The Miraculous from the Material: Understanding the Wonders of Nature

In this reverent survey, Lightman (The Transcendent Brain), a humanities professor at MIT, delves into the science behind awe-inducing phenomena. Exploring the forces that give rise to glaciers, volcanoes, and other distinctive geological formations, Lightman describes how over 30 million years ago, tectonic plates in the American southwest “slid over each other” and created high plateaus that were then carved out by the Colorado River, forming the Grand Canyon. Other entries zoom in on everyday phenomena, as when Lightman explains that sunsets appear red because air molecules scatter blue light and sunlight has to pass through more of Earth’s atmosphere later in the day than it does at noon. Elsewhere, Lightman trains his attention on flora and fauna (hummingbirds must flap their wings 50 times per second to stay alight), as well as the cosmos (the moon’s pull on Earth has slowed the planet’s rotation, increasing its own momentum in turn and gradually pushing the satellite farther away). Lightman’s veneration of the natural world is palpable (of the aurora borealis he writes, “As the greenish blue lights swim and shimmer high in the sky, we are reminded we are tiny creatures in a vast universe”), and the bountiful photos underscore the beauty of his subjects. Readers will marvel at the eye-opening science. Photos. Agent: Deborah Schneider, Gelman Schneider Literary. (Nov.)