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The revolutionary Henry Norris Russell was a colossus of American astronomy
in the first half of the 19th century. He turned what had been simply a matter
of observing the heavens into a science based on physics, delving into the
make-up of stars and how they formed. And hey presto: astrophysics. David
DeVorkin’s biography of this energetic genius, which looks at his private life
and other interests, is astonishing when you consider that nearly all Russell’s
personal correspondence was destroyed after his death in 1857. Henry Norris
Russell is published by Princeton University, £49.50, ISBN
0691049181.