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First Light: The Search for the Edge of the Universe | 
 enlarge | Author: Richard Preston
Publisher: Random House
Category: Book
List Price: $19.00
Buy New: $11.29
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Avg. Customer Rating:  19 reviews
Sales Rank: 56142
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 300
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.9
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 0.7
ISBN: 0812991850
Dewey Decimal Number: 500
EAN: 9780812991857
ASIN: 0812991850
Publication Date: October 29, 1996
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Amazon.com Review
"There is a saying among astronomers that five billion people concern themselves with the surface of the Earth, and ten thousand with everything else," writes Richard Preston, best-selling author of The Hot Zone. And if you think these professional stargazers spend most of their time serenely peering into the night sky, guess again. Today's astronomers are world-class gadgeteers who scurry about giant (and often frigid) observatories tinkering with the mechanical and electronic tools of their trade. In First Light, they tangle with the Hale Telescope, one of the world's oldest and largest. This beautifully written book is highly recommended for anybody interested in astronomy.
Product Description
Seven years before Richard Preston wrote about horrifying viruses in The Hot Zone, he turned his attention to the cosmos. In First Light, he demonstrates his gift for creating an exciting and absorbing narrative around a complex scientific subject--in this case the efforts by astronomers at the Palomar Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains of California to peer to the farthest edges of space through the Hale Telescope, attempting to solve the riddle of the creation of the universe.
Richard Preston's name became a household word with The Hot Zone, which sold nearly 800,000 copies in hardcover, was on The New York Times's bestseller list for 42 weeks, and was the subject of countless magazine and newspaper articles. Preston has become a sought-after commentator on popular science subjects.
For this hardcover reprint of what has been called "the best popular account of astronomy in action," (Kirkus Reviews) he has revised the text and written a new introduction.
From the Hardcover edition.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 14 more reviews...
 Top Reading June 20, 2008
This is a top read, and in fact, I've read this book about 4 times, if you count all the times that I pick it up and have a go again. The narrative takes you right into the workings of the "Big Eye", and the real people that make her work. You will feel good reading this. You will feel that there are pursuits for man other than being destructive and negative.
Another fine work by Preston. February 17, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Reading a work by Richard Preston has become such an intellectual treat that I have decided that these books are worth locating in "First Edition," which I was able to find and add to my collection.
Inspiring January 14, 2005
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I found "First Light" to be a deeply inspiring book. For me, as an amateur astronomer, Mt. Palomar is almost a sacred place. I think "First Light" must be mandatory reading for everyone who is visiting the Mt. Palomar observatory - read the book before your visit and the place will really spring to life when you get there.
A book worth owning. . . July 18, 2003
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I adore this book. Of course, I must give a disclaimer, I've always loved the subject of astronomy ever since I was very small. Unfortunately for me, I lacked the patience and the math skills to really delve into it, but books like Preston's, which are written for the layman but dare to delve a little, are a great read. 'First Light' follows two different groups of people: one working at the famed Palomar Telescope in Pasadena; the other, Carolyn and Eugene Shoemaker of the Shoemaker Comets fame. The book is rich with detail and lovingly paints a picture of the kindly, eccentric and brilliant people who inhabit that world. Especially wonderful are the analogies that help you understand how large the universe is when compared to objects around us (i.e., "Imagine the sun the size of the dot on this i. . ."). No, the writing isn't flawless, but the depth of detail and the easy flow of the narrative will keep you reading. . . Highly recommended for all ages.
 Somebody find this guy an editor! January 8, 2002
5 out of 8 found this review helpful
Great topic. Intiguing charcters. Lots of fun to read. Unfortunately this book reads like a first draft instead of a final copy. Richard Preston's sentence structure is terrible. He tends to repeat himself...alot!! Like his other books, the topics and information are wonderful; he needs somebody to keep him organized.
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