The Story of Light

By: Ben Bova

Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki

Length: 6 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

From the creation of life to the exploration of the heavens and the stars, from the origins of the earth to the possibility of life on other planets, Ben Bova unveils the beauty and science behind this phenomenon. Bova masterfully explains how light affects us every day of our lives, from our religions to our sex drives. He examines how we use light in art, science, industry, entertainment, cosmetics, jewelry, and in a myriad other ways. In graphic, entertaining, and always accesible prose, the author provides fascinating insights into a great variety of subjects so that the listener will discover something new and wonderful about almost every area of knowledge, ranging from relativity and quantum physics to perspective and the use of light by great Renaissance painters. A stunning, clear, and always fascinating writer, Dr. Bova provides easy to understand examples that make available to us all even the most difficult and mind-bending concepts.

©2001 Ben Bova (P)2001 Fantastic Audio

Critic reviews

"The abridgment, competently read by Stefan Rudnicki...is interesting and easy to understand." (Library Journal)
"Stefan Rudnicki has a deep, pleasing voice, that makes him sound like the friendly neighbor next door in a particularly philosophical mood. He breezes through this book of facts and theories about light with a comfort level that makes one think he does this every day." (AudioFile)

Great

Enjoyed book enough to listen to it twice on my last vacaton

Good on multiple fronts

I'm a photographer who loves science. This book covers light in interesting ways as well as has some excellent scientific segments.

A great listen

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. For those interested in the history & science of light without the text book it is a great listen.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Story of Light?

The discussion of the particle theory of light being displaced by the wave theory of light and then combining the theories.

What does Stefan Rudnicki bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Emphasizes the ironies.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Well done!

I approached this book with some trepidation since science topics tend to either be watered down, or texts in the guise of popular books. However I should not have worried. Bova made the topic light as engaging as his many science fiction novels (in fact, I felt this moved at a pace surpassing his fiction, and with more humor), and the coverage of the topics were comprehensive, but thoroughly enjoyable and accurate.

Amazing! Stunning!

This is one of the best I've heard for having such a conversational writing style. I was sad when it was over and wished he had delved deeper into some of the topics. Being a photographer, I am totally intrigued with the whole subject of light. This story was informative and sent my imaginationon a trip thru the solar system.

Pretty good

Some fairly interesting material, but I noticed several errors and some of it is fairly outdated (which is fair, since it is almost 20 years old).

An illuminating book of moments

This is a well-curated collection of moments in the history of science all having to do with light.

It covers theory e.g. the electromagnetic spectrum, and technology e.g. the invention of limelight.

The story of Light

This is, by far the most enjoyable educational book I have ever listened toO, and I am 66 and listened to thousands of books of this type.
I can say nothing but thank you, as I am passing it on to my 8 Grandchildren

Again, THANK YOU.

JOHN SCHMIDT

All about light--once over lightly

I enjoyed this book about light. It's basically "all about light"--what it is, the history of the study of light, and how it's used. The physics is treated once-over quickly--not with a great deal of depth. Ben Bova writes in an enjoyable style. It's really a book about "everything you wanted to know about light but were afraid to ask." Many different topics are covered and explained in general terms without profound depth. If you want a survey of what is known about light, this is the book for you.