| HEAVENLY KNOWLEDGE: An Astrophysicist Seeks Wisdom in the Stars Fiorella Terenzi New York: Avon Books, 1998 |
Rating: 3.5 Fair |
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| ISBN-13 978-0-380-97412-2 | ||||
| ISBN 0-380-97412-6 | 196pp. | HC/BWI | $22.00 | |
The book Heavenly Knowledge describes Dr. Terenzi's discovery that the stars have souls, that they will talk to you if you stare at them long enough. Or something like that. After earning her doctorate in astrophysics at the University of Milan in her native Italy, she came to southern California and proceeded to turn recordings of signals from quasars, pulsars and other celestial objects into hot-selling CDs. A considerable portion of the strength of those sales stems from her success at selling her own persona, which one observer described as a cross between Carl Sagan and Madonna.
I did read the book, or at least a major portion of it. But that was a while ago, and I won't perpetrate a review of it based only on that memory. I will get my own copy into my hot little hands and re-read it carefully.
However, thanks to the magic of the World Wide Web, I can readily obtain the cover image, and I have done so. Let me therefore wax lyrical about the cover.
They say you can't judge a book by its cover. Elsewhere I have commented extensively on Body Hot Spots, a serious book by R. Dale Guthrie. Its cover depicts a naked man and woman running toward each other and about to embrace. This cover art, done in tastefully abstract but unmistakeable form, reveals them to be generously endowed with what Dr. Guthrie calls "copulatory lures". My suspicion is that this artwork is not something Dr. Guthrie chose, but rather that it was forced on him by the publisher's marketing people.
I harbor a similar suspicion about the cover of Heavenly Knowledge1. The pictures within it are like those you might find in a family album. There are few pictures of her on the Web, and those that do circulate are not at all in the "girlie-pic" category that one associates with, say, Pamela Anderson or Cori Nadine. It seems, therefore, that this is another case of a publicist's choice, done to boost sales with a seductive cover.
Nevertheless, let's analyze this cover and see what it tells us.
First, the backdrop. It shows a starry sky with a spiral galaxy — perhaps Andromeda, although it's fuzzed up so I can't be sure. So far so good; this evokes the good doctor's training in astrophysics.
Next, on the left are certain symbols, highlighted by colored squares. There's the zodiacal symbol for Scorpio, presumably Dr. Terenzi's natal sign. There's what looks like an orrery (a celestial globe). There's a classical representation of the constellation Gemini (the twins Castor and Pollux). There's another astronomical instrument: a theodolite? Finally we have a picture of the ceiling from the Osservatorio Astronomico at Brera, depicting the solar system. All these again suggest astrophysics, and tie it to the lore of astrology, in which personalities figure prominently.
And then there is Dr. Terenzi herself. She stands on the right, against the starry firmament. Her arms are crossed and she leans back slightly. She wears a black, low-cut sheath dress that shows off her excellent figure. Her softly curled blonde hair cascades down to her shoulders. Her face wears a somewhat challenging expression: mouth closed, eyebrows elegantly arched, intense dark eyes riveting your attention. Fair-skinned, full-lipped, full-bosomed, she appears the very essence of a femme fatale.
In my somewhat biased opinion, it is this last component of the cover image that does the selling. Fair enough. (Pun intended.) But I invite you to notice the lady's fingers. The nails are cut short, in businesslike wise, and are not decorated. This, I suggest, is the final clue that the Femme Fatale is not the true Fiorella.
I rest my case.
But what about Dr. Terenzi's message? She does have one. Is it just "I am a Goddess. You WILL buy my book!" — or is it more substantial? After writing this, I did buy the book (a used but clean copy) and I read it carefully. I formed an opinion which is linked below. (And just after setting up the link and this addendum, I realized there's a strong resemblance between that cover picture and Seven of Nine. Intentional? I don't know. "Resistance is futile." Hmmm...)
Here's my assessment of Dr. Fiorella Terenzi's message.
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