Chasing Venus

A fine example of scientific storytelling about astronomers of the Enlightenment observing the transit of Venus ... narrated with elegant expertise.

Iain Finlayson, The Times

Historian Andrea Wulf’s Chasing Venus is beautifully paced, alternating between expe­ditions, with lush descriptions of the often arduous journeys involved.

Nature

[a] truly excellent book…Andrea Wulf tell[s] the rip-roaring tales of numerous expeditions that set off around the globe to observe the Venusian transit of 1761…[She] communicate[s] the verve and energy – not to mention the perilous nature – of the expeditions.

Marcus Chown, New Scientist

It charts the story of a truly international effort; to not only observe the transit ... but to present the real quest that was to finally determine the distance between the Earth and the Sun ... [an] outstanding book! It's the book of the year so far – do not miss it!

Astronomy Now

Andrea Wulf’s immaculately researched book describes the endeavours of the early scientific community to observe the transit around the world…an absorbing…exciting yarn.

The Lady

Replete with meticulous detail, delightful illustrations and a cast of very familiar names from world history, Chasing Venus is an eminently readable account of humanity’s effort to chart the heavens. At once an exhilarating adventure, a tale of personal obsession, a tragedy and a detailed history of astronomical endeavour, Wulf’s latest work is a fascinating read.

Press Association

The result is a human story, and it’s worth reading as a rallying call to humanity’s quest to explore the universe simple for the sake of it.

Tom Payne, Telegraph

Chasing Venus is the entertaining tale of the expeditions that set off across the globe to use a transit of Venus to gain the first true measure of the size of the Solar System…captures the spirit of adventure and the wonder at mankind’s new-found ability to understand the world around it… a pleasure to read from beginning to end.

Sky at Night Magazine

[A] thrilling, stirring tale, very well told, of global cooperation, and how the passion for Enlightenment triumphed against enormous odds.

Nicholas Lezard, Guardian