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The Glass Universe
- How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins
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Publisher's summary
Number-one New York Times best-selling author Dava Sobel returns with the captivating, little-known true story of a group of women whose remarkable contributions to the burgeoning field of astronomy forever changed our understanding of the stars and our place in the universe.
In the mid-19th century, the Harvard College Observatory began employing women as calculators, or "human computers", to interpret the observations made via telescope by their male counterparts each night. At the outset this group included the wives, sisters, and daughters of the resident astronomers, but by the 1880s 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 to studying the stars captured nightly on glass photographic plates. The "glass universe" of half a million plates that Harvard amassed in this period - thanks in part to the early financial support of another woman, Mrs. Anna Draper, whose late husband pioneered the technique of 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 10 novae and more than 300 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-Gaposchkin, 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 a group of remarkable women who, through their hard work and groundbreaking discoveries, disproved the commonly held belief that the gentler sex had little to contribute to human knowledge.
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Critic reviews
Named one of the best books of the month by Flavorwire, Bustle, Harper’s Bazaar, Real Simple, Refinery29, Men’s Journal, BBC, and 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)
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Since the 1930s, the scale of scientific endeavors has grown exponentially. The birth of Big Science can be traced to Berkeley, California, nearly nine decades ago, when a resourceful young scientist pondered his new invention and declared, "I'm going to be famous!" Ernest Orlando Lawrence's cyclotron would revolutionize nuclear physics, but that was only the beginning of its impact.This is the incredible story of how one invention changed the world and of the man principally responsible for it all. Michael Hiltzik tells the riveting full story here for the first time.
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An informative and thought-provoking book
- By Jean on 08-23-15
By: Michael Hiltzik
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Robert Oppenheimer
- A Life Inside the Center
- By: Ray Monk
- Narrated by: Michael Goldstrom
- Length: 35 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Robert Oppenheimer was among the most brilliant and divisive of men. As head of the Los Alamos Laboratory, he oversaw the successful effort to beat the Nazis in the race to develop the first atomic bomb – a breakthrough that was to have eternal ramifications for mankind and that made Oppenheimer the “Father of the Atomic Bomb.” But with his actions leading up to that great achievement, he also set himself on a dangerous collision course with Senator Joseph McCarthy and his witch-hunters. In Robert Oppenheimer: A Life Inside the Center, Ray Monk, author of peerless biographies of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Bertrand Russell, goes deeper than any previous biographer in the quest to solve the enigma of Oppenheimer’s motivations and his complex personality.
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A comprehensive biography
- By Jean on 10-17-14
By: Ray Monk
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Perfectly Reasonable Deviations from the Beaten Track
- Selected Letters of Richard Feynman
- By: Richard P. Feynman
- Narrated by: Richard Poe, Johanna Parker
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
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Few scientists have enthralled more people than Richard P. Feynman, the Nobel Prize winner and best-selling author of Six Easy Pieces and Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! Beloved for his engaging character and zest for life, he is an American icon. In this selection of letters, Feynman's towering genius and singular personality shine like dazzling stars.
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Absolutely delightful
- By csk on 07-07-05
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Stephen Hawking: His Life and Work
- By: Kitty Ferguson
- Narrated by: Carole Boyd
- Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Stephen Hawking is one of the most remarkable figures of our time, a Cambridge genius who has earned international celebrity as a brilliant theoretical physicist and become an inspiration and revelation to those who have witnessed his courageous triumph over disability. This is Hawking's life story by Kitty Ferguson, who has had special help from Hawking himself and his close associates and who has a gift for translating the language of theoretical physics for non-scientists.
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Not What it Appears
- By Heizenberg on 04-04-12
By: Kitty Ferguson
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Beyond Uncertainty
- Heisenberg, Quantum Physics, and the Bomb
- By: David C. Cassidy
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 22 hrs and 14 mins
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Since the fall of the Soviet Union, long-suppressed information has emerged on Heisenberg’s role in the Nazi atomic bomb project. In Beyond Uncertainty, Cassidy interprets this and other previously unknown material within the context of his vast research and tackles the vexing questions of a scientist’s personal responsibility and guilt when serving an abhorrent military regime.
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Well done!
