The Last Stargazers

The Enduring Story of Astronomy's Vanishing Explorers

By: Emily Levesque

Narrated by: Janet Metzger

Length: 11 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

The story of the people who see beyond the stars

Humans from the earliest civilizations were spellbound by the night sky - craning their necks each night, they used the stars to orient themselves in the large, strange world around them. Stargazing is a pursuit that continues to fascinate us: from Copernicus to Carl Sagan, astronomers throughout history have spent their lives trying to answer the biggest questions in the universe. Now, award-winning astronomer Emily Levesque shares the stories of modern-day stargazers, the people willing to adventure across high mountaintops and to some of the most remote corners of the planet, all in the name of science.

From the lonely quiet of midnight stargazing to tall tales of wild bears loose in the observatory, The Last Stargazers is a love letter to astronomy and an affirmation of the crucial role that humans can and must play in the future of scientific discovery.

In this sweeping work of narrative science, Levesque shows how astronomers in this scrappy and evolving field are going beyond the machines to infuse creativity and passion into the stars and inspires us all to peer skyward in pursuit of the universe's secrets.

©2020 First Light Science, LLC (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

This book has given me a couple of good laughs.

Overall, "The Last Stargazers" offers a compelling and accessible exploration of the world of astronomy, making it a valuable read for anyone interested in astronomy, science, and the people who devote their lives to unraveling the mysteries of the universe.

Nostalgia for a former Astronomer

This book definitely took me back to my grad school days. She gives a very real, very compelling, and very human view of what it is like to be an astronomer.

Great Book

I read this book for work and expected an overly academic slog, but the writing is accessible and the personal stories of the astronomers are fascinating and include a surprising number of encounters with wildlife.

Very interesting book!

I heard Emily on a radio program and decided I needed to experience the book. Janet did a nice job narrating, but I think it would’ve been amazing to hear it in Emily’s voice! The story explains how astronomers work in everyday terms and I found it very engaging.

And then 2020 happened...

You just can't control for some things. Emily mentioned how Green Bank was the most spectacular telescope collapse. Well 2020 said "hold my beer" and smashed Arecibo - ON FILM - in a way even more spectacular than any movie.

Searching for Stuff in the Darkness

The Last Stargazers by Emily Levesque is an enlightening audiobook where Emily Levesque sheds light on the field of astronomy by providing a large amount of information about the inner workings of the field. Listeners will hear about the processes of getting time to even view the powerful telescopes used to observe the cosmos, stories of the hazards of venturing out to dark, remote locations that are home to said telescopes, the wild animals that make stargazing a little more interesting (for better, or for worse) and more.

For my personal listening preference, I listened at 1.3 speed.

There are many references to the beauty and excitement of observing which many observers experience, and all the hard work it takes to be the one controlling the equipment gathering information, and the troubles equipment, or weather can cause, getting in the way of gathering that information.

I found very few issues with Levesque’s delivery. One issue I had was that Levesque assumes some things such as that everyone occasionally gets sunburns, but the assumptions are few, and don’t ruin the book.

I wasn’t personally drawn in by the material, but I did find it very interesting. Many of the stories were funny, and a few were emotional, which made for an enjoyable listening experience.

The book is narrated by Janet Metzger and, at times, Janet Metzger’s narration is dry, and the listener can almost hear her concentration at points. Then at other times you can hear the emotion put into her reading. I feel Metzger’s reading quality improved as the book progressed.

Overall, I recommend the Last Stargazers if you are interested in the inner workings of the field astronomy beyond the public scope of the field.

Ghhyjbubb

Oh my fcking god is she really writing about a fender bender and parking? I’m not learning anything.

Just ok

My rate for this is based on the expectations that I had. I love book about science and Astronomy is being an interesting topic for me over the last years, however this book frustrated not talking about astronomy or great astronomers in the history, but it is, in general, about the daily routine of an astronomer. The authors writes very well, but the content was not engaging for me.

Skipped quite a bit

Tedious to get through details between colorful, anecdotal stories about the history and nature of the unique work done by astronomers. Often read like study notes, a personal log or a journal revoiced and loosely linked into third person, past tense. Read like a tribute to all the people and places author had been. The title is misleading. The first stargazers? Stargazer? Why the Last Stargazer??