Description

Best New Books on Space 2024 – Forbes

‘Rarely is a non-fiction book about science this engaging’ – Forbes

Why darkness is so important – to plants, to animals, and to ourselves – and why we must protect it all costs.

Darkness is the first thing we know in our human existence. Safe and warm inside the bubble of the womb, we are comfortable in that embracing dark. But as soon as we are bought into the light, we learn to fear the dark. Why?

This book is a celebration of all things that go bump in the night and the joy that can be found when the sun goes down. As a society we have closed our curtains to the darkness, now Dani Robertson urges you to cast those curtains wide, step out of your front door and let the darkness pull you in.

Some 99 per cent of Western Europeans live under light polluted skies, but what is this doing to our health? Our wellbeing? Our connection to the cycles of nature?

Our wildlife, too, has been cast into the harsh glare of our light addiction, with devastating impacts.

In this book Dani shares with you the excitement and adventure she has found when everyone else is tucked up in bed. She explores constellations and cultures, enjoys environmental escapades, all whilst learning why we are addicted to light and why it is ruining our lives. She’ll show you why the darkness is so important and why we must protect it all costs. You’ll become a crusader of Darkness and an expert on what we can do to stop the onward march of light pollution (clue: it’s as easy as the flick of a switch).

Her life depends on darkness, and yours does too.

Publisher Review

'A heartfelt, necessary and very enjoyable book.' Tristan Gooley, author of The Secret World of Weather 'A hymn of praise to darkness and the unfathomable wonder of a true night sky, this book is also an urgent call to arms. As Dani Robertson shows, our health, and that of the planet around us, is inextricably linked with the power of the dark. We are losing it at great speed, and to our great peril. Read the book, look up in awe, and act.' Mike Parker, author of All the Wide Border 'To read All Through the Night is to experience stars appearing one by one in the night sky; discreet, glowing insights throw gentle but piercing light onto what we are doing to what Dani Roberston calls one of the most endangered landscapes on Earth - the night sky. The civilised world has flooded the velvety blackness with strange glowings-on that disorientate insects, birds and sealife. We flood our own psyches with permanent light that shields us from what we have evolved to do in the dark hours - rest and reflect. I loved being lost in the real stuff of darkness, hearing the Shearwaters and owls claim their territory, and was disturbed by how we have, often unintentionally, disrupted their worlds. Even the trees suffer from our outpouring of artificial light, as does the vastness of space itself as satellites march across the heavens. The book ends on what we can do to embrace darkness again, to welcome it back and reduce our light pollution. It is a thought-provoking book that sheds light onto our need to love darkness.' Mary Colwell, author of Curlew Moon