Einstein's Shadow - by Seth Fletcher (Paperback)

About the Book

Book Synopsis

A NEW YORK TIMES EDITOR'S CHOICE

Einstein's Shadow follows a team of elite scientists on their historic mission to take the first picture of a black hole, putting Einstein's theory of relativity to its ultimate test and helping to answer our deepest questions about space, time, the origins of the universe, and the nature of reality

Photographing a black hole sounds impossible, a contradiction in terms. But Shep Doeleman and a global coalition of scientists are on the cusp of doing just that.

With exclusive access to the team, journalist Seth Fletcher spent five years following Shep and an extraordinary cast of characters as they assembled the Event Horizon Telescope, a virtual radio observatory the size of the Earth. He witnessed their struggles, setbacks, and breakthroughs, and along the way, he explored the latest thinking on the most profound questions about black holes. Do they represent a limit to our ability to understand reality? Or will they reveal the clues that lead to the long-sought Theory of Everything?

Fletcher transforms astrophysics into something exciting, accessible, and immediate, taking us on an incredible adventure to better understand the complexity of our galaxy, the boundaries of human perception and knowledge, and how the messy human endeavor of science really works.

Weaving a compelling narrative account of human ingenuity with excursions into cutting-edge science, Einstein's Shadow is a tale of great minds on a mission to change the way we understand our universe--and our place in it.

From the Back Cover

Einstein's Shadow follows a team of elite scientists on their historic mission to take the first picture of a black hole, putting Einstein's theory of relativity to its ultimate test and helping to answer our deepest questions about space, time, the origins of the universe, and the nature of reality

Photographing a black hole sounds impossible, a contradiction in terms. But Shep Doeleman and a global coalition of scientists are on the cusp of doing just that.

With exclusive access to the team, journalist Seth Fletcher spent five years following Shep and an extraordinary cast of characters as they assembled the Event Horizon Telescope, a worldwide network of radio telescopes created to study black holes. He witnessed the team's struggles, setbacks, and breakthroughs, and, along the way, Fletcher explored the latest thinking on the most profound questions about black holes: Do they represent a limit to our ability to understand reality? Or will they reveal the clues that lead to the long-sought theory of everything?

Fletcher transforms astrophysics into something exciting, accessible, and immediate, taking us on an incredible adventure to better understand the complexity of our galaxy, the boundaries of human perception and knowledge, and how the messy endeavor of science really works.

Weaving a compelling narrative account of human ingenuity with excursions into cutting-edge science, Einstein's Shadow is a tale of great minds on a mission to change the way we understand our universe--and our place in it.

Review Quotes

"Engaging . . . captivating and informative." - Booklist

"A compelling behind-the-scenes story of scientists struggling as much with funding and competition as with the challenges of seeing Sagittarius A*. . . . Address[es] the seeming absurdities of [the] subject with authority and wit." - Nature

"With stakes this high and writing this lucid, readers will be drawn into the narrative as easily as matter being drawn toward the event horizon itself. The hypotheses, experiments, team-building, and bureaucratic wrangling that Fletcher so beautifully describes perfectly encapsulate modern science, and it's a rare treat to have an insider's look at an ongoing endeavor this monumental . . . Supermassive black holes, a virtual telescope the size of the Earth, trailblazing astronomers who test the boundaries of modern science--this is scientific storytelling at its best." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Fletcher . . . carries the reader along on a journey of scientific triumphs and bureaucratic nightmares, of abstruse physics and interpersonal politics, all the while conveying the visceral joy of research. . . . He has knack for deft, accurate explanations that are quick to read and easy to understand, with memorably vivid language. His excellent prose and a powerful story fuel this shining quasar of a book." - New York Times Book Review

"[Fletcher] has knack for deft, accurate explanations that are quick to read and easy to understand, with memorably vivid language. His excellent prose and a powerful story fuel this shining quasar of a book." - New York Times Book Review

"Ambitious and richly detailed . . . a refreshingly fast-paced account of this extraordinary scientific enterprise." - Science

"In the paradoxical nihilism of black holes, we might discover the biggest, grandest truths about the universe." - Wired

"Fletcher has crafted an extraordinary narrative, explaining the most mind-bending physics with impressive clarity and vividly bringing to life a mostly unsung band of characters who are turning the crazy-sounding idea of taking a picture of a black hole into a reality." - Michael D. Lemonick, author of The Perpetual Now and Mirror Earth

"Fletcher manages to humanize a complicated scientific project while providing readers with a comprehensive guide to the cosmos." - Library Journal

"Mind-bending and suspenseful, Einstein's Shadow tells a story about the immense black holes that pierce galaxies, and the humans trying to take their picture. Fletcher is there with them every step of the way, capturing the thrill of a wild and beautiful quest." - Jason Fagone, author of The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies

"Mind-bending and suspenseful, Einstein's Shadow tells a story about the immense black holes that pierce galaxies, and the humans trying to take their picture. Fletcher is there with them every step of the way, capturing the thrill of a wild and beautiful quest." - Jason Fagone, author of The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine Who Outwitted America's Enemies

"A thoughtful and riveting ethnography of an ambitious project to map the sacred boundary of our local black hole, at the heart of the Milky Way, drawing attention to the psychological drives that inspire us scientists to quest for the exciting discoveries that await..." - Priyamvada Natarajan, Astrophysicist, Yale University, author of Mapping the Heavens: The Radical Scientific Ideas That Reveal the Cosmos

"With stakes this high and writing this lucid, readers will be drawn into the narrative as easily as matter being drawn toward the event horizon itself... This is scientific storytelling at its best." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review)