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| Dava Sobel, signing books Hudson Library & Historical Society November 7, 2017 |
This time it was Dava Sobel (link to her website), a science writer whose book Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time (1996) I read--enjoyed--admired back in the spring of 2013. Here's what I wrote to my mom on May 22 when I had just finished the book:
Last night, I finished reading Dava Sobel’s little book Longitude (1996) about the clockmaker who solved the problem of how to measure longitude. I guess ships had a hard time figuring out exactly where they were before this guy Harrison solved the problem—sailing into islands, reefs, etc. It was easy to read and understand—even for a scientific doofus like me (hey, you remember my Hiram High science grades!)—so that was another reason I enjoyed it: I didn’t feel stupid! (Which I often feel when I read books about science, which I try to do now and then—just so I don’t get dumber than I already am!)
I haven't read any of her others, but I'm going to now--now that I've listened to her, met her.
Last night, Sobel talked (with PowerPoint) about her latest book, The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars, 2016, which has just been released in paperback.
She spoke about these remarkable women--in the pre-computer era--who were ... computers (i.e., they did computations), how they helped map the stars, discover distances, powers of illumination, etc. (I understood it all!) She spoke, as well, about how women have had a hard time gaining admission to the male sanctuary of the sciences (even today) and explained the various factors that enabled these particular women to emerge and, well, shine.
She spoke repeatedly about the importance of libraries, of archives--and as one who has used them often in his own research, I was profoundly grateful for those remarks--and shared her concern (which she expressed near the end) about the anti-science, anti-fact enthusiasm that has overwhelmed so many Americans. Worrisome in a democracy. If this great social experiment is going to work, we have to be willing to accept those truths that contradict what we may believe--or prefer to be true.
Afterward, she did a signing, and I--eager, rude, mildly offensive I--was the first in line, though I quickly yielded my place to a middle-school girl who was right behind me. (A long-time middle-school teacher, I could hardly barge in front of a student, could I?)
Then--humorously--another woman barged in front of both of us, assuming, I suppose, that every queue must begin with her.
When my turn came, she thanked me for letting her use my pen for her first few signings (hers had run out of ink). I told her I'd reviewed books for the Plain Dealer and still do for Kirkus--though I've never reviewed any of her work. She said, "Kirkus has been kind to me." I said: "They should be!"
And I thanked her for her comments about science-denial. She asked, "What are we going to do?" Good question.
Sobel is a slight woman, a couple of years younger than I, who spoke with a voice a bit ragged (I bet she's been doing lots of talks to promote her book!) but who evinced a wry sense of humor and a comprehensive knowledge of what she was talking about, a sort of fearlessness that comes with having done the work, the research. Not bad qualities for a writer--a speaker--to have!
I'm going to be reading more of her works now ... probably all of them. (I'm, as some of you know, a Book Junkie: Once I start on a writer, I snort all of it!)
you might have been eager but you were not rude!
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