A Grand and Bold Thing - by Ann K Finkbeiner (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In 2005 the Sloan Digital Sky Survey burst onto the scene--an amazingly detailed new map of the universe created by a small group of visionary scientists, led by the beloved and multi-talented astronomer James Gunn--just awarded the National Medal of Science. Suddenly cosmologists were flooded with so many powerful new discoveries that, as one said, it was like drinking out of a fire hose. At last they could trace the universe's whole history and peer into vast swaths of never before charted deep space. The Sloan survey was put on the web for free, and it has launched a brave new era of "eAstronomy" in which anyone who wants to is free to probe into the beautiful and far-reaching depths of the Sloan map and discover a new galaxy or name a new super-nova.
In The Grand and Bold Thing critically acclaimed science writer Ann Finkbeiner tells the inside story of how Gunn and his band of comrades pulled off this remarkable achievement and of the astonishing array of new cosmological findings that the Sloan Survey has made possible. This is a book that cosmology buffs and every armchair astronomer will relish.

Review Quotes

"[A] glimpse into the minds of the scientists who have taken on the job of advising the government of the world's most powerful nation...Finkbeiner allows the Jasons to speak for themselves; she often preserves their revelations in direct quotes from her interviews, and these are what make the book worth reading."

"[A]n important investigation into the relationship between science and government; between "studying ultimate reality" and "shooting down missiles;" between the rules of logic and the vagaries of human nature. At heart, "The Jasons" is a meditation on morality." ""

"[F]ascinating [and] disturbing...Finkbeiner's book...carries a message for those who fear we are entering an anti-science age, in which right-wing politicians, religious fundamentalists, Luddites and postmodernists challenge science's authority...Indeed, because of its immense potential for altering our lives for good or ill, science needs critics like Finkbeiner now more than ever."

"Never heard of the Jasons? These crack US scientists with top-secret clearance have advised the Pentagon since 1960 on some of its toughest problems. Finkbeiner's unusual access makes for a true story that reads like a Tom Clancy novel."