Does a more-than-decent job of distilling mind-blowingly complex concepts for the lay-person. The bits on emerging theory are a bit more dense and hard to follow, but the incorporation of historical context and the thread about theory, observation, and acceptance of ideas makes the book pretty easy to digest.

The book's mostly about the history of the astronomical breakthroughs such as Copernican Model of Universe, Accelerating Universe, Dark stuffs and energy, Black holes and quasars. A very little ideas from the author regarding the mapping and it's future scope in the epilogue. It's good to know both the facts and speculations.

Personally, I found this book very addictive. The author uses very simple yet catchy words that could inspire the readers to watch out for the sky. I've read outstanding books written by Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and other contemporary science promoters and I'm proud to showcase this book among their works in my favourite shelf. After reading the inceptional chapters, It was too delicate that even I felt like joining Astronomy courses and seek an alternative career for me. Unlike other popular space science books, it has several moderate technical details of various methods involved in mapping the details. Totally loved it. Anyone comfortable with high school science can find this comfortable as well. Some mistakes though, especially at page 183 it was indicated that lithium is the seventh element. Overall a very good book inorder to feed the cosmic hunger within you and to have an esoteric, inexplicable feel of what is meant to be alive.

Really interesting book, the narrative of how we came to have our current understanding of the universe is a fascinating one, and looking at how science itself has changed is a very effective way of anchoring the discussion. Some of the writing is a little trite and some of the technical descriptions could be clearer (very very possible I just didn't get them) but overall it was very good

Very enjoyable! It’s all about leaps of imagination. Flexible but exacting. The history, the wonder of humanity looking up at the sky. Across time, across cultures, across different scientific backgrounds, rivalries, long cherished beliefs, and new discoveries shattering old across continents. We are connected by this simple act, we all perform; looking up and then making a map. The references are brilliantly broken down & explained in this fascinating book.

Very enjoyable! It’s all about leaps of imagination. Flexible but exacting. The history, the wonder of humanity looking up at the sky. Across time, across cultures, across different scientific backgrounds, rivalries, long cherished beliefs, and new discoveries shattering old across continents. We are connected by this simple act, we all perform; looking up and then making a map. The references are brilliantly broken down & explained in this fascinating book.

Not what I expected. History of astrophysics. Interesting read nevertheless.

Good and clear explanation of where we currently find ourselves in our understanding of the universe end our place in it and how we managed to find our way to this knowledge.

The author also details some of the conflicts between scientists (philosophers) of the beliefs in their day and the new explanations that were developed.

Good book!

An engaging summary of how astronomy has evolved over the centuries since the scientific revolution. The author also includes anecdotes of scientific discourse on more modern discoveries such as black holes, dark matter, and dark energy that showcase how influence, clout, and the race to be the first can sometimes dilute or detract from the true essence of this field- to map the heavens and answer questions about the unknown.