"From a late-night snack to a cold beer, there's nothing that whets the appetite quite like the suctioning sound of a refrigerator being opened. In the early 1930s fewer than ten percent of US households had a mechanical refrigerator, but today they are nearly universal, the primary means by which we keep our food and drink fresh. Yet, for as ubiquitous as refrigerators are, most of us take them for granted, letting them blend into the background...

Essential for life on earth and a major influence on our environment, the Sun is also the most fascinating object in the daytime sky. Every day we feel the effect of its coming and going--literally the difference between day and night. But figuring out what the Sun is, what it's made of, why it glows so brightly, how old it is, how long it will last--all of these take thought and observation. Leon Golub and Jay M. Pasachoff offer an engaging and informative...