Ever stood under a starlit sky and felt an overwhelming feeling of awe and wonder as you gazed up at the heavens? Hiked atop a windy mountain and felt the bones of the Earth under your feet and gotten a sudden sense of your place in the grand scheme of things? What about curled up with a book that gives you a taste of the infinite?
How about feeling all those things at once?
Our very own Devilstower and DarkSyde have coauthored the first ever Daily Kos diary based book, Kosmos: You Are Here. Between the two of them they take us from the Big Bang to the end of everything with pit stops to look at the evolution of whales, birds, men and even God. They show you how humans can end our existence on this world - or how we can fix it so that these things don't happen. It is a scientific tour de force written in the engaging style of DarkSyde and with the dry wit of Devilstower. In addition, Pastor Dan contributed a thought provoking article and the forward is by bestselling science author Carl Zimmer.
Glance over the table of contents and get a feel for how much this book offers:
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Illustrating the pages of Kosmos: You Are Here are original sketches, full color drawings and black and white renderings by world famous paleoartist Carl Buell who donated his skills to this project. Carl's skill is such that you get a real sense of the presence of the animals. In additions to Carl's work, several scientists donated individual photos or drawings to enhance the book. Kossack contributions include the cover and several interior illustrations by Karen Wherstein. Over twenty Daily Kos members contributed their time, their artwork, their expertise towards this project and the results are amazing.
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Kosmos: You Are Here, currently available as a 396 page ebook, links to outside resources so that the reader can further explore a particular topic. In addition, audio links bring the music of the universe right to you wherever you are.
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Kosmos: You Are Here features a full index making referencing the work a breeze. All of this is available via a quick download for only $18.00.
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Don't forget, the final benefit to purchasing Kosmos: You Are Here is that all of your money will go to Yearly Kos. By buying this book you doing more than getting a kickass science book, you are investing in the creation of a progressive infrastructure to rival the right wing noise machine.
So what are you waiting for?
Oh, you wanted to read a review! Why didn't you say so?
This 396-page ebook is a PDF collection of the best essays by Darksyde and DevilsTower about evolution and cosmology. It features a thought-provoking chapter by Pastor Dan that discusses religion, intellectual laziness, the power of reason and the search for intellectual truth. It also has a forward by science writer, Carl Zimmer, where he muses over the rapid technical and intellectual evolution of electronic media, from email to streaming video to blogs and, well, ebooks....as with all good books, it is the writing itself that will ultimately appeal to you. For those who think that science writing is tedious and convoluted, you will be pleasantly surprised to find clearly written gems sprinkled throughout this ebook... I enjoyed this book. The writing is engaging, the illustrations are magnificent, the cited sources are a mere click away, and the information is solid. It's a fun experience, and I think that you, dear readers, will enjoy your electronic ride through evolutionary history.
Now that you've heard all the reasons, it is time for you to go buy the book!