Chasing Venus: The Race to Measure the Heavens
 “Excellent. . . .Chasing Venusis beautifully paced, alternating between expeditions, with lush descriptions of the often arduous journeys involved.”     —Owen Gingerich,Nature “Outstanding. . . . It’s the book of the year so far—do not miss it!”     —Ian Welland,Astronomy Now“Andrea Wulf has now chronicled the 18th-century transit expeditions in a narrative light on astronomical detail but rich in personalities and adventures. The race was the 1760s version of reality TV — a cross betweenAmazing RaceandSurvivor.People waited to see which astronomers would make it and which wouldn’t, and to learn whether all the time and money was worth it. Wulf doesn’t entirely resolve that question, but she does wonderfully sketch the race for scientific, and patriotic, glory.”     —Alexandra Witze,Dallas Morning News “Another fine example of such scientific storytelling. . . . Narrated with elegant expertise.”     —Iain Finlayson,The Times(London) “The 18th century stargazers whom Andrea Wulf describes . . . would put Indiana Jones to shame. . . . Here is a book both astrophysicists and poets can enjoy.”      —Matthew Price,The Boston Globe “Chasing Venusis [a] thrilling adventure story. . . . Wulf’s marvelous eye for detail and talent for simplifying complex science make the book, timed for release a month before the last transit of this century, well worth reading before June.”     —Ann Levin,The Denver Post “[An] enthusiastic account. . . . With the next transit predicted for June 6, 2012, Wulf’s well-handled history arrives in a timely manner.”     —Booklist “[Wulf] clearly explains how Venus’ transit across the sun, which occurs every 105 years (and each time does so twice, at eight-year intervals—one will occur in June 2012), gave Enlightenment astronomers a chance to figure out such things as the distance between the earth and the sun. . . . Enlightening Enlightenment fare.”     —Kirkus, starred review