This book brings to life one of the most fundamental entities in the universe: the electromagnetic waves that we perceive as light. With his gift for narrative, the author explains the nature of light and the long history of its influence on human ideas, technology and culture. From early efforts to understand vision and colours, through relativity and quantum theory, visual art and laser technology to the birth of stars and attempts to photograph their end, readers will come to appreciate the central role of light not only in human history, but also in the history of the cosmos. This grand tour ends in a flourish, with an epilogue written in the first person by the protagonist itself: a true Autobiography of Light.
All chapters in the book are relatively self-contained, allowing readers to dip freely in and out. What makes this captivating story so original is the effort made to point out the affinity between the study of light and achievements in the realm of culture.