Author: David H. Levy Paperback: 203 pages Over the centuries
the starry night sky has inspired poets and scientists alike,
and though the fruits of these inspirations take very different
forms, they often enrich each other. Acclaimed science writer
David Levy, the codiscoverer of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9, has
written this wonderful jewel of a book to celebrate the
complementary visions of human wonder and curiosity that are
expressed in the separate disciplines of poetry and astronomy.
Levy, known for his infectious enthusiasm, traces the works of
the greatest poets-Shakespeare, Milton, Keats, Shelley, and
others-to show how they were influenced not only by the beauty
of the heavens but by their times, celestial events, and
moreover by the discoveries of such great scientists as
Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton. How strong is the connection
between literature and science? Levy says, "To think that
science and poetry are two disciplines that are properly
divorced from each other is to lose sight of what each is