EDWARD HITCHCOCK was not the only star in the firmament of American science and philosophy in the nineteenth century, but he was certainly one of the brightest. The son of a hatter and farmer, he was raised among the wheat and rye fields of Deerfield, Massachusetts, and expected to pursue a farmer's life. But early on he developed a "strong relish" for science. By the age of twenty-five he had adopted his father's orthodox Christian faith and set a dual path for his life, science and religion. Although Hitchcock's career as a pastor would be brief, preaching and spreading the Gospel would remain his highest calling. Nevertheless, his scientific impulses could never be denied, his spiritual life could not deflect him from the pursuit of scientific truth. In that respect he was perhaps unique for his time - and for today - for he saw no conflict between science and religion. "When rightly interpreted and understood," he wrote, "they will appear in perfect unison."

Hitchcock is best remembered for his pioneering work in paleontology, particularly in deciphering the fossilized tracks of the ancient creatures we know today as dinosaurs. But he was also the first State Geologist of Massachusetts and one of the founders of the Association of American Geologists, forerunner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Hitchcock was a lifelong advocate for higher education. A professor at Amherst College for nearly forty years, he was named president in 1845 and is credited with saving that institution from dissolution. He promoted women's education (so long as the sexes were educated separately, of course!) and played a vital role in the founding of Mount Holyoke College. He was also an early proponent of agricultural education who lobbied successfully for the establishment at Amherst of Massachusetts Agricultural College, known today as the University of Massachusetts.

For all Edward Hitchcock's contributions to science, religion, and education in a young America, his story has never been told - never, that is, until now.

In All the Light Here Comes from Above: The Life and Legacy of Edward Hitchcock, Massachusetts author Robert T. McMaster brings Edward Hitchcock to life for his readers. Relying largely on Hitchcock's own words from his letters, notes, and other unpublished manuscripts, McMaster presents an intimate view of the man, his scientific achievements and his theological writings, as well as his battles with powerful personal demons that threatened him at every turn. Each chapter is introduced with a vignette, a scene from the life of Edward Hitchcock or his family, that reveals the humanity of the man with dignity, charm, and humor.

Robert T. McMaster grew up in Southbridge, Massachusetts. He completed his undergraduate education at Clark University, then earned graduate degrees from Boston College, Smith College, and the University of Massachusetts. Early in his career he taught middle school science, then worked as an administrator for several environmental education organizations. After completing his graduate studies, he taught biology at Holyoke Community College in Holyoke, Massachusetts, for twenty years.

The nineteen-teens have long interested Robert McMaster. He found inspiration in his parents' reminiscences of growing up in that era, particularly his father's stories of riding the streetcars that plied city streets and country roads in those days. Those stories led to his first novel, Trolley Days, published in 2012, then The Dyeing Room (2013), Noah's Raven (2017), and Darkest Before Dawn (2022). The series follows the lives of four young people growing up in Holyoke, Massachusetts, in the tumultuous World War I era (www.TrolleyDays.net).

Robert McMaster's fascination with Edward Hitchcock (1793-1864), renowned American geologist and paleontologist, began when he visited the Pratt Museum of Natural History at Amherst College over half a century ago. In 2014, while doing research for one of his novels, he discovered to his great surprise that there had never been a biography written of Hitchcock. In 2021 he published All the Light Here Comes from Above: The Life and Legacy of Edward Hitchcock. More than a century-and-a-half after his death, the story of one of nineteenth-century America's most influential scientists at last had been told (www.EdwardHitchcock.com).

The author's ancestral ties to Ireland led him to undertake another project, the County Wicklow Mystery Series including Rose of Glenkerry and Fugitive from Injustice, stories of mystery and romance set against the stunning backdrop of Ireland's County Wicklow (www.WicklowMysteries.com).