Richard Panek has introduced a most complex undertaking within a most complex science and made it all so very simple. In his new work, “Pillars of Creation: How the James Webb Telescope Unlocked the Secrets of the Cosmos,” he doesn’t merely provide the reader with a history of the incredibly powerful and relatively recently launched James Webb Telescope. He gives a history of the telescope in general.
The book, in spite of its subject matter, is rather brief. It succeeds in taking one of the greatest, if not the greatest techno-scientific breakthroughs of the 21st century and making it easily understandable. The elimination of cosmological jargon (or at least most of it), the abundance of humor (including a Spinal Tap reference), and the use of easy-to-follow graphics allow readers to follow along.
