THE MIRACULOUS FROM THE MATERIAL

The popular-science writer turns in an eclectic set of essays on the wonders of the universe.

“I call myself a spiritual materialist,” writes Lightman, author of the bestselling novel Einstein’s Dreams (1992). The “materialist” bit comes from Lightman’s view that the knowable world is subject to the laws of physics; the “spiritual” part comes from the transcendental moments that the universe provides with rainbows, beautiful star-scapes, encounters with wildlife, and such. Each of the three dozen alphabetically arranged (save one) essays, from “Atmosphere” to “Yosemite Firefall,” contains at least one memorable takeaway point, as when he explains why many migratory birds fly in V formations: “Each bird after the leader…gets to take advantage of the uplifting pockets of air produced by the bird in front of it,” saving plenty of calories in the bargain. The lead bird gets no such break, and for that reason, birds, with admirable equity, take turns riding point. Just so, he notes, chlorophyll is green “because its molecular structure is such that it absorbs light in all wavelengths except those corresponding to the color green,” and it makes our world green, too. Hummingbirds are trapped in a catch-22: they hover because it allows them to extract nectar from fruits and flowers constantly, which they need to do in order to fuel their hovering. Lightman encourages us to pay attention to the night sky, have a kind thought for spiders, and consider the beauty of mathematics. Though his prose can be a touch dense at times (“the electrons in the atoms of adenosine triphosphate and the oxidized luciferin move to lower energy levels and release that energy differential in the form of light”), it’s to good purpose. He closes with an out-of-sequence piece on the wonders of being human that makes just the right summation.

An eloquent survey of nature and the rewards that come from paying attention to it.