Archives of the Universe: A Treasury of Astronomy's Historic Works of Discovery

Though Bartusiak prefaces this anthology of astronomy-related documents by lamenting the fact that astronomy books often leave out ""the voices of the scientists themselves,"" it soon becomes clear why such voices are regularly silenced. Among the many famous authors presented here--Galileo, Einstein, Kepler, Newton, Copernicus, etc.--no voice shines through as accessibly as that of Bartusiak herself. The author of Thursday's Universe and Through a Universe Darkly has sewn together this collection of historical reprints with an admirable number of original, explanatory essays that situate each document within a larger scientific history, clarifying each paper's importance and showing how each discovery set the foundation for the next. For serious astronomy enthusiasts, this book will surely become a well-loved resource. But many of the original documents are dense and dry, and casual readers will prefer to turn to one of Bartusiak's previous books to learn more about the workings of the stars and planets.