Icarus at the Edge of Time [Board book]

When I was a youngster, I was fascinated with science, astronomy in particular. Somewhere along the way, though, I lost that sense of wonderment and followed a life and career path outside of science. So it is that this unique book, Icarus at the Edge of Time, is something of a bittersweet reading experience for me, as it reminds me of the road not taken. Still, I count it a great blessing to once again look upon the vastness of outer space with a childlike wonder of old. Sometimes, a picture can be worth a thousand words, and this book is full of those very kinds of pictures. As you turn the thick pages of this "board book," you are greeted with stunning images of deep space taken by the Hubble Space Telescope - nascent galaxies, luminous supernovae, colorfully stunning nebulae, etc.

If modern-day public education hasn't completely shot its wad, virtually every man, woman, and child is familiar with the ancient myth of Icarus, who fell to his death after failing to heed his father's warning about flying too close to the sun (using the wings Daedalus had fashioned for a daring father and son escape from exile in Crete). The modern-day Icarus of author Brian Greene's story is a brilliant young teen stuck on a ship traveling to Proxima Centauri. Knowing that he will never live long enough to reach the ship's destination, he yearns to temporarily escape his own "exile" and explore something outside the ship on his own. When he learns the ship is changing course to bypass a black hole, he is determined to become the first human being to explore the boundaries of this most incredible of nature's creations. Having designed a powerful engine of his own, Icarus knows he can make the trip and survive, and so he ignores his father's entreaties to return.

This may look and, for the most part, sound like a children's book, but I would be loathe to classify it as such. The story itself may be pretty straightforward, but I doubt many youngsters are going to understand the implications of Einstein's theories that stand at the crux of the narrative. That being said, this is still a book that many a youngster will surely enjoy. It's a great book for parents to share with their children, for readers of all ages can enjoy the fine story and beautiful images - and it may just help inspire a few youngsters to embrace the wonders of science.

As a graphic designer and keen follower of Brian Greene this book is fantastic! Everything about this book is just incredible, from the clever re-telling of the Icarus story to include advanced physics to the amazing images from the hubble space telescope. Even my 3 year old daughter has taken an interest in it! The book is printed on high quality thick board so it's sure to last until she's old enough to fully appreciate the story on another level as well.

I really can't say enough good things about this, if your looking to get your kids interested in science or if you just appreciate a well made graphic take on a very interesting subject then look no further. This should be in every school, library and home across the country.

Why on earth has this guy not got his Pulitzer Prize yet!

I didn't know what to expect when I ordered this book, and I took a chance - but I'm glad I did. It's a futuristic re-telling of an old myth and that's something that could easily have been mis-handled; but I think Greene has done a fine job (apart from one appearance of the non-word "anymore", which always bugs me, though it probably shouldn't... maybe I'm just a reactionary old fogey).

The book has a distinctive style, featuring pictures from the Hubble space telescope, and I think it's the kind of thing that could become a familiar treasure on a child's bookshelf. The story retains the elements of tragedy from the original myth but cleverly salvages hope, in a way which, incidentally, should appeal to any Transhumanist readers.