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Darkness is the first thing we know in our human existence. Safe and warm inside the bubble of the womb, we are comfortable in that embracing dark. But as soon as we are brought into the light, we learn to fear the dark. Why?
All Through the Night is a celebration of all things that go bump in the night and the joy that can be found when the sun goes down. As a society we have closed our curtains to the darkness, now Dani Robertson urges you to cast those curtains wide, step out of your front door and let the darkness pull you in. Some 99 per cent of Western Europeans live under light-polluted skies, but what is this doing to our health? Our wellbeing? Our connection to the cycles of nature? Our wildlife, too, has been cast into the harsh glare of our light addiction, with devastating impacts.
In this book Dani shares with you the excitement and adventure she has found when everyone else is tucked up in bed. She explores constellations and cultures, and enjoys environmental escapades, all whilst learning why we are addicted to light and why it is ruining our lives. She'll show you why the darkness is so important and why we must protect it at all costs. You'll become a crusader of Darkness and an expert on what we can do to stop the onward march of light pollution (clue: it's as easy as the flick of a switch). Her life depends on darkness, and yours does too.
Dani Robertson is Dark Sky Officer for Snowdonia National Park. It's her job to make sure we are doing everything we can to protect our dark skies through conservation work, lighting retrofitting and public outreach events. Dani's advocacy and promotion of the protection of dark skies has been recognised by the International Dark Sky Association and she has been given the Dark Sky Defender (Europe) Award for 2022.
"A heartfelt, necessary and very enjoyable book."
– Tristan Gooley, author of The Secret World of Weather
"A hymn of praise to darkness and the unfathomable wonder of a true night sky, this book is also an urgent call to arms. As Dani Robertson shows, our health, and that of the planet around us, is inextricably linked with the power of the dark. We are losing it at great speed, and to our great peril. Read the book, look up in awe, and act."
– Mike Parker, author of All the Wide Border
"To read All Through the Night is to experience stars appearing one by one in the night sky; discreet, glowing insights throw gentle but piercing light onto what we are doing to what Dani Roberston calls one of the most endangered landscapes on Earth – the night sky. The civilised world has flooded the velvety blackness with strange glowings-on that disorientate insects, birds and sealife. We flood our own psyches with permanent light that shields us from what we have evolved to do in the dark hours – rest and reflect. I loved being lost in the real stuff of darkness, hearing the Shearwaters and owls claim their territory, and was disturbed by how we have, often unintentionally, disrupted their worlds. Even the trees suffer from our outpouring of artificial light, as does the vastness of space itself as satellites march across the heavens. The book ends on what we can do to embrace darkness again, to welcome it back and reduce our light pollution. It is a thought-provoking book that sheds light onto our need to love darkness."
– Mary Colwell, author of Curlew Moon
"Woven through All Through the Night is a wonderful story of what natural darkness means to Dani. Her story is more than an anecdote, it's a powerful recounting of what is lost when the night burns like day, and the simple steps we can all take to reclaim natural darkness to benefit us all"
– Ruskin Hartley, Executive Director at International Dark-Sky Association
"Passion and urgency lie beneath poetic and whimsically written passages"
– Sky at Night Magazine
"Dani Robertson is a fine writer – lyrical and eloquent in extolling the beauty of our world – especially the dark starry sky [...] her book is more than a memoir; it's filled with episodes enlivening her theme with history, science and topography, and with individual biographies. All through the Night is fascinating and inspiring – it deserves wide readership"
– Lord Martin Rees
"An utterly illuminating book that will open your eyes to an overlooked world in deep peril. Dani makes a compelling case for just how urgently we need to reform our relationship with darkness. Everyone interested in nature will find surprise, intrigue and awe on every page."
– Nicholas Gates, co-author of Orchard: A Year in England's Eden
