Book groups that are reading American Eclipse may find the following discussion questions useful:
- Where were you for the total solar eclipses that crossed America on August 21, 2017, and April 8, 2024? What are your memories?
- David Baron writes in his afterword that an eclipse—especially a total eclipse—can foster a sense of human connection. Have you experienced that sensation with other awe-inspiring spectacles? For instance, watching a dramatic sunset, gazing at the full moon, or taking in a vista like that of the Grand Canyon with friends or loved ones?
- The America of 1878 was very different from the America of today, yet aspects of the culture back then still resonate. What parts of the story in American Eclipse seem most antiquated? What parts seem eerily familiar?
- Thomas Edison was both a prolific inventor and a tireless showman. Do you think he would have succeeded as a businessman if he had not possessed the talent for self-promotion?
- What qualities did Maria Mitchell possess that enabled her to succeed in the face of blatant anti-female bias? What lessons can we learn from her life story?
- American Eclipse reveals that the process of science is not simple or linear. The advancement of knowledge includes many detours and dead ends. Can you think of examples, in your own lifetime, of great scientific announcements—like James Craig Watson’s discovery of the planet Vulcan—that turned out to be mistaken? What about great inventions—like Edison’s tasimeter—that ended up duds?
- The frontier West has often been mythologized as a romantic, adventurous place, yet it could be brutal and cruel. Would you have wanted to visit Wyoming or Colorado in 1878?
- The next total solar eclipse to cross a great swath of the United States will not occur until August 12, 2045, when the path of totality will run from California to Florida. Where do you think you will be at that time? What will America be like?