A deeply emotional story about darkness and night and the things we lose without noticing. This book made me cry and laugh. It managed to be foreboding and hopeful and reminded me for the first time of how many more stars I could see as a small child, and how getting out of the car after a long night-drive used to be my favorite thing. ( )

Recommended by AP English listserv ( )

nonfiction. waxes a bit too philosophical in the middle chapters, but I did enjoy the science, and the perspective. ( )

When was the last time you stopped to look up at the stars? And if you have looked recently then can you remember how many stars were visible? Unless you are into astronomy then it was probably a while ago, and if you did happen to see some on a clear night then there were probably not as many as you remember. The night sky can be one of the natural world’s most dramatic scenes, and yet this is something that we are not seeing much now because of the advent of brighter lights in towns and cities. This extraneous light pollution means that only the brightest stars are visible now, and we almost never experience the richness of the Milky Way in the sky.

Bogard wants us to use less light at night to witness this spectacle once again. Travelling from Las Vegas with its Luxor Beam, one of the brightest single spot of light in the sky, he visits places in America that are beginning to recapture the dark once again. Heading over the pond he visits London to see the streets that still have gas lamps, and onto Paris where the night lighting is specially designed to enhance the atmosphere of the city. He travels to Sark, an island that he had never heard of before, to see how they are embracing the dark and even visits Wimborne to talk to astronomers.

The effect of too much artificial light at night is covered in lots of detail too. From the way it affects us, disturbs sleep patterns and the health effects of working the night shift. The natural world is dramatically disturbed as well, with nocturnal migrations of birds being swept of track and bats not being able to get the food they need as insects are distracted by lights. He blows apart the need for glaring security lighting too, revealing that criminals like the lights we helpfully provide as it means they can see what they are doing.

It is a call for us to rediscover the primeval beauty of the night sky and to consider exactly how we use artificial lighting to enhance our outdoor spaces. Well-written and passionate, his concern is that the next generation never will get to see the magnificence of the Milky Way. He raises interesting points about the use of security lights and how secure we are, and how the intelligent use of light could have a beneficial effect on our lives. Not a bad book at all. 3.5 stars overall. ( )

The author of this book travels to various places around the world – some are the brightest places and some are the darkest places. He is trying to find the best ways to get back to some natural darkness, and not let light pollution take over our world.

There is a scale to measure darkness (from 1-9, 1 being the darkest), and I liked that he numbered his chapters in reverse, as he started at the brighter places (Las Vegas, brightest in the world! And Paris, City of Lights), and made his way to darker places, as he continued on. He not only discussed the light or darkness of each place, and of course, the resulting lack of stars that can be seen, he also talked about crime (some light helps, but more and more light doesn’t make a difference), and also the effect of perpetual light at night on humans’ health, not just due to sleepyness for those who work at night, but also cancer. Of course, there was discussion of other animals, as well, who rely on night and darkness.

I found this very interesting. I love looking at the stars and miss being in a rural area in order to actually see the stars (or more than the very few I can see in the city I now live in). I love to be out at my parents’ cabin in the summers when I visit, and I can see the Milky Way and pick out so many constellations when I’m out there. ( )