Basic Books Starborn.

by Roberto Trotta

A sweeping inquiry into how the night sky has shaped human history

For as long as humans have lived, we have lived beneath the stars. But under the glow of today’s artificial lighting, we have lost the intimacy our ancestors once shared with the cosmos.

In Starborn , cosmologist Roberto Trotta reveals how stargazing has shaped the course of human civilization. The stars have served as our timekeepers, our navigators, our muses—they were once even our gods. How radically different would we be, Trotta also asks, if our ancestors had looked up to the night sky and seen… nothing? He pairs the history of our starstruck species with a dramatic alternate version, a world without stars where our understanding of science, art, and ourselves would have been radically altered. 

Revealing the hidden connections between astronomy and civilization, Starborn summons us to the marvelous sight that awaits us on a dark, clear night—to lose ourselves in the immeasurable vastness above.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, History, Astronomy, Audiobook, Physics

Paperback

About the author

Roberto was born and grew up in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. After obtaining an MSc(hons) in Physics from ETH Zurich and a PhD in Theoretical Physics from the University of Geneva, he moved to Oxford where he was the Lockyer Fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society at Oxford University, and a Junior Fellow of St Anne's, before being appointed as a Lecturer at Imperial in 2008, where is is now Professor of Astrostatistics in the Physics Department.

Roberto is a science communicator and a Visiting Professor of Cosmology at Gresham College, London. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his research, outreach and teaching, including the Lord Kelvin Award of the British Association for the Advancement of Science (2007), the Michelson Prize of Case Western Reserve University (2008), a President's Award for Excellence in Teaching (2016) and a President's Leadership Award for Excellence in Societal Engagement (2018) at Imperial College London. In 2019, he was awarded the Georges Lemaitre Chair of the University of Louvaine.

His award-winning first book for the public, "The Edge of the Sky: All you need to know about the All-There-Is", endeavours to explain the Universe using only the most common 1,000 words in English. Roberto was named as one of the 100 Global Thinkers 2014 by Foreign Policy magazine (Nov 2014), for "junking astronomy jargon".

He is a co-founder and director at Data Fusion Consultants, offering statistical consultancy and custom-made data analysis solutions. He works as a scientific consultant with museums, writers, film makers and artists, providing the help and support they need to make their artistic creations scientifically sound.

Reviews

[Fiona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh, the irony of rating this book with stars!

This was a wonderful nonfiction read encompassing what felt like all of human existence. The writing was enjoyable and engaging, and I really liked the way the chapters were set up as to not overwhelm with information.

An old man scoffed at me while I read this in public, thinking it was just a book on astrology. That is not the case! There is a reason I have constellations tattooed on me and this book does a wonderful job explaining just how human we’ve made space.

[Arvind Balasundaram · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this highly personal and passionate narrative, cosmologist Roberto Trotta takes us on a whirlwind tour of the stellar heavens. What is it that creates wonder in us when we look up at the bright night sky? And why should we do it more often as we race towards a fast-accelerating Anthropocene extinction of our own making? What would life resemble if our atmosphere transformed instantly into a forever cloud-covered
canopy?

This is a remarkably constructed manifesto which contextualizes the influence stars have had in our makeup, our evolution, and our forward progress as a species. Trotta balances the science with historical and experiential aspects to construct a must-read, highly relevant masterpiece for every global citizen. As he correctly surmises: “The contemplation of the stars, I realized, nurtured for me a humbling sense of smallness and finitude and nourished the emotional part of my nature. If we could all experience every now and then this sense of being a minuscule part of a grand universe, the world would be, it seemed to me then, a much better place.”

If your bookshelf contains other wonder-inspiring accounts like The Age of Wonder (Richard Holmes), The Invention of Nature (Andrea Wulf) and Endeavour (Peter Moore), you might want to run off and acquire a copy of Trotta’s Starborn - like the other volumes, this one is guaranteed to generate many periodic future revisitations back into its pages and passages, like Halley’s Comet in the recorded human experience…

[Rob Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Starborn: Our Place in the Universe, astrophysicist Roberto Trotta ambitiously attempts to synthesize physics, astronomy, philosophy, and spirituality while exploring the origins of the cosmos and humanity's place within it. While the book offers an admirable overview of scientific theories about the universe's evolution, the scope at times feels too sprawling.

