Astronomy and Culture

EDITH W. HETHERINGTON has a PhD degree in Curriculum and Instruction, and has taught English and English as a second language at several schools, including Razi University in Iran. More recently, she was admitted to the California Bar, and now is the Export Compliance Officer for Chevron Information Technology Company. She has traveled widely in North America, Europe, and the Middle East, and has a first hand acquaintanceship with many of the places mentioned in this book as well as their art and literature.NORRISS S. HETHERINGTON is the director of the Institute for the History of Astronomy and a Visiting Scholar with the Office for the History of Science and Technology at the University of California, Berkeley. He is the author of several books, including Planetary Motions: A Historical Perspective (Greenwood Guides to Great Ideas in Science, 2006). He was a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellow in Studies in Interrelationships between Human Values and Science and Technology.

Although slender, this cultural studies guide offers a vibrant outline of astronomy's influence on a variety of societies, from the enigmatic Celtics onward. Independent scholar Edith Hetherington and author Norriss Hetherington (Planetary Motions) divide the book into ten themed chapters, covering subjects as complex and divergent as ancient archaeoastronomy and astronomy's embattled relationship with religion. …this highly accessible, engaging read is ideal for curious laypeople. Moreover, it is the only astronomy reference to offer such a broad subject survey, expanding its scope beyond a single culture or time period.