might be your cure.

I recommend just shy of half this book. Beyond that, since there is no real continuity once he gets to anecdotes about people watching eclipses, you’re free to continue only if you are a masochist.

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