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David Baron

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

http://www.american-eclipse.com

Twitter

dhbaron

Genre

Science, History

Member Since

November 2016

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David Baron is an award-winning journalist and author who writes about science, nature, and the American West. Formerly a science correspondent for NPR and science editor for the public radio program The World, he has also written for The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Scientific American, and other publications. While conducting research for his latest book, THE MARTIANS, he served as the Baruch S. Blumberg NASA/Library of Congress Chair in Astrobiology, Exploration, and Scientific Innovation. David is an avid eclipse chaser, and his TED Talk on the subject has been viewed more than 2 million times. An affiliate of the University of Colorado’s Center for Environmental Journalism, he lives in Boulde ...more

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David--good book--I just uploaded my GR review of "American Eclipse." I placed a paragraph in there about your impressive resume. Where is your next travel adventure? Do you keep up with your Yale mates? Vera and I spent March 2017 in Ecuador and Peru--we did not faint in the nearly 4000 meter heights in the Andes. Loved The Galapagos Islands and we swam with the sharks.

David Baron Thanks for getting in touch. Your trip to South America sounds great. I too swam with the hammerheads in the Galapagos, years ago, and I'm not sure I'…moreThanks for getting in touch. Your trip to South America sounds great. I too swam with the hammerheads in the Galapagos, years ago, and I'm not sure I'd do it again. That was one of the scariest experiences of my life! I do love the Galapagos, though, and the Andes are spectacular. I hope to get back to South America for the July 2, 2019, total eclipse. In the meantime, I'm off to Asia. I'll be spending the holidays this year in Vietnam. Happy travels, and happy reading!(less)

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Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

David Baron The origins of AMERICAN ECLIPSE stretch back nineteen years.
In February 1998, I witnessed my first total solar eclipse—in Aruba—and was spellbound. …more The origins of AMERICAN ECLIPSE stretch back nineteen years.
In February 1998, I witnessed my first total solar eclipse—in Aruba—and was spellbound. Standing beneath the sun’s glorious corona proved magical, and I vowed to repeat the experience. Indeed, since then I have continued to stalk eclipses—across Europe, Australia, and Asia.
I also resolved back in 1998 that I would write a book about eclipses, but not right away. Even as a rookie eclipse chaser, I knew that the grandest eclipse of our era would occur on August 21, 2017, when the moon’s shadow will, for the first time in 99 years, traverse the entire breadth of the continental United States. It seemed obvious that the summer of 2017 offered the right opportunity to release my book, so I put the project on hold for more than a decade.
In 2011, I finally got down to work and started hunting for a dramatic eclipse-related tale. I soon settled on the forgotten story of the great American eclipse of 1878, which crossed the nation’s Wild West. Thank goodness I started my research well in advance of publication. Digging up archival documents and reconstructing this historical tale proved a gargantuan, though enjoyable, task.(less)

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David Baron’s books

Average rating: 3.95 · 3,710 ratings · 614 reviews · 3 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Beast in the Garden: The True Story of a Predator's Deadly Return to Suburban America 4.14 avg rating — 1,763 ratings — published 2003 — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	American Eclipse: A Nation's Epic Race to Catch the Shadow of the Moon and Win the Glory of the World 3.76 avg rating — 1,647 ratings — published 2017 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Martians: The True Story of an Alien Craze that Captured Turn-of-the-Century America 3.94 avg rating — 301 ratings — published 2025 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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David Baron's Blog

The Shadow Collector

The human penchant for collecting things seems limitless. Porcelain dolls and hubcaps, cereal boxes and buttons—the variety of items accumulated by hobbyists strains the imagination. Indeed, my most precious collection does not fit any category on eBay, nor could it be displayed in any cabinet, for how can you stockpile something as ephemeral as the memory of a shadow?

I collect eclipses—total sola Read more of this blog post »

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Published on July 02, 2017 10:46 • Tags: eclipse, moon, sun

David is Currently Reading

David Baron is currently reading

What Doesn't Kill Us: How Freezing Water, Extreme Altitude, and Environmental Conditioning Will Renew Our Lost Evolutionary Strength

by Scott Carney (Goodreads Author)

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Mar 20, 2017 07:18AM

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David’s Recent Updates

David Baron made a comment in the group Goodreads Librarians Group — Cover image missing - please help topic " My new book, The Martians, is to be published by Liveright on August 26, 2025. Here on Goodreads, the cover image shows up properly for the Kindle ver ...more "
Apr 04, 2025 03:27PM
David Baron made a comment in the group Goodreads Librarians Group — This book is not mine, please move it (part 18) topic " I am a Goodreads author with two published works. I have a new book coming out next August, and information about it has been added (not by me) to Goo ...more "
Sep 27, 2024 05:11AM

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