Starwatch Book

Wilson has a real knack for biography and manages to bring what might otherwise be a dusty history of astronomy book alive with the characters behind the telescopes. The final couple of chapters of the book are a little dated now as he talks about the cutting edge astronomy of the early 1980s.

The first part of the book was what particularly gripped me as Wilson builds his theory of consciousness based on Jaynes' Bicameral Mind. He then goes on to treat the the human exploration of outer space as a kind of search for meaning which leads right back to the human condition and our search of meaning in a lonely universe.

An exciting read that showcases Wilson's erudite scholarship and way with words that keeps the pages turning.