First Light
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Seven years before Richard Preston wrote about horrifying viruses in The Hot Zone, he turned his attention to the cosmos. In First Light, he demonstrates his gift for creating an exciting and absorbing narrative around a complex scientific subject—in this case the efforts by astronomers at the Palomar Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains of California to peer to the farthest edges of space through the Hale Telescope, attempting to solve the riddle of the creation of the universe.
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Richard Preston's name became a household word with The Hot Zone, which sold nearly 800,000 copies in hardcover, was on The New York Times'sbestseller list for 42 weeks, and was the subject of countless magazine and newspaper articles. Preston has become a sought-after commentator on popular science subjects.
For this hardcover reprint of what has been called "the best popular account of astronomy in action," (Kirkus Reviews) he has revised the text and written a new introduction.
Liked First Light? Here’s where I’d start.
These suit anyone who liked First Light. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.
“People who read First Light tend to reach for these next.”
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The Sun's Heartbeat: And Other Stories from the Life of the Star That Powers Our Planet
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How It Began: A Time-Traveler's Guide to the Universe
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The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America's Favorite Planet
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Astronomy 101: From the Sun and Moon to Wormholes and Warp Drive, Key Theories, Discoveries, and Facts about the Universe
