Staff Pick
Remarkably, estimates are that eight out of every ten children born in America today will never know "what it means." That is, 80 percent will never know a night dark enough that they can see the Milky Way.
Remarkable and depressing.
The End of Night follows author Paul Bogard as he travels the world to discover the pernicious effects of our overdependence on artificial lighting. Our compulsive need to illuminate the night has had many unintended and deleterious consequences for both our own well-being and that of our nonhuman neighbors. Despite there being "no statistically significant evidence that street lighting impacts the level of crime," we persist in our need to eradicate not only the perceived (but nearly nonexistent) threat of post-dusk violence, but also the latent fear that underlies our dis-ease with the darkness and mystery of the evening and early morning hours in general.
Bogard visits foreign and domestic cities, national parks, observatories, workplaces, suburbs, and rural areas to interview a host of both experts and laypeople on light pollution and related subjects. Much of the information he uncovers is rather disturbing, especially the effects on wildlife and personal health (including a possible causal link with cancer). As places throughout the world free from an excess of artificial light continue to dwindle, our connection with the natural world — and our inherent wonder and awe of the night sky's beauty — becomes increasingly threatened.
There is considerable intrigue to be found throughout
The End of Night, both scientific and philosophical. A chapter on darkness, melancholia, and death is particularly poignant and moving; however, some portions of the book rely too heavily on anecdote that trends close to tedium. Nonetheless, Bogard's book is, overall, a fascinating probe into an overlit new age of human existence and the ramifications thereof.
The End of Night makes clear that it's more than a mere view of the stars above that we've forsaken when we overlight (and improperly light) cities, streets, roads, parking lots, landmarks, and homes.
Recommended By Jeremy G., Powells.com
Synopses & Reviews
The "terrific ... moving, poetic, immersive, multifaceted, and thought-provoking" book (Publishers Weekly) that will open your eyes to the night.A brilliantly starry night is one of nature's most thrilling wonders. Yet in our world of nights as bright as day, most of us no longer experience true darkness. Eight out of ten Americans born today won't ever live where they can see the Milky Way. And exposure to artificial light at night has been cited as a factor in health concerns ranging from poor sleep to cancer.
In his gorgeous debut, THE END OF NIGHT, Paul Bogard travels the globe to find the night, blending personal narrative, natural history, health, science, and folklore to shed light on darkness. Showing exactly what we've lost, what we have left, and what we might hope to regain, he attempts nothing less than a restoration of how we see the spectacularly primal, wildly dark night sky.
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Shortlisted for the PEN/E.O. Wilson Literary Science Writing AwardFinalist, Sigurd F. Olson Nature Writing AwardChosen as one of Gizmodo's Best Books of 2013
An Amazon Best Book of the Month, Nonfiction: Editors' Pick, July 2013
2014 Nautilus Award Silver Winner
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"A lyrical, far-reaching book. Part elegy, part call-to-arms, The End of Night feels like an essential addition to the literature of nature." -- Boston Globe
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"A moving, poetic, immersive, multifaceted, and thought-provoking study... Terrific." -- Publishers Weekly
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"[Bogard] offers delightful insights from experts on the activities of nature during the night.... Bogard will leave readers in awe of darkness and in admiration of his book." -- Library Journal (starred review)
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"It's impossible to read it without feeling the impulse to set out for the spaces beyond the city limits and spread out a blanket under the stars." -- Columbus Dispatch
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"Absorbing... The End of Night delivers a forceful...critique of our overexposed world." -- Wall Street Journal
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"Appealing.... An engaging blend of personal story, hard science and a bit of history." -- Kirkus Reviews
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"An enthralling reminder of the power and pleasures of the dark." -- The Bookseller
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"Introducing us to the pitch-black island of Sark, and groups such as Civil Twilight (designer of streetlights that shut off under moonlight) and Starlight Reserves (which considers freedom from light pollution a basic right), Bogard makes a solid case for hitting the national dimmer switch." -- Mother Jones
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"A paean to a type of deep darkness most Americans have lost." -- Wilson Quarterly
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"In this artful blend of environmental and cultural history, Bogard manages to make a book about light pollution pure reading pleasure.... The thoughtfulness with which Bogard considers such broadly diverse issues as the impact of working the night shift and the persecution of bats, quintessential creatures of the night, is inspiring.... Smart, surprising, and thoroughly enjoyable." -- Colleen Mondor, Booklist
