I speak so glowingly about Guanajuato that it must appear to be a city full of fairy dust and unicorns.

Actually, it is even better! Along with the beauty, hospitality, and culture of the locals, it is also a place to find fellow travelers, all kinds of travelers, from the retired attorneys working for social justice, to carpenters, poets, musicians, outdoorsmen and yogis. What they all have in common is an understanding that we often must travel to better understand ourselves and others.

Our friend, science writer Jacob Berkowitz, knows we must travel farther. Much farther.

Jacob and his multi-talented (and brave) family decided to move to Guanajuato from Canada for six months to experience a different culture. We became acquainted when Kyle and I were spanish classmates with Jacob’s kids. If it has been a few years since you have been in school with tweens or teens you should give it a try, it is both humbling and inspiring. Thank you Frankie and Max! And while the kids took a few weeks of spanish classes and moved on to the local school, Jacob and his talented wife Rosemary Leach worked in their respective arts. Rosemary had a great studio to work on her beautiful paintings, and Jacob was finishing up this book:

The Stardust Revolution, the New Story of Our Origin in the Stars

“The stardust story joins the great scientific debates of the 20th century – evolution and the nature of the universe – into the new great quest of our age. For these stardust revolutionaries, the focus isn’t on elucidating an expanding universe, but an evolving one. Stardust scientists are literally tracing the natural history of the cosmos from the Big Bang to our bodies. They’re making the evolutionary links from atoms formed by stars, to the molecules of interstellar space and the emergence of living planets.

The Stardust Revolution is about the questions we ask ourselves under the mystery and grandeur of the night sky. How am I connected to the cosmos? Are we alone in the universe? How have we come from stardust to souls?”

Any readers on your list?

Buy this very readable book for any readers on your list (including yourself). Forget the horrors of your last science class; Jacob makes even the most complex science understandable, accessible and fascinating.

And speaking of science classes, do you have a young scienctist on your list? A young dinosaur lover? How about adding Jacob’s award winning children’s book, “Jurrassic Poop” to your list.

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