Know your place

MANY technologies change the world, and some even change the way we see the world. The telescope does both, but that isn’t why it is a great invention. This book details the history and technology of a device that is great because it changed our understanding of our place in the universe. Spanning the 400 years since its invention, Geoff Andersen takes us from Galileo to the Hubble telescope and from stargazing to surveillance, with an impressive mix of detail and anecdote. Ending on the search for an Earth-like planet orbiting another star, he leaves us feeling the best is…