The Sun: A Biography

The Sun is an excellent, entertaining and thought-provoking book written for the layperson by astronomer David Whitehouse about our most awesome and mysterious nearest star. Part history, part biography, this book also has enough science to engage and inform, without either getting bogged down in technicalities or coming across as too superficial. Whitehouse follows the efforts of astronomers and physicists who, over the centuries, have been piecing together the great puzzle that is our (still very incomplete) knowledge of the Sun, and after reading this, you may well find yourself taking our vast, incandescent neighbour a little less for granted.

This book contains much information about the sun. It covers both the physical aspects, e.g., its formation, evolution, structure, life expectancy, how it works, physical effects on earth, etc., as well as the human aspects, e.g., effects on human history, superstitions, scientists who studied it, evolution of scientific theories, effects on human health, etc. The book is well written in an engaging style. If there is a shortcoming to this book, it is simply the fact that there is some amount of repetition of facts, often on the same page. This may indicate that the book was perhaps rushed through publication without an adequate editorial review. Nevertheless, this is very minor compared to the vast amount of information that it contains and the pleasure that it is to read.