At heart, this is a story about how science advances, one insight at a time. But the immediacy, almost romance, of Levenson’s writing makes it almost novelistic.
Above all...The Hunt for Vulcan is simply a charming tale about an all-but-forgotten episode in science history. It might document a planetary snipe hunt, but the delights found along the way are real enough.
The Hunt for Vulcan is a short, beautifully produced book that tells a cautionary tale...Levenson is a breezy writer who renders complex ideas in down-to-earth language, though he can be a bit too colloquial at times.