DARLING, David J. 1953-

PERSONAL: Born July 29, 1953, in Glossop, Derbyshire, England; son of Bernard Eric (a general store manager) and Marjorie (Dixon) Darling; married Jill Varie Case, 1978; children: Lori-An Varie, Jeffrey Alan. Education: University of Sheffield, B.Sc., 1974; University of Manchester, England, Ph.D., 1977. Hobbies and other interests: Classical guitar.

ADDRESSES: Home—Croft, Kirkoswald, Penrith CA100 1DQ, England.

CAREER: Cray Research, Minneapolis, MN, manager of applications software, 1978-82; freelance writer, 1983—.

AWARDS, HONORS: The Galaxies: Cities of Stars, The New Astronomy: An Ever-Changing Universe, The Planets: The Next Frontier, The Stars: From Birth to Black Hole, The Universe: Past, Present, and Future, Where Are We Going in Space?, and Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids: Rocks in Space all received Book of the Year designations from Child Study Association of America, 1986.

WRITINGS:

Diana, the People's Princess (biography), Dillon (New York, NY), 1984.

Deep Time: The Journey of a Single Subatomic Particle from the Moment of Creation to the Death of the Universe and Beyond, Delacorte (New York, NY), 1989.

Equations of Eternity: Speculations on Consciousness, Meaning, and the Mathematical Rules that Orchestrate the Cosmos, Hyperion (New York, NY), 1993.

Soul Search: A Scientist Explores the Afterlife, Villard Books (New York, NY), 1995.

Zen Physics: The Science of Death, the Logic of Reincarnation, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1996.

After Life: In Search of Cosmic Consciousness, Fourth Estate (London, England), 1995.

The Extraterrestrial Encyclopedia: An Alphabetical Reference to All Life in the Universe, Three Rivers Press (New York, NY), 2000.

Life Everywhere: The Maverick Science of Astrobiology, Basic Books (New York, NY), 2001.

The Complete Book of Spaceflight: From Apollo 1 to Zero Gravity, Wiley (New York, NY), 2002.

Contributor to periodicals, including Astronomy and Odyssey.

JUVENILE NONFICTION; "BEYOND 2000" SERIES

Genetic Engineering: Redrawing the Blueprint of Life, Dillon (Parsippany, NJ), 1995.

Computers of the Future: Intelligent Machines and Virtual Reality, illustrated by Tom Lund, Dillon (Parsippany, NJ), 1996.

Micromachines and Nanotechnology: The Amazing New World of the Ultrasmall, illustrated by Tom Lund, Dillon (Parsippany, NJ), 1995.

The Health Revolution: Surgery and Medicine in the Twenty-first Century, Dillon Press (Parsippany, NJ), 1996.

JUVENILE NONFICTION; "COULD YOU EVER . . ." SERIES

Could You Ever Build a Time Machine?, Dillon (New York, NY), 1990.

Could You Ever Dig a Hole to China?, Dillon (New York, NY), 1990.

Could You Ever Fly to the Stars?, Dillon (New York, NY), 1990.

Could You Ever Meet an Alien?, Dillon (New York, NY), 1990.

Could You Ever Speak Chimpanzee?, Dillon (New York, NY), 1990.

Could You Ever?, Dillon (New York, NY), 1991.

Could You Ever Live Forever?, Dillon (New York, NY), 1991.

JUVENILE NONFICTION; "DISCOVERING OUR UNIVERSE" SERIES; ILLUSTRATED BY JEANETTE SWOFFORD

Comets, Meteors, and Asteroids: Rocks in Space, Dillon (New York, NY), 1984.

The Moon: A Spaceflight Away, Dillon (New York, NY), 1984.

The Planets: The Next Frontier, Dillon (New York, NY), 1984.

The Sun: Our Neighborhood Star, Dillon (New York, NY), 1984.

Where Are We Going in Space?, Dillon (New York, NY), 1984.

Other Worlds: Is There Life Out There?, Dillon (New York, NY), 1985.

The Galaxies: Cities of Stars, Dillon (New York, NY), 1985.

The New Astronomy: An Ever-Changing Universe, Dillon (New York, NY), 1985.

The Stars: From Birth to Black Hole, Dillon (New York, NY), 1985.

The Universe: Past, Present, and Future, Dillon (New York, NY), 1985.

JUVENILE NONFICTION; "EXPERIMENT SERIES"

Making Light Work: The Science of Optics, Dillon (New York, NY), 1991.

Up, Up, and Away: The Science of Flight, Dillon (New York, NY), 1991.

Spiderwebs to Skyscrapers: The Science of Structures, Dillon (New York, NY), 1991.

Sounds Interesting: The Science of Acoustics, Dillon (New York, NY), 1991.

Between Fire and Ice: The Science of Heat, Dillon (New York, NY), 1992.

From Glasses to Gases: The Science of Matter, Dillon (New York, NY), 1992.

JUVENILE NONFICTION; "WORLD OF COMPUTERS" SERIES

Computers at Home: Today and Tomorrow, illustrated by Tom Lund and Billy Fugate, Dillon (New York, NY), 1986.

