Solar History

Claudio Vita-Finzi was educated in Argentina and the UK, where he obtained his MA, PhD and ScD at Cambridge University. He was a Research Fellow at St John’s College, Cambridge, 1961-4, and was then Lecturer, Reader, and Professor (personal Chair in Neotectonics) in Geography, then in Geological Sciences, at University College London 1964-2001, and he has been a Scientific Associate in the Dept. of Mineralogy of the Natural History Museum, London, since  2001. He was awarded the Paul Fourmarier Medal by the  Geological Society of Liege, Belgium, in 1992 and the G K Warren Prize of the US Academy of Sciences  in 1994. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1997. He has published over 140 papers on geology, geomorphology and planetary science and 7 single-author books of which the latest was The Sun, a User’s Manual (Springer, 2008).

From the reviews: "Vita-Finzi writes with brevity, clarity and intellectual vigour. He is particularly good in summarising arguments and singling out pertinent detail: one of the more surprising - and welcome - aspects of the book is its discussion of scientific historiography and the need to 'safeguard the evidence' ... . a book that is supremely informative, intensely stimulating and enjoyable to read. ... this is an exciting book." (Ian Seymour, Astronomy Now, July, 2013)

• Preface.- 1. Introduction.- 2. Origins.- 3. The young Sun.- 4. Isotopes and ice cores.- 5. Cosmogenic radiocarbon.- 6. The solar cycle.- 7. Solar  rotation.- 8. Contemporary history.- 9. The Lessons of History.- Index.