Richard Cohen - Chasing the Sun : The Epic Story of the Star That Gives Us Life

[A] spirited panoramic survey Cohen is cheerfully digressive, covering topics such as nudism, quantum theory, albinos, the rise of khaki uniforms, vampires, seasonal affective disorder, life at the bottom of the sea, and the curiously worded abdication of divinity by the emperor of Japan after the Second World War. Embedded in the footnotes are some of the books most memorable details.

The New Yorker

A book of wonders Displaying a brilliant surface sheen of solar materialism, myth, metaphysics and metaphor, the intention and achievement of this book is to irradiate the dazzled reader.

The Times (London)

Cohens book is inspirational. It masterfully pulls the mere astronomer away from narrowmindedness. It should help us share our meagre understandings of our central star with the multitude of other people who appreciate the Sun in vastly different ways. Read this book. You will enjoy every page and it will broaden your horizons hugely.

Astronomy Now

Unfailingly riveting.

The Boston Globe

A glorious literary orbit around the Sun This extraordinary book is informed by the most prodigious reading, and the most fabulous detail. His chapters on the Sun in literature and art are mesmerising. At every point, the footnotes, asides and interrogations throw up the unexpected and the delightful. Some will call it eccentric in its discursiveness: a better word would be concentric. The journey is unpredictable, but always at a proper distance from its subject. Its a glorious literary walk in the Sun.

The Guardian (U.K.)

The sun is a big subject, and Richard Cohen does it wonderful justice in this encyclopedic compendium that sees him visit dozens of countries, read hundreds of books and consider our star from every conceivable perspectiveand some that are barely conceivable. Beautifully illustrated, this is not a book to be read at a sitting, but it is endlessly informative and diverting.

The Telegraph (U.K.)

An unflinching, spellbinding account Cohens work is prodigious, audacious, and dazzlingly illuminating.

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Cohens charm and erudition keep Chasing the Sun consistently lively, and the pages fly by like a dinner with a master raconteur. A richly satisfying read Cohens mission is accomplished. We are left sharing his wonderment at all that modern science has taught us about the sun.

The Sunday Times (London)

A remarkably comprehensive and engrossing synthesis of the suns influence on science, art, religion, literature, mythology and politics. Ever enthusiastic, Cohen provides illuminating personal anecdotes, but he includes just the right amount of detail, never allowing the material to sprawl untethered. Apollo, Ra, Inti or Huitzilopochtliall would rock with delight at Cohens sweeping endeavor.

Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Cohen (By the Sword) visited eighteen countries to gather information for this ambitious and unusual literary opus. Cohen was compelled to write the sort of book Id like to read, a risky position for a writer seeking a broad readership, but one that more than pays off.

Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Dazzling an epic synthesis of science, anecdote and poetry. Cohen tells a good tale and is equally good on science and literature.

The Independent (London)

Encompassing history, science, culture, and wonderful stories, this is a read that is enthralling. San Francisco Book Review

Mighty, lively, thoroughly readable Cohen leaves no sunbeam unturned in this dazzling history of our solar system, and the epic human efforts to understand it. The science Cohen recounts is mind-boggling.

Metro (U.K.)

Cohen is an endurance scholar, unstoppably curious and gifted, with both lucidity and elegance of expression. It would be impossible for anyone to emerge unenlightened from this dazzling book. The footnotes alone are worth the price.

Melbourne Age

An encyclopaedic plum pudding of a compendium beautifully illustrated endlessly informative and diverting.

The Sydney Morning Herald

Richard Cohens exhaustive story of the sun takes us from its beginning to its end, touching on just about everything that has anything to do with the sun in between, from ancient sun worship to modern sunbed worship, the history of astronomy to the future of solar power. Here is the story of the sun in all its splendour. Perfect for brightening dark winter evenings.

New Scientist

To write yet another work about our nearest star is a formidable challenge that author Richard Cohen takes up with aplomb. Chasing the Sun paints a fascinating and far-reaching scene that incorporates nearly all aspects of solar phenomena. The narrative is liberally sprinkled with personal anecdotes, which is largely what makes the book so enjoyable. A marvellous read.

Nature

A quite extraordinary book, which I absolutely loved. I found it impossible to read in a few sittings, but sort of sat around regularly sun-bathing in its information afterglow. Its a dazzling solar encyclopedia; but also a fabulously provoking history of discoveries, dreams, and delusions. I shall bask in its shimmering digressions, crazy cross-references, and dizzy overviews for many moons.

Richard Holmes, author of The Age of Wonder

Chasing the Sun is a warming book for short winter days, blending myth with history and science, and guaranteed to please and fascinate almost any reader.

Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall

By the Sword: A History of Gladiators, Musketeers,

Samurai, Swashbucklers, and Olympic Champions

2011 Random House Trade Paperback Edition

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Originally published in hardcover in the United States by Random House, an imprint of The Random House Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., in 2010.

Excerpt from Notes Toward a Supreme Fiction by Wallace Stevens, from The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens, copyright 1954 by Wallace Stevens, and renewed 1982 by Holly Stevens. Used by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc.

Excerpt from Time, words and music by Roger Waters, Nicholas Mason, David Gilmour, and Rick Wright, TRO- copyright 1973 (renewed) Hampshire House Publishing Corp., New York, NY. International Copyright Secured. Made in USA. All rights reserved including public performance for profit. Used by permission.

In Praise of Limestone, copyright 1951 by W. H. Auden, from Collected Poems of W. H. Auden by W. H. Auden. Used by permission of Random House, Inc. Used in the e-book edition by permission of The Wylie Agency (UK) Ltd.

Excerpt from Telescope by Ted Kooser, from Delights & Shadows.
Copyright 2004 by Ted Kooser. Reprinted with permission of
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Mad Dogs and Englishmen copyright NC Aventales AG 1932 by permission of Alan Brodie Representation Ltd. www.alanbrodie.com.