- By David on 12-31-14
By: David C. Cassidy
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Rosalind Franklin
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- By: Hourly History
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- Length: 58 mins
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Rosalind Franklin was what can only be called an overlooked genius. Although she was not fully credited for the feat at the time, her work led to major breakthroughs in our understanding of DNA. In fact, she took the first X-ray photo of DNA in all of its double helix glory. By the time her former colleagues were being showered with accolades for results they made at least partially based on her findings, Franklin would not be around to see it. Sadly, it’s believed that her use of X-ray equipment gave her terminal cancer, cutting her life short at age 37.
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Covers the facts
- By Freda St on 08-21-24
By: Hourly History
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Tesla
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- By: W. Bernard Carlson
- Narrated by: Allan Robertson
- Length: 16 hrs and 11 mins
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Nikola Tesla was a major contributor to the electrical revolution that transformed daily life at the turn of the 20th century. His inventions, patents, and theoretical work formed the basis of modern AC electricity, and contributed to the development of radio and television. Like his competitor Thomas Edison, Tesla was one of America's first celebrity scientists, enjoying the company of New York high society and dazzling the likes of Mark Twain with his electrical demonstrations. An astute self-promoter and gifted showman, he cultivated a public image of the eccentric genius.
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A detailed examination of Tesla's work
- By Jean on 02-01-14
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A More Perfect Heaven
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- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 7 hrs and 23 mins
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In her graceful, compelling style, Dava Sobel chronicles the history of the Copernican Revolution, relating the story of astronomy from Aristotle to the Middle Ages. In its midst will be her play, And the Sun Stood Still, imagining the dialogue that would have transpired between Rheticus and Copernicus in their months together. As she achieved with her bestsellers Longitude and Galileo's Daughter, Sobel expands the bounds of science writing, giving us an unforgettable portrait of scientific achievement.
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Interesting but Not Perfect
- By John on 09-01-12
By: Dava Sobel
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How the Laser Happened
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- By: Charles H. Townes
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- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
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In How the Laser Happened, Nobel laureate Charles Townes provides a highly personal look at some of the leading events in 20th-century physics. This lively memoir, packed with firsthand accounts and historical anecdotes, is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in the history of science and an inspiring example for students considering scientific careers.
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Great for aspiring physicists
- By James S. on 10-06-18
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A Mind at Play
- How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age
- By: Rob Goodman, Jimmy Soni
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
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Claude Shannon was a tinkerer, a playful wunderkind, a groundbreaking polymath, and a digital pioneer whose insights made the Information Age possible. He constructed fire-breathing trumpets and customized unicycles, outfoxed Vegas casinos, and built juggling robots, but he also wrote the seminal text of the Digital Revolution. That work allowed scientists to measure and manipulate information as objectively as any physical object. His work gave mathematicians and engineers the tools to bring that world to pass.
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I wanted more information about Information Theory
- By Bonny on 05-08-18
By: Rob Goodman, and others
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The Second Kind of Impossible
- The Extraordinary Quest for a New Form of Matter
- By: Paul J. Steinhardt
- Narrated by: Peter Larkin
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
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When leading Princeton physicist Paul Steinhardt began working in the 1980s, scientists thought they knew all the conceivable forms of matter. The Second Kind of Impossible is the story of Steinhardt’s 35-year-long quest to challenge conventional wisdom. It begins with a curious geometric pattern that inspires two theoretical physicists to propose a radically new type of matter - one that raises the possibility of new materials with never-before-seen properties but that violates laws set in stone for centuries.
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In anticipation of low review marks...
- By James S. on 05-14-19
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The Making of the Atomic Bomb
- 25th Anniversary Edition
- By: Richard Rhodes
- Narrated by: Holter Graham
- Length: 37 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Here for the first time, in rich human, political, and scientific detail, is the complete story of how the bomb was developed, from the turn-of-the-century discovery of the vast energy locked inside the atom to the dropping of the first bombs on Japan. Few great discoveries have evolved so swiftly - or have been so misunderstood. From the theoretical discussions of nuclear energy to the bright glare of Trinity, there was a span of hardly more than 25 years.
