Dava Sobel Books in Order

Drawing on reported experiences with back pain, this guide surveys approaches to relief across several conditions. Its coverage includes lower-back and neck pain, damaged discs, sciatica, arthritis, and spinal disorders, organizing recommendations around the problems sufferers describe.

Dava Sobel and Arthur Klein examine exercise programs for people living with arthritis, drawing on a national survey of sufferers' experiences. The guide discusses adapting movement to different conditions, pain levels, ages, and daily activities through illustrated routines.

Astronomer Frank Drake recounts three decades spent searching for evidence of intelligent life beyond Earth. Written with Dava Sobel, the account follows the questions, observing methods, and scientific ambitions behind the effort that developed into NASA's microwave search program.

Spacecraft photographs and computer-enhanced images guide a tour of the solar system's planets and moons. Drawing on American and Soviet missions, the book presents the discoveries and unfamiliar landscapes revealed as probes carried scientific observation beyond Earth.

This illustrated guide examines exercise as an approach to recurring back pain, combining routines with self-assessment checklists. It discusses adjusting activity, addressing acute and chronic discomfort, and reconsidering everyday movements, drawing on surveys of sufferers' experiences.

The surviving letters of Galileo's daughter Maria Celeste frame a portrait of the scientist and their enduring relationship. Her life inside a Florentine convent offers a personal view of the religious pressures, scientific controversies, and family obligations surrounding his work.

Dava Sobel explores the solar system by connecting planetary science with mythology, art, music, literature, and history. Each world's physical characteristics become a starting point for examining the many ways people have imagined the heavens and their place within them.

Dava Sobel traces Copernicus's development of a sun-centered universe and his hesitation to publish it. Historical narrative and an imagined dramatic encounter with mathematician Rheticus explore the personal convictions and religious tensions behind a transformation in humanity's understanding of the cosmos.

Dava Sobel follows Marie Curie's scientific work alongside the careers of women trained in her laboratory. The account connects discoveries about radioactivity with family life, wartime service, and the opportunities Curie helped create for a new generation of researchers.

Dava Sobel tells the history of women who studied photographic glass plates at Harvard College Observatory. Their work on stellar classification, composition, and distance transformed astronomy, while their personal stories reveal the obstacles surrounding women's participation in science.