The Glass Universe

The Hidden History of the Women Who Took the Measure of the Stars.

‘A biographical orrery – intricate, complex and fascinating’ The Observer ‘A peerless intellectual biography. The Glass Universe shines and twinkles as brightly as the stars themselves’ — The Economist #1 New York Times

Bestselling author Dava Sobel returns with a captivating, little-known true story of women in science. Before they even had the right to vote, a group of remarkable women were employed by Harvard College Observatory as ‘Human Computers’ to interpret the observations made via telescope by their male counterparts each night.

The author of Longitude, Galileo’s Daughter and The Planets shines light on the hidden history of these extraordinary women who changed the burgeoning field of astronomy and our understanding of the stars and our place in the universe.