Apollo's Fire: A Journey Through the Extraordinary Wonders of an Ordinary Day
Selected as one of NPR's Best Science Books of 2007“[Sims’s] weaving together of science and the more humane aspects of nature is what makes this book so interesting. . . . The sort of book . . . you’d keep at your side on a lazy summer day, dipping in occasionally as you undertake a leisurely contemplation of the world around you.”—James Trefil,Washington Post Book World"[Sims is] a lovely writer, a genuinely poetic writer. He does a great job of saying that what science teaches us about the sun influences everything, from the way we write poetry to the way we track our days, and what culture tells us that we should think about the sun again reflects on science; let's look at science in the context of how we live."—Deborah Blum, on NPR’s SCIENCE FRIDAY, “Best Science Books of the Year”“Sims’ enthusiasm is infectious….Charming.  Those who look back fondly on those late-night undergraduate conversations that seem to encompass the whole world would do well to pick upApollo’s Fire.”--The Tennessean“Sims, a writer with a particular gift for explaining the natural world…[weaves] it all into a coherent whole that’s greater than the sum of its parts….His book offers readers a taste of…comfort, humility, and wonder.”--Nashville Scene“A witty and erudite field guide to what he calls the ‘oldest story on Earth,’ the primordial cycle of the rising and setting sun… Sims’ writing is both engaging and knowledgeable… [A] delightful book that will make you think and, I hope, encourage you to go outside and consider the world around you.”--Seattle Times“Sims has a rare gift for showing the most taken-for-granted basics of human life as radical, mystical, and strange….His prose is so illuminating that science becomes poetry and poetry, science….Hypnotic and charming….This book is a magic carpet for the armchair traveler….Readers ofApollo’s Firewill suddenly experience today – this ordinary day, like any other – as grand and momentous.”--Bookslut“Wordsworth had a nice line about our inescapable human fate: ‘Rolled round in earth’s diurnal course/ With rocks, and stones, and trees.’ It just keeps happening willy-nilly, whether we pay attention or not. If you want to see the world turn with fresh eyes—or better yet, if you want to register the progress of earth’s diurnal course with all your senses, acquire a copy of Michael Sims’ lyrical and learned Apollo’s Fire: A Day on Earth in Nature and Imagination.”—Adam Begley,New York Observer"Apollo's Fire is a literary wunderkammer, a cabinet of curiosity that collects snippets of Greek myth alongside images from High Noon and juxtaposes Japanese prints with the Muslim calendar. . . . [Sims is] a genial and exceedingly well-informed guide, able to talk comfortably about the difficulties inherent in building an accurate sundial, various remedies for jet lag, and the etymology of the word 'twilight.'  . . . Sims has gone to great lengths in the effort to make us stop and pay attention—at least for one day."--Pittsburgh Magazine“Another marvelous adventure uniting nature and human knowledge and imagination….Clear, focused, and accessible.”--Library Journal“A magical mystery tour of seasons and starlight, rainbows and eclipses, circadian rhythms and jet leg, inner space and outer….A walk with an erudite entertaining docent through the most marvelous of museums.”--Kirkus“[Sims has] a flair for giving reality the luster of myth…. His delightful tour of day and night skies will inspire many readers to look up with a marveling new perspective.”--Publishers Weekly"With the brain of a scientist and the voice of a poet, Michael Sims makes the commonplace become truly miraculous. After this voyage through a day’s worth of scientific marvels and cultural curiosities, I’ll never look at shadows, stars, sunsets - or even airplane contrails - the same way again."-- Ross King, author ofBrunelleschi's Dome