Faster, Faster, Fastest: The Story of Supercomputers, illustrated by Tom Lund, Dillon (New York, NY), 1986.

Inside Computers: Hardware and Software, illustrated by Tom Lund, Dillon (New York, NY), 1986.

The Microchip Revolution, illustrated by Tom Lund, Dillon (New York, NY), 1986.

Robots and the Intelligent Computer, illustrated by Tom Lund, Dillon (New York, NY), 1986.

SIDELIGHTS: British astronomer and writer David J. Darling is the author of several series of popular books for children on science-related subjects. The ten-volume "Discovering Our Universe" series provides young readers with a broad introduction to the wonders of the solar system: the stars and planets, comets, asteroids, and the possible existence of yet-undiscovered worlds. In the five books that comprise the "World of Computers" series, Darling discusses the way that computers work, their many applications in modern society, supercomputers, the revolution caused by the microchip, and the developing field of robotics. He described his most recent series of books, "Could You Ever...," as one which "tries to answer young peoples' questions about whether things like journeys to the stars, time travel, meeting aliens, and communicating with other animal species will ever be possible. Indeed," he added, "it tries to answer the very questions that my children are always asking me!"

Supplementing his texts with charts, graphs, and appendixes, Darling has been praised by critics for providing his readers with up-to-date research presented in an interesting and authoritative manner. In his introduction to The Moon: A Spaceflight Away, Darling wrote, "I have tried to give young people a feeling for our place and importance in the modern universe. . . . Through discovering our universe, we are truly discovering ourselves."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

BOOKS

Darling, David J., The Moon: A Spaceflight Away, Dillon (New York, NY), 1984.

PERIODICALS

Appraisal: Science Books for Young People, autumn, 1995, review of Genetic Engineering: Redrawing the Blueprint of Life, p. 15; Volume 29, 1996, review of "Beyond 2000" series, p. 16.

Astronomy, April, 2002, review of Life Everywhere: The Maverick Science of Astrobiology, p. 87.

Booklist, May 15, 1985, pp. 1330-1331; July, 1993, Bryce Christensen, review of Equations of Eternity: Speculations on Consciousness, Meaning, and the Mathematical Rules that Orchestrate the Cosmos, p. 1931.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, April, 1985, p. 86; June, 1985, p. 183.

Choice, January, 1994, D. E. Bentil, review of Equations of Eternity, p. 825; November, 2001, P. R. Douville, review of Life Everywhere, p. 534.

Forbes, April 30, 2001, Susan Adams, review of Life Everywhere, p. 166.

Horn Book Guide, spring, 1993, review of Between Fire and Ice: The Science of Heat and From Glasses to Gases: The Science of Matter, p. 103; fall, 1995, review of Genetic Engineering, p. 347; fall, 1995, review of Micromachines and Nanotechnology: The Amazing New World of the Ultrasmall, p. 360; fall, 1996, review of The Health Revolution: Surgery and Medicine in the Twenty-first Century, p. 347; fall, 1996, review of Computers of the Future: Intelligent Machines and Virtual Reality, p. 350.

IEEE Spectrum, March, 1994, Reuben Hersh, review of Equations of Eternity, p. 12.

Kirkus Reviews, June 1, 1993, review of Equations of Eternity, p. 694; January 1, 1995, review of Soul Search: A Scientist Explores the Afterlife, p. 40; June 1, 1995, review of Micromachines and Nanotechnology and Genetic Engineering, p. 779.

Library Journal, February 1, 1995, Priscilla Davis Dunn, review of Soul Search, p. 90; January, 2003, Jeffrey Beall, review of The Complete Book of Spaceflight: From Apollo 1 to Zero Gravity, p. 87.

Mercury, January-February, 1997, Alan Batten, review of Zen Physics: The Science of Death, the Logic of Reincarnation, p. 32.

New York Times Book Review, August 29, 1993, Dennis Overbye, review of Equations of Eternity, p. 14.

Perspectives in Biology and Medicine, spring, 2002, James F. Kasting, review of Life Everywhere, p. 292.

Publishers Weekly, May 24, 1993, review of Equations of Eternity, p. 74; January 2, 1995, review of Soul Search, p. 64; February 26, 1996, review of Zen Physics, p. 91.

School Library Journal, April, 1985, p. 86; May, 1985, p. 88; January, 1996, Margaret M. Hagel, review of Micromachines and Nanotechnology, p. 116.

Science Activities, spring, 1997, Manfred Kroger, review of The Health Revolution, p. 42.

Science Books and Films, January, 1994, review of Equations of Eternity, p. 8; May, 1996, review of The Health Revolution, p. 116; January, 2002, review of Life Everywhere, p. 311.

SciTech Book News, September, 2001, review of Life Everywhere, p. 65.

Tricycle: Buddhist Review, summer, 1996, review of Zen Physics, p. 105.

Voice of Youth Advocates, October, 1996, review of The Health Revolution, p. 228.*