Italic>Celestial Inclinations

Reviews~ 224 ~ and financial decisions both reflect and influence what happens in research.Rather than cluttering the other chapters with such details (even though they are important), the reader is referred to the Appendix when finances play a role in the narrative.The book ends with a bit more than 95 pages of bibliography and a small-print index of somewhat more than 13 pages.Despite the scholarly nature of the book, it is an interesting and exciting read.Even those familiar with the big picture will learn new details, especially via the personal angle, in large part due to the input from many interviews.Probably more than any other research institute, the MPIs are built around people, and the book makes it clear that it is people who do science.That usually does more harm than good, as personality clashes can get in the way.The first chapter contains many black-and-white photographs, mostly of people; it is not clear why later chapters do not-I think that they would have added some value.The price is certainly justified for such a long, well-produced book.However, the pdf file is also publicly available for free (at the website given below).Anyone interested in the history of astronomy and/or the relationship between research and politics will probably enjoy this volume

Diverse Historical and Scientific Studies · Historical Studies and Socio-cultural Analysis · History · History of Science and Medicine