The Man Who Painted the Universe: The Story of a Planetarium in the Heart of the North Woods

by Ron Legro, Avi Lank

As a young boy Frank Kovac Jr. fell deeply in love with stargazing, painting glow-in-the-dark constellations on his bedroom wall and inviting friends to an observatory he built in his Chicago backyard. As he reached adulthood, Kovac did not let go of his childhood dreams of reaching the stars. He began scheming to bring the universe home. While working at a paper mill as a young man, Kovac tirelessly built a 22-foot rotating globe planetarium in the woods. Despite failures and collapses, the amateur astronomer singlehandedly built a North Woods treasure, painting more than 5,000 glowing stars―dot by dot in glowing paints. Today, Kovac and his unique planetarium take visitors to the stars every day.
 
The Man Who Painted the The Story of a Planetarium in the Heart of the North Woods introduces readers to the mild-mannered astronomy enthusiast whose creativity, ingenuity, fervor, and endurance realized a dream of galactic proportions. The story of this stargazer from Wisconsin’s North Woods so inspired two newspapermen, authors Ron Legro and Avi Lank, that they sought to document the story of the Kovac Planetarium for a new generation of stargazers and dreamers.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, Science

160 pages, Hardcover

First published April 15, 2015

Reviews

[Kent Archie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pleasant short book about a tinkerer in the woods who built himself a pretty nice planetarium.
I grew up about 30 miles south of this guy and reading the book makes me want to visit him.
There is a long history in America of people fooling around with things in their garages, building what they couldn't buy. This guy is a perfect example of what is being called the Maker movement.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really 3 stars for the writing, but 5 stars for Frank Kovac!!

I first learned about the Kovac Planetarium from my cousin, who wrote an article about it for the Wausau Daily Herald. A few months later, on a trip to the Northwoods, my family and I passed by a road sign for the Planetarium, remembered the story, and decided to attend a show. I was enthralled. Frank Kovac has a passion for astronomy, the heart of a teacher, and more perseverance than most of us. What a beautiful story of a man who had a dream and made it reality. While this book filled in some of Kovac's background, his story is best heard in his own words. Visit the Kovac Planetarium!

[Brookelynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't generally rate non-fiction works as they are personal stories of lives lived. This book is probably the exception to that rule. I loved this work! I need to visit the planetarium and meet Mr. Kovac.
My only qualm would be the book was a tad dry. I understand it can be hard to write non-fiction as something super colorful and vibrant, but I felt myself getting bored every 7-10 pages or so. This is a super short work, only 110 pages (excluding the 3-page prologue), I just felt like the biography didn't need to be that long.
All of that being said, I would recommend this work to everyone. Easy to read, an interesting story, and witty narrative.

Four stars.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick read about an incredible achievement in the Midwest's own backyard. Lovely!

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heard the authors speak and then read the book. Probably would not have picked it up if I had not seen the authors. The book was a bit dry for my taste but interesting none the less. I'd like to visit the planetarium if ever in the area.

[Darcie K · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting individual. This was a short and quick read that taught me a few things about northern Wisconsin and astronomy. The book was rather simplistic and not exactly gripping, but I think the mister and I might put the planetarium on our road trip list.

[James Tyrrell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting story and a short read, but the content seems a bit thin. I enjoyed where the authors branched out into the history and culture of the North Woods, but felt that they spent too much time embellishing upon and speculating about the character of their subject.

[Evann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. I would have preferred to hear the man's story, rather than read it but it wasn't terrible or anything. I was very happy for him at the end.

[Foxglow · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great reminder that anyone with determination and a vision can succeed through hard work and diligence.

[Nancy Shepherd · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received this book free through Goodreads. It tells the story of a man who spent years trying to make his dream come true. It is well-written, easy to read, and altogether a pleasant read.