Celestial Sleuth - Using Astronomy to Solve Mysteries in Art, History and Literature
by Donald W. Olson
Springer | October 2013 | ISBN-10: 1461484022 | PDF  350 pages | 19.1 mb 
http://www.amazon.com/Celestial-Sleuth-Astronomy-Mysteries-Literature/dp/1461484022

Many mysteries in art, history, and literature can be solved using “forensic” astronomy, including calculating phases of the Moon, determining the positions of the planets and stars, and identifying celestial objects. In addition to helping to crack difficult cases, such studies spark our imagination and provide a better understanding of the skies. Weather facts, volcanic studies, topography, tides, historical letters and diaries, military records and the friendly assistance of experts in related fields help with the work.
Topics or cases pursued were chosen for their wide public recognition and intrigue and involve artists such as Vincent van Gogh and Claude Monet; historical events such as the Battle of Marathon, Julius Caesar's invasion of Britain, and World War II; and literary authors such as Chaucer, Shakespeare, and Mary Shelley.
For each historical event influenced by astronomy, there is a different kind of mystery to be solved. For example, how can the Moon help to explain the sinking of the Titanic and a turning point of the American Civil War? For each literary reference to astronomy, which celestial objects were being described and was the author describing an actual event?
Follow these exciting investigations with Donald Olson, a master “celestial sleuth,” as he tracks down the truth and helps unravel mysteries as far back as ancient history and as recent as the haunting paintings of Edvard Munch.

About the Author
Dr. Donald Olson is a Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Texas State University, but prefers the terms “Celestial Sleuth.” Olson received his Ph.D. in physics from the University of California-Berkeley, and after studying galaxy structure for two years at the University of Texas at Austin, he settled into Texas State, where he has been teaching since the early 1980s.
Over the past 25 years (1987-2012), the reputation of his department at Texas State University has been established by the publication of more than 40 articles published in such periodicals as The New York Times and Smithsonian Magazine. He has since then gone on to be published in The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Sky and Telescope, and Smithsonian magazine, which called Olson “…the leading practitioner of…'forensic astronomy’.”

CONTENTS
Preface vii
Foreword ix
Acknowledgments xiii
Part I Astronomy in Art
1 Monet and Turner, Masters of Sea and Sky 3
2 Vincent van Gogh and Starry Skies Over France 35
3 Edvard Munch: Mysterious Skies in Norway 67
4 Yosemite Moonrises and Moonbows 113
Part II Astronomy in History
5 Moons and Tides in the Battle of Marathon,
Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride, and the Sinking of the Titanic 147
6 Lincoln, the Civil War Era, and American Almanacs 199
7 Th e Moon and Tides in World War II 237
Part III Astronomy in Literature
8 Literary Skies Before 1800 277
9 Literary Skies Aft er 1800 317
Index 351