BOOKS

Beneath the Night

Stuart Clark

Guardian Faber £14.99 • HB

What is it about the sky at night that has captivated human beings for centuries? This is the central question driving Stuart Clark’s excellent book.

While there are many popular science books charting the history of great astronomical discoveries, surprisingly little has been written about the human relationship with the night sky. This book explores that connection, how the history of humankind is also the history of our changing relationship with the cosmos.

The story starts with the most ancient, prehistoric civilisations and how they studied and worshipped the night sky. Using the latest archaeological evidence and theories, Clark shows how for those early civilisations, the stars were the home of