The Man who Sold the Milky Way

Book excerpt: Distinguished astronomy researcher, teacher, and lecturer, "Bart Bok always loved to talk about astronomy's big picture," observes David Levy, "and in his lifetime of commitment to the Milky Way, he had seen that picture evolve." Drawing on more than fifty interviews with Bok over the two years before his death, Levy's biography was first undertaken over Bok's protests but later gained his full cooperation. The book shows not only what made Bok an exceptional scientist but also what it was like to be an astronomer in an era of significant progress in that field.