Eclipse. The obscuring of light from one celestial body by the passage of another.
The upcoming eclipse has generated a lot of excitement, along with booked hotels and higher airfares.
I looked at a list of books that are about eclipses and/or it is important to the story, and found these. Each one is very different.
Totality: Eclipses of the Sun by Mark Littmann, Fred Espanak, and Ken Willcox is great resource about eclipses up through 2070. The latest edition includes new chapters on how to take a video and/or photo of the eclipse. (There are several editions of this, so be sure you are getting the one you want.)
Eclipses What Everyone Needs to Know by Frank Close. This book covers eclipses of sun, moon and other astronomical objects as well as their role in history, literature and myth. He also includes a timetable of future eclipses. This would be a great book to keep around for reference and for astronomy enthusiasts – professional and otherwise.
Mask of the Sun: The Science, History, and Forgotten Lore of Eclipses by John Dvorak. When I think of eclipses I also think of older movies where caricatures of tribal peoples quiver in fear of the event. I would like to know more.
My Life in Darkness, by Harrison Drake, is a novel containing the letters of a man who was born during an eclipse and that his life revolves around eclipses.
1831: Year of Eclipse by Louis P. Masur, begins with a solar eclipse and describes the political and cultural upheaval of the time as well as how new technologies are changing American relationship with the land and its inhabitants. Makes me wonder if with the change of dates and names, that this might be relevant to today.
(All these books appear to be available in hardback, paperback, and Kindle.)
Happy eclipse watching. Be sure to protect your eyes.