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"A hymn to vanished darkness. A literary journey. This is a rich book. As you read it, you too will want to reclaim the night and perhaps rediscover the heavens of the Enlightenment." -- Nature
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"The most precious things in the modern world are probably silence, solitude, and darkness--and of these three rarities, true darkness may be the rarest of all. Many thanks to Paul Bogard for searching out the dark spots and reminding us to celebrate them!"--Bill McKibben, author of
The End of NatureReview
"Darkness is among the many things we have lost gradually, without mourning. Paul Bogard offers a brilliantly illuminating history and a badly needed reminder that we have been blind to the death of night."--Bill Streever, author of
ColdReview
"This is an important and beautifully narrated journey into our endangered inheritance: the sleep-silvery dark of night."--David George Haskell, Professor of Biology at The University of the South, author of The Forest Unseen: A Year's Watch In Nature
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"Moving.... Peppered with illuminating insights.... A fascinating tale that combines history, science, sociology and the natural wonder of the night sky...." -- Nature Conservancy
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"Many of the words one might use to praise this book-lucid, illuminating, brilliant-are, ironically, metaphors drawn from light. Paul Bogard deploys his brilliance to seek out and celebrate the primordial darkness that surrounds our lit-up bubble. He shows how much we lose by living cooped up inside this perpetual glare, cut off from the beauty and mystery of the cosmos, lulled into thinking we are masters of the universe rather than members of the web of life. And he shows how we might reconnect to that original world."--Scott Russell Sanders, author of Earth Works and A Conservationist Manifesto
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"Bogard's exploration of what electrical illumination is doing to humans--biologically, culturally, and neurologically--is fascinating from cover to cover." -- Gizmodo
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"This intriguing book about darkness, light, cities, the starry sky, night, and migrations of birds is a masterwork about the beauties and the challenges of reclaiming naturally dark nights." -- Spirituality and Practice
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"It's impossible not to read this thorough and engaging survey of the subject and not be convinced [that light pollution matters]." -- Evening Standard
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"A soon-to-be-classic on the treasure of darkness and the poetry of our night sky. It's a manifesto on par with the greats, and is to the issue of light pollution what Silent Spring was to the modern ecology movement!" -- AstroGuyz
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"In the way of all truly interesting writing, The End of Night defies categorization--it's part environmental history, part social history, part literary history, and part travelogue... Throughout, Bogard's passion for poetry and literature shine through, as does his appreciation for "the necessity of the unknown", the wonder that real nights give us, and the mystery of darkness." -- Scope Magazine
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"Forget Brian Cox -- Paul Bogard is the kind of guy I'd want to go star-gazing with." -- Telegraph (UK)
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"To seek to let back in a little of the lost starlight and allow more of nature's shadow to reassert its balm seem to me both modest and wholesome aims, and Bogard's book does much to make a case for them." -- The Guardian
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"Bogard is at his best when he describes how wonder can make us more empathetic: the fact that the biggest thing we will see in our life is a star light-years away ought to create a sense of humility. The End of Night ... should be read, and its ardour is impressive." -- The Scotsman
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"Bogard's book reminds us of what we are losing." -- Las Vegas CityLife
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"Paul Bogard's book shines in its ability to weave scientific fact with interesting anecdotes that are relatable to readers." -- Elephant Journal
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"In inviting readers along to experience and fall in love with the night sky, Bogard is betting that beauty-the knowledge, appreciation, and love of it-will gradually prompt us to reclaim the darkness of night as it was meant to be. His book is a reminder that we need to take the environment and beauty entrusted to us seriously, with reverence and love." -- Patheos
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A "poetic, rich book."--Donna Marchetti, The Cleveland Plain Dealer
About the Author
Paul Bogard teaches creative nonfiction at James Madison University. He is the editor of the anthology Let There Be Night: Testimony on Behalf of the Dark.