Astronomy & Natural History Connections: From Darwin To Einstein

In this book, author Barry Boyce explores the connections between astronomy and other parts of the natural world. In the process, he also covers such topics as evolution, relativity, and quantum theory. In addition, the biographies of important figures in science, such as Einstein and the historic contexts in which they lived are discussed. Different periods of scientific development from the classical Greek period to today and areas for future development are covered. All the topics are connected back to astronomy and discussed with a conversational style to relate to the lay reader. The natural world is connected to astronomy, and space and time are both connected to astronomy. Boyce also provides, at the beginning of the text, a helpful guide of the concepts covered in the book and questions it will answer. Also included are photographs of nebulae, animals, and galaxies. There is, as well, a timeline of the evolution of the universe from The Big Bang to the development of agriculture on the scale of a year, to give the reader an idea of relative length of time in that evolution (e.g., all multicellular life evolved in December.) The study of astronomy even connects to philosophy in questions of the nature of life and the existence of God.

As a person who works in the humanities, not sciences, I was, predictably, introduced to new topics. Even with the help of the nonscientific language and some background in science (I even took a college-level course in astronomy), I still found some of the concepts difficult, such as the relationship of time and space, Einstein’s special area of research, of course. In reading the book, one begins to see how such people like Leonardo di Vinci were proficient in so many areas of arts and sciences—they had a grasp of the inherent connections between the fields. Overall, Boyce does a credible job of teaching specialized scientific concepts, their connections, and their practical application in such areas as computers and global positioning systems. In short, the book has the potential to educate the lay audience, as well as peak interest for future study.