It can be hard to imagine a time when it was generally believed that the shape of our earth was a flat plane or disk. This book exposes the bizarre and sometimes hilarious history of science, explores pseudo-scientific theories from the past, and the scientific progress made since then through use of the scientific method. Through the scientific method, anecdotes, historic facts, and the scientific theories themselves, it tells the story of why people of a particular time period believed in such things and the discoveries that led us to learn otherwise.

Originally published in hardcover in 2012.

Much may be gathered, indirectly, from the arguments in these pages, as to the real nature of the Earth on which we live and of the heavenly bodies which were created for us. The reader is requested to be patient in this matter and not expect a whole flood of light to burst in upon him at once, through the dense clouds of opposition and prejudice which hang all around. Old ideas have to be gotten rid of, by some people, before they can entertain the new; and this will especially be the case in the matter of the Sun, about which we are taught, by Mr. Proctor, as follows: “The globe of the Sun is so much larger than that of the Earth that no less than 1,250,000 globes as large as the Earth would be wanted to make up together a globe as large as the Sun.” Whereas, we know that, as it is demonstrated that the Sun moves round over the Earth, its size is proportionately less. We can then easily understand that Day and Night, and the Seasons are brought about by his daily circuits round in a course concentric with the North, diminishing in their extent to the end of June, and increasing until the end of December, the equatorial region being the area covered by the Sun’s mean motion. If, then, these pages serve but to arouse the spirit of enquiry, the author will be satisfied.

People used to think that Earth was flat, but now we know it isn’t. How did we find out Earth is actually a sphere? How did science help us understand the shape of our planet? Readers will delight in exploring the history and science behind Earth’s spherical shape. They’ll learn how satellite images and modern technology give us an image of the Earth. Readers will also learn all about early scientists and how they gradually came to enlighten others that the Earth wasn’t flat. Clear diagrams and fascinating sidebars help explain this important science topic, as supplemental science experiments give readers the hands-on experience they need to grasp the topic.

We all know the earth is round. But HOW do we know? Join intrepid young scientist-adventurer Joulia Copernicus as she takes readers on a historical journey through time and space. From jumping on board Columbus's ship to planet-hopping in the outer reaches of our solar system, Joulia explains with humor and wit the ins and outs of how we learned that the earth is round.

Contrary to popular belief fostered in countless school classrooms the world over, Christopher Columbus did not discover that the earth was round. The idea of a spherical world had been widely accepted in educated circles from as early as the fourth century B.C. Yet, bizarrely, it was not until the supposedly more rational nineteenth century that the notion of a flat earth really took hold. Even more bizarrely, it persists to this day, despite Apollo missions and widely publicized pictures of the decidedly spherical Earth from space. Based on a range of original sources, Garwood's history of flat-Earth beliefs---from the Babylonians to the present day---raises issues central to the history and philosophy of science, its relationship to religion and the making of human knowledge about the natural world. Flat Earth is the first definitive study of one of history's most notorious and persistent ideas, and it evokes all the intellectual, philosophical, and spiritual turmoil of the modern age. Ranging from ancient Greece, through Victorian England, to modern-day America, this is a story that encompasses religion, science, and pseudoscience, as well as a spectacular array of people and places. Where else could eccentric aristocrats, fundamentalist preachers, and conspiracy theorists appear alongside Copernicus, Newton, and NASA, except in an account of such a legendary misconception? Thoroughly enjoyable and illuminating, Flat Earth is social and intellectual history at its best.

Feeling like she does not fit in with the other members of her family, who are all thin, brilliant, and good-looking, fifteen-year-old Virginia Shreves tries to deal with her self-image, her first physical relationship, and her disillusionment with some of the people closest to her. 10,000 first printing.

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