Dava Sobel in a New Yorker, a lifelong writer, and an apostle of science.  Born in 1947 in the Bronx, she was lucky enough to have parents who encouraged her to read avidly.  Her mother was a chemist, but Sobel says she first became interested in science at a lecture given by Carl Sagan in 1972.

Her first job was as a technical writer for IBM, but she quickly moved into journalism.  She worked for the Science News department of the New York Times, as well as countless magazines of scientific and general interest.

Longitude started life as a magazine article. Its extraordinary - and unexpected - success has allowed Sobel to write books and plays full-time.  Published in 1995, the book has been translated into more than 20 languages and made into a film starring Michael Gambon and Jeremy Irons.  Not bad for a manuscript that was rejected by 13 British publishers.

Since then, Sobel has published  Galileo's Daughter (1999) and The Planets (2005).  She has also written a play about Copernicus, and has had an asterroid named after her.

 

Dava Sobel's Official Website

Booknotes Interview with Dava Sobel