I took a history of science course in my very first year of university. It was a strange move on my part, I’ll admit, and one that was met with much scepticism on the part of my family. I’ve never exactly been the science-y type, so taking a science course seemed to be setting myself up for failure from the get-go. As it turns out, I got an A, and it is for precisely the same reason that I highly recommend Stuart Clark’s The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth: the book, much like the course, focuses more on the histories and personalities of great scientific minds, and that is something everyone can relate to.

Following Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei, The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth is ultimately about people; people in the face of religion, politics, others, and their own very selves. Though Kepler’s astronomical knowledge may not be shared with the reader, his firm desire to hold onto his beliefs and what he feels to be the truth in the face of hardship is certainly a relatable subject to a wide audience, as is Galileo’s passionate need to spread his knowledge, even as others caution him to reign it in.

The story telling itself is also very well done. Right from the first page, I could easily imagine the places and the people. This makes the historical aspects of this story far easier to grasp, though I did come into this with some of my own knowledge so it is possible that could have helped as well. Clark does a very good job making the setting familiar to his readers, describing local customs, people, and even fashion trends to create a believable society to situate the two main characters.

With its compelling, well-rounded take on people you may have only heard of in the classroom, and the world they worked in, The Sky’s Dark Labyrinth is a book that should not be missed, regardless of your scientific background.