Expert science writer Giles Sparrow guides you through 21 stars you can see in the night sky and what they can teach us about our universe. On a clear evening, if you look up you can see thousands of stars shining in the dark sky, each with a story of their own. Taking 21 stars (and three imposters, that cheekily aren’t technically stars), expert science writer Giles Sparrow offers a complete introduction to what is happening up in the night sky. Sparrow draws ‘star maps' to help you easily identify the celestial bodies and then explains (for anyone not an astronomer themselves) what this particular pinprick of light can tell us about the birth, life and death of our universe. From red giants, quasars and supernovae to black holes, multiple stars and even our own Sun, this fascinating book tells the intriguing, inspiring and sometimes incredible story of how we came to unravel the mysteries of the cosmos, and what we learnt along the way. So look up at the sky and marvel at its wonders with this exciting new book. “Present[s] science simply enough for non-scientists to understand it, but accurately enough to prevent non-scientists from misunderstanding it…Mixes the chatty with the serious, the what-we-know with the what-we-don’t-know-yet…In his own way, Sparrow himself is a star.”―InfoDad Beautifully illustrated, A History of the Universe in 21 Stars provides a key to the cosmos for the curious, the busy and the bewildered. It offers a complete introduction to the heavens through the tales of these celestial superstars and tells the intriguing, inspiring and sometimes just plain odd story of how stargazers unravelled the mysteries of the universe. Giles Sparrow studied Astronomy at University College London. He is the author of over 20 books on popular science for both adults and children. He lives in London.