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Beware limitations of the reader
- By JFanson on 01-01-19
By: Richard Rhodes
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What listeners say about The Glass Universe
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-20-24
fabulous book on history of computers history of astronomy
this is an important chapter in the history of computers and is a direct link to the Aberdeen proving grounds that were part of the eniac six story very highly recommended, and a view into a lost past America
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- Anonymous User
- 07-01-24
Interesting history
I enjoyed learning about all the women who have been a part of astronomy’s history and especially the vast amount of contributions they made over the years. It is encouraging to read of their achievements back in the 1800s. The story was a bit dry at times and lacked intrigue but was read well.
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- Leigh Kordewick
- 01-19-17
Not what I expected
Super dry... Fact filled.
Don't get me wrong, it was an interesting listen but I know nothing of astronomy and was looking for an empowering story about women. What I got was a very dry account of historical facts. Someone in the field would probably enjoy this history lesson a great deal
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4 people found this helpful
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- Deese
- 11-28-19
Wonderful story about amazing women!
Listen to multiple times. Enthralling story wanted more. Once again real life is better than fiction.
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- Jean
- 05-03-17
Edifying
I have enjoyed reading a number of Sobel’s books such as “Galileo’s Daughter”. This book is about the women who worked at the Harvard College Observatory in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They were called computers. After reading “Rocket Girls” and “Hidden Figures”, I know this is a term applied to women who did the math and analytical work for scientists. These women at the Observatory were math, physics and astronomy majors and some were Ph.Ds. These women studied, compared, classified and catalogued data about stars that had been photographed by male astronomers on glass plates. At this time women were not allowed to be astronomers. The women were assigned the work that demanded both scrupulous attention to detail and could be considered tedious work.
Edward Pickering and Harlow Shapley were directors of the Observatory from 1877 to 1952. These men were willing to hire women and even created research grants and academic fellowships for women via the patronage of two women heiresses, Anna Palmer Draper and Catherine Wolfe Bruce, who provided the funding. Some of the women Sobel presents are Williamina Fleming, Annie Jump Cannon, and Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin. These women’s stories are absolutely fascinating.
The book is well written and meticulously researched. Sobel reviewed diaries, letters and memories and included excerpts from these sources into the story. Sobel writes with clarity and has an easy to read style.
The book is approximately thirteen hours long. Cassandra Campbell does a good job narrating the book. Campbell is a stage actress, voice over artist and an award-winning audiobook narrator.
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10 people found this helpful
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- CraigB
- 06-03-22
Much more than the title suggests.
I have been an avid amateur astronomer for most of my life, and while I knew a lot of what was covered in the book, I found the details very interesting.
Before I read (listened) to the book, I had no idea about the lives behind the names I'd lived with for a good long time. Learning about how Henry Draper's legacy was expanded upon and how women were vital to the early days of scientific astronomy was eye opening.
This is more than just a look at these women "computers" or even just a Harvard observatory's role in astronomy, it's a great history of the early days of astronomy in general.
My only complaints are that I didn't always get a feel for these women's lives, feelings, etc... It was a bit dry in that respect. I also imagine that the physical book had a lot of pictures that obviously the audio book can't have. I will have to search for a physical copy for my library.
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- Cynthia
- 01-07-17
But the seeing, which was everything, was better
There's been a trifecta of great books about women in physics, astrophysics and astronomy in the last year. There's Margot Lee Shetterly's "Hidden Figures: The American Story and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped Win the Space Race" (2016 book, 01/06/2017 movie); Nathalia Holt's "Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon" (2016); and now, Dava Sobel's "The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars" (2016). The time has come for these engrossing books and the brilliant women they portray.
Sobel's "The Glass Universe" shows that the old cliche that until Rosie the Riveter and World War II, all educated women stayed at home, relegated to perfect homemaking, an occasional Lyceum, and gossipy book clubs just wasn't true. These are great women, along with other greats like Colonel Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space; American physicist Dr. Sally Ride, the first American woman in space; and astronomer Dr. Vera Rubin, whose work in dark matter defines current astronomy.
Sobel's book is first in time, with the first astrophotography, in 1850. For decades, astronomers at various observatories around the world photographed the stars onto glass plates. They were analyzed and catalogued at Harvard. More than a century and a half later, those images are still being studied. In an expanding universe, with a science so vast that light studied doesn't reach us for centuries, how the stars looked like when Abraham Lincoln was president is important in the 21st Century.