Trotta covers concepts like dark matter, the Big Bang, stellar life cycles, and planet formation. He has a talent for explaining complex ideas in plain language. However, the broader existential questions feel hastily tacked on rather than tightly integrated. The narrative can come across as disjointed as it swerves between abstract cosmology and philosophical musings.

Casual readers may find the frequent digressions into technical details tedious at points. Trotta sometimes loses sight of the forest for the trees. The prose, while clear, rarely sings. The analogies and artistic flair that might have brought the cold equations to life are few and far between.

In the end, Starborn feels like more of a laundry list of astronomical facts than a coherent meditation on our cosmic origins. Readers seeking an accessible but mixed bag overview of the universe's greatest hits will find something to satisfy their curiosity. But those hoping for a moving spiritual experience may come away underwhelmed by the book's clinical approach. A worthwhile read for fans of astrophysics, but unlikely to become a genre classic.

[Brendan Neuman · Rating 5 out of 5]

3 parts Carl Sagan, 2 parts Bill Bryson, and Sir David Attenborough to taste.

[Rebekah Bonney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is an interesting history of astronomy of how we’ve evolved our relationship with the stars since the dawn of man. I enjoy niche history books like this. He had lots of interesting tidbits of how much our linguistics, mathematics, historical events, etc were profoundly influenced by astronomy/stars. I enjoyed that a lot!
I did have a couple sections that I could not understand at all, which is a minus. The Caligo Tales every other chapter were fine, but I did not find them profound. I also can’t stand books that end on a bitter/depressing note, and I felt like this one definitely ended with the obligatory “but now the earth is being ruined and there’s nothing you can do about it”, which I know is important to bring awareness to, but his lack of a call to action put me off.

[Ruminahui · Rating 4 out of 5]

Com seriem els humans si no haguéssim pogut contemplar mai les estrelles? Aquest és el punt de partida del llibre: comprendre el paper fonamental de l'observació del cel en la història de la humanitat pensant en un what if d'allò més interessant. És un molt bon llibre de divulgació quan l'autor parla de física, astronomia i cosmologia, però potser no tant quan parla d'altres temes. En Trotta comet el mateix pecat que cometem tan sovint els físics: parlar com si en sabéssim molt de temes dels quals en sabem molt poc i descobrir la sopa d'all en coses que acadèmics d'altres camps fa anys i panys que tenen superades (sense anar més lluny, parlar d'en Frazer en el tema d'història de les religions fa que sembli que la seva visió del tema és la de fa cent anys; en Frazer va ser clau, però ha plogut molt des de llavors). Malgrat això, en general és un molt bon llibre que val la pena llegir i assaborir.

[Jacob C · Rating 4 out of 5]

We existed, says the disc. We are starborn, and to the stars we entrust our memory

[Chandan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to the audio book flying from Munich to Mumbai - it was part of in-flight entertainment! How cool.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a complicated relationship with this book but, ultimately, I really enjoyed it and would encourage others to read it. It took a while to get going and I put it down two times and almost gave up on it before I got into it. There were a few too many intro/prologue chapters before Trotta started getting into the heart of the book.

Once I got into it, I really started to love it. There's a ton of fascinating information, lots of cool facts, and the overall history is compelling. I learned a lot (and my husband learned a lot because I kept sharing facts from the book with him, whether he wanted to hear them or not). The breadth of subjects covered is remarkable. And there were a lot of things I realized I didn't understand, although I thought I did.

I took the advice of other reviews here to skip the Caligo sections. I had tried to read the first one before I saw this advice, and at that point I almost gave up on the book. I'm really not sure why Trotta included them.

I wish the book were organized a little differently. The section and chapter headings don't tell you what topic will be covered. I would have liked a roadmap of sorts. I also have to say I wish there were fewer personal stories included. The section on time, for example, didn't need the story about Trotta's son learning to tell time. In a way I felt like the use of little stories like this almost detracted from the heart of the book. And there's so much in the heart of this book!

[Kaitlyn Bass · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐️. incredible! i knew from the first few minutes of the book that this would end up being a 5 star read for me, & before this year i never would’ve thought i could have a nonfiction 5 star. there were so many elements to this book that i loved. it was so beautifully written and had so much information. he’d start yappin about something seemingly so random & id be like literally what does this have to do with the stars & then he’d tell me!! it’s so crazy how interwoven space is with so many aspects of human life and history. this made me want to know even more about astronomy.

overall, a space lover’s guide to all things space (even the things you don’t realize are space related).

