Eloquent, urgent, and inspiring, The Constant Fire tackles the acrimonious debate between science and religion, taking us beyond its stagnant parameters into the wider domain of human spiritual experience. From a Neolithic archaeological site in Ireland to modern theories of star formation, Adam Frank traverses a wide terrain, broadening our sights and allowing us to imagine an alternative perspective. Drawing from his experience as a practicing astrophysicist and from the writings of the great scholars of religion, philosophy, and mythology, Frank locates the connective tissue linking science and religion—their commonality as sacred pursuits—and finds their shared aspiration in pursuit of "the True and the Real." Taking us from the burning of Giordano Bruno in 1600 to Einstein and on to today's pressing issues of global warming and resource depletion, The Constant Fire shows us how to move beyond this stale debate into a more profound experience of the world as sacred—a world that embraces science without renouncing human spirituality.
Adam Frank is Professor of Astrophysics at the University of Rochester and a regular contributor to Discover and Astronomy magazines. He has also written for Scientific American and many other publications. He was a Hubble Fellow and is the recipient of an American Astronomical Society Prize for his scientific writing.
"The Constant Fire is brave and worthy. It takes great courage to write this book; not many scientists, at least the serious, research-active ones like Frank, would reveal their deep spiritual connection to their work. I believe this is an important and timely book."—Marcelo Gleiser, author of The Prophet and the Astronomer: A Scientific Journey to the End of Time
"The dialogue between religion and science has never been as important as it is today, and Adam Frank's The Constant Fire takes that dialogue in new directions. This is a unique contribution to our understanding human creativity in both science and religion."—Richard D. Hecht, University of California, Santa Barbara
"In the midst of increasing polarization in discussions about science and religion, as well as political aspects of both, it is a relief to encounter a voice of reason that at the same time articulates a sensitivity and sensibility sorely lacking in so many discussions nowadays."—Piet Hut, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton
304 pp.6 x 9
9780520265868$24.95|£21.00Paper
Jan 2009