Award-winning author and theoretical astrophysicist **Janna Levin** discusses her latest book, _Black Hole Blues and Other Songs from Outer Space_ —the authoritative story of the headline-making discovery of gravitational waves. **Janna Levin** recounts the fascinating story of the obsessions, the aspirations, and the trials of the scientists who embarked on an arduous, fifty-year endeavor to capture these elusive waves. As this book was written, two massive instruments of remarkably delicate sensitivity were brought to advanced capability. As the book draws to a close, five decades after the experimental ambition began, the team races to intercept a wisp of a sound with two colossal machines, hoping to succeed in time for the centenary of Einstein’s most radical idea. **Janna Levin’s** absorbing account of the surprises, disappointments, achievements, and risks in this unfolding story offers a portrait of modern science that is unlike anything seen before. (Photo: [LIGO](https://www.ligo.caltech.edu/video/ligo20160615v1 ""))