[Peter Sidell · Rating 5 out of 5]

An inspiring survey of cosmology and thoughts about the dark sky. Astronomy and cosmology reviews almost always require a review of the historical background of the ideas. Seeing the entanglement of fascination with the starts with most of our important ideas IS refreshing. Juxtaposing the review with an imaginary story of a people that never see a night sky is interesting but doesn’t add a lot for me.

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some unique facts and information, though I can't award more than three stars. The "Caligo Tales" between chapters were uninteresting and useless for me. Also, in the last chapter, I could have done without the gloomy forecast for our planet, which has endured far, far worse than us. Are we sure Greta Thunberg isn't a co-author?

Maybe I expected something different, but I wasn't all that unhappy as I Trotta-ed this back to the library.

[Kristyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

From prehistory to the present, our study of the stars has influenced humanity's beliefs, science, and social development. This engaging study explores that and offers implications about what we are losing with the increasing light pollution and losing the habit of noticing.
(read as advanced reader)

[Magda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid 4.5 read. It took a while to get into properly, but generally very rewarding. My favourite, most memorable chapters were on navigation, heliocentrism and Newton, and the space age. The only letdown (to me) were the fictional Caligo tales, which I started to skip about halfway through (hence 4.5 not a 5 read).

[Linda Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hopeful or Hopless

Can human-kinds ingenuity overcome its current mode of self-destruction? Or is it too late? For the sake of our grandchildren, it is to be hoped that we come to a collective sense of responsibility.

[Natalie Safarova · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the anthropological elements mixed in with the historical and scientific insights describing our relation ship with stars and what our world would look like without that.
I gave 4 stars bcz I didnt like/understand the weird story inbetween the chapters and honestly could’ve done without.

[Paul Noël · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent description of the history of the night sky and how we have lost so much since we lit so garishly our cities, towns and villages. Also a warning about the future and how humanity is on the wrong track.

[Vesna · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The night sky is the sole aspect of nature shared among all of us on the planet…”

Really loved this exploration into stars, and their influence on everything from statistics to culture. It felt unbalanced at times, focusing too long on one element. But really enjoyed it overall.

[Jeff Gagnon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five STARS! This book changed how I look at the night sky, and for that I’m grateful. Engaging, insightful, and full of wonder. I loved it!

[Rayfes Mondal · Rating 4 out of 5]

A love letter to the stars of the night sky. What we've learned looking up over time with a warning at the end.

[Flora · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to skip some parts, some chapters are pretty interesting but it's not my type of books I realized.

[Steven Baru · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful star bath.

[Carly Fritts · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful view of anthropological history, from the perspective of the sky and those who gaze upon it. The writing style was poetic and eloquent despite the scientific perspective of the book.

[Kasey Fausak · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved it, this book is what got me into the stars. also the audiobook voice is super soothing and great to fall asleep to while looking at the sky

[W Accelyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every time I see the stars and the moon now, I’d think of this book. If you’ve always been drawn to the skies and thought about what lies beyond, this is the book for you.

I expected the book to take on a more spiritual undertone, and was pleasantly surprised by how scientific it actually is. Given my limited exposure to sciences, some chapters were hard to get thorough. Nonetheless, the book got me to marvel at the ingenuity of our ancestors; at how their obsession with the celestial has led to all the scientific advances so far.

One of the more memorable points was how our ancestors’ attempts to measure Earth’s distance from the Sun and the other planets, based on the size of the respective flares observed, led them to realise how every measurement carries with it inherent errors, and how the average of two imperfect measurements, cancel out the errors to give a more accurate approximate. This laid the foundations of statistics as a scientific field, where the same concept is applied to understanding typical human characteristics e.g. height, weight, IQ (bell curve), and consequentially led to the field of eugenics (& the horrors by the Nazi).

[Jordi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molt interessant la besant històrica de com la humanitat ha mirat les estrelles per avançar en la ciència. Molt fàcil de llegir i molt ben redactat

[Naomi Gheorghe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roberto Trotta’s Starborn is part history, part philosophy, and part science — all woven together through one deceptively simple question: what if there were no stars? The result is a thoughtful exploration of how the night sky shaped our myths, our measurements of time, our navigation, and even our sense of self

What I appreciated most is how Trotta manages to be rigorous without being dense — he respects the reader’s curiosity while still inviting awe. It’s both intellectually stimulating and quietly poetic, leaving me with a sharper sense of how deeply entangled our lives are with the cosmos