Willamina Flemming, classifying for the Draper Catalogue of Stellar Spectra (first volume published 1890) established the star classification system OBAFGKM. The lyrically named Antonia Mary refined classifications, which were adapted by Annie Jump Cannon into the classifications still used today. In other words, these women were not "computers" laboring with pencil and paper over long, boring equations - anymore than the women in "Hidden Figures" and "Rise of the Rocket Girls" were. They quietly laid the foundation for modern astronomy and physics. Happily, there are a dozen more women whose lives are in "The Glass Universe".
I do have a complaint about the Audible version of the book: it's the appendices and explanatory footnotes. They contain a lot of valuable information, and a .pdf would have been very helpful. I wish I'd known to listen to the definitions portion and the list of people at the beginning of the book, rather than the end.
The name of this review is from the book, discussing a new observatory's location.
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41 people found this helpful
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- James F. Miller
- 03-27-22
Incredible, well researched story
I am a fan of astronomy and history, so this book hits a sweet spot for me. Learning about the early history of astro-photography and spectrography, and seeing how much they contributed to the science of astronomy is fascinating enough. But to learn of these incredible women who persevered and contributed so much is a huge bonus. Williamina Fleming, Annie Jump Cannon, Henrietta Leavitt, Cecilia Payne. Antonia Maurey and Harvard’s benefactors Anna Palmer and Catherine Bruce along with the leadership of Edward Pickering and a host of others shows how much they all had a hand in understanding the universe.
Also, the narration is the best of the over 100 Audible books I have listened. Not over the top, but distinctive enough that you can immediately recognize the character before their name is added. I have read the book, but listening to it was an absolute joy.
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- Elisabeth Carey
- 10-07-17
A fascinating look at early scientific astronomy
In the mid-19th century, the Harvard Observatory began employing women as computers, to do the calculations that were the necessary next step after observations were made and recorded. It was considered inappropriate to subject women to the rigors of nighttime observation work, but there was no reason they couldn't do the essential mathematics. Initially, these women were often family members of the director or other astronomers, introduced to the field by their husbands, brothers, or fathers. As time went on and the demand for good computers grew, though, it became a field of science unusually open to women who were increasingly able to pursue formal scientific education.
That need grew in part because another woman, Mrs. Anna Draper, heiress to the Draper fortune, wanted to support her late husband's dedication to photographic study of the stars. Through her support, Harvard amassed half a million glass photographic plates, which could be studied in far more detail and precision than hand-drawn records that preceded them.
The women of the Harvard Observatory, whether wives, sisters, and daughters at the outset, or later, graduates of the women's colleges of Smith, Vassar, and Wellesley, or even, in one case, a former maid, Williamina Fleming, recruited by the observatory director, made major discoveries. Fleming discovered ten novae and over three hundred variable stars. Annie Jump Cannon developed the stellar classification system still in use today. Dr. Cecelia Helena Payne-Gaposchkin became not just Harvard's first female professor of astronomy, but also its first female department head.
They weren't just doing the boring, tedious stuff, as sometimes assumed now. They were doing ground-breaking scientific work, collaborating in what might now seem surprising equality with the men of the observatory.
These are fascinating stories, and well told by Sobel and well read by Campbell. In addition, this audiobook does include the sources, glossary, and other after-matter that are an essential part of the book, making pursuit of further information about any of the subjects that much easier.
Highly recommended.
I bought this audiobook.
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- AmazonCustomer
- 02-23-17
Scientific and engaging
As an instructor of astronomy, I enjoyed the blend of historical science and storytelling. Sobel does an expert job of intertwining the development of astronomy from an visual survey of the stars to the application of physics and chemistry in studying their spectra. The story of women computers, researchers, and scientists is elegantly portrayed as their role in the emergence of astrophysics unfolds. Truly, I wish historical and scientific textbooks captured the audiences attention like this piece of writing does! Dava Sobel has become one of my favorite authors and I look forward to reading more of her work!
Cassandra Campbell's narration is wonderfully performed. Her rhythm and melody are perfectly suited for the turn of the century subjects of this story. A pleasure to listen to!
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