Blind watchers of the sky

Rocky Kolb's colorful recreation of the lives and accomplishments of Tycho, Kepler, Galileo, Herschel, Hubble, and other astronomers expands our image of scientists as merely long-haired youths dreaming under apple trees, disheveled old men with wild hair scribbling on blackboards, or bespectacled computer hackers.

Contributing to our understanding of the universe have been princes and paupers, professors and mule drivers, solitary men and women working in isolation, and anonymous members of large scientific teams. The only thing they all shared is an unrelenting curiosity about the universe.

. The book begins in 1572 with Tycho's startling revelation that the heavens can change, and ends with the explosive 20th-century discovery of the big bang. In an engaging, whimsical style, this leading cosmologist shares his personal insight into the profound ideas, silly misconceptions, and remarkable revolutions in thought that are all part of the process of discovery.