The Universe Unveiled: Instruments and Images Through History
Sextant, octant, armillary sphere; sundial, moondial, astrolabe. Premodern scientific instruments seem romantic and mysterious. Romantic because they can be very beautiful, works of art the like of which cannot be found among more practical, goal-oriented modern instruments. Mysterious because most of us no longer have any idea which instruments were which, or how they were used.At the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, Stephenson, Bolt, and Friedman help curate one of the best collections of astronomy instruments in the world.The Universe Unveiledis a dazzling catalog of the most beautiful, ancient, and important objects from the Adler (the first planetarium in the Western Hemisphere) and other museums. Alongside hundreds of gorgeous, clear photographs, they have written a text that gives a real, though brief, idea of how the instruments, maps, and charts were actually used. Most of the objects were made in Europe between 1450 and 1800, but the authors also do a creditable job of discussing Chinese and Islamic astronomy. Altogether, the book is a rare combination of eye candy and intellectual nutrition, which could only really be bettered if it were packaged with the actual instruments. As is, it can make your hands itch with a kind of tactile curiosity, while it caters to your eyes and mind.--Mary Ellen Curtin