The Book

You've booked the flights. You've booked the hotel (or the cruise). You've taken the time off work. Now what?

The path of totality is narrow. The window is brief. And the difference between a prepared observer and an unprepared one is the difference between a life-changing experience and a beautiful blur you can't quite remember.

Chasing Totality is written for travellers who have already committed — financially, logistically, emotionally — to being somewhere along that 150-kilometre corridor on 12 August 2026. It's a single book that operates as three things at once: a full-colour science textbook that makes the physics vivid, a destination decision tool for choosing between Iceland, Spain, and the eclipse cruises, and a built-in workbook — the Totality Passport — designed to go with you on eclipse day.

It's written by a father-and-son team who have chased fourteen total solar eclipses between them across four continents. Full colour throughout. 7" × 10". Designed to be read, written in, and brought outside.

What's Inside

Everything you need to prepare — and nothing you don't.

Ten chapters, four appendices, and a fill-in workbook. Structured in four parts: Understand, Prepare, Experience, and Carry It Home.

Chasing Totality — cover and interior spreads, including diagrams and full-colour photography

I

The science, made vivid

How eclipses work, why totality is nothing like 99% coverage, and a phenomenon-by-phenomenon guide to everything you'll see: the corona, the diamond ring, Baily's beads, shadow bands, and the 360-degree sunset.

II

Iceland vs. Spain vs. Cruise

A complete destination comparison: city-by-city contact times, how to read the cloud-cover odds, how to choose your viewing site, and practical planning considerations for each region.

III

Gear, safety, and the non-negotiables

ISO-certified filter guidance, a photography cheat sheet, and the critical eye-safety protocols every observer must follow.

IV

A real-time eclipse-day timeline

A phase-by-phase guide so you know exactly what to do from first contact to fourth.

V

The Totality Passport

A built-in workbook with six structured sections: observation logs, a corona sketch area, a 13-item phenomena checklist, citizen-science prompts, and post-eclipse reflection exercises. Bring a pen.

VI

Emotional preparation

The two minutes of totality deliver more sensory information than your brain can process in two hours. Knowing what to expect is the difference between awe and overwhelm.

From the Foreword

"I know how that sounds. I've done it four times."

You are about to spend a significant amount of money to stand in a very specific place at a very specific time and stare at the sky for less than two and a half minutes.

I know how that sounds. I've done it four times.

The first was in 2012, aboard a cruise ship in the South Pacific. I was twenty-something, exhausted from a career in hotel management, and only half-aware of what my father had been planning for months. He had four cameras set up on the deck. Other passengers had champagne. I had a smartphone that I pointed at the Sun like a tourist photographing a cathedral — and when the moment came, when the light failed and the corona flared and the ship erupted in cheers, I realised I had spent the most extraordinary ninety seconds of my life watching it through a three-inch screen.

The science in this book is not there to make the eclipse clinical. It is there to make the wonder articulate.

There is no perfect eclipse. But there is your eclipse. Let's make it count.
— Jared Koh, from the foreword

Download the foreword + Chapter 1 sample (PDF)

About the Authors

Two generations. Fourteen eclipses. One handbook.

Lead Author

Jared Koh

Jared Koh has witnessed four total solar eclipses across two continents — two from land and two from the deck of a cruise ship. He brings the perspective of an experienced eclipse traveller who understands both the logistical complexity and the emotional weight of chasing totality. Based in Singapore.

Contributing author

Koh Joo Beng, MSc (Astronomy)

Joo Beng has travelled to fourteen solar eclipses across four continents over two decades, successfully observing the corona eight times. A retired engineer with a Master of Science in Astronomy, he contributes the book's "Veteran's Notes" sidebars and all original eclipse photography.

"Standing in the shadow of the Moon is the greatest demonstration of the power of science I know."

Early Reader Notes

What the first readers have said.

A small number of advance reader copies went out in May to experienced eclipse travellers, first-time eclipse readers, and astronomy-adjacent voices. A sample of what came back.

The first time I've read a book which contains the technical information as well as the human and emotional information. I've never seen the emotional description written down before.

Like a friend sharing first-hand tips and advice, while excitedly guiding me through the wonder of witnessing totality.

I feel like I was experiencing the awe of witnessing an eclipse for the first time, even though I did not directly see it firsthand.

A treasure quest guided by science — with a real pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

The passion on display through the words, from lived experience. The foreword was inspiring for someone who might not get the thrill of chasing eclipses, and reassuring for someone about to.

One of the best guides in astronomy, not just on eclipses — very educational, very practical, with a strong generosity of spirit in the authors' intent to teach.

Formats & Pricing

Three editions. One choice.

Three formats exist because eclipse chasers don't all want the same thing. The Kindle edition is the lowest-friction way to get the book into your hands. The softcover is the working copy — standard paper, deliberately priced to keep the book accessible. The hardcover is what we'd print every copy as if cost weren't a factor: premium paper, materially richer colour reproduction, and a hardback binding built to outlast the eclipse it documents. The content is identical in all three.

Published via Kindle Direct Publishing on 4 June 2026. All three editions — Kindle, softcover, and hardcover — are live on Amazon now.

Kindle Ebook

USD 9.99

Lowest-friction way in
Full-colour on compatible devices
Searchable across all chapters
Free printable workbook companion

Buy Kindle on Amazon →

Softcover · The working copy

USD 19.99

7" × 10", full colour throughout
Standard paper — priced to keep the book accessible
Fill-in Totality Passport
Designed to be read, written in, and brought outside

Buy Softcover on Amazon →

Hardcover · The keepsake

USD 44.99

Premium paper — richer colour reproduction
The format the photography was meant for
Hardback binding, built to outlast the eclipse
Collector-grade edition

Buy Hardcover on Amazon →

FAQ

A few things people ask.

When does the book come out?

It's out. All three editions — Kindle, softcover, and hardcover — published on 4 June 2026, roughly ten weeks before eclipse day on 12 August. Available on Amazon worldwide.

Why three editions — which one should I get?

Three formats because eclipse chasers don't all want the same thing. The Kindle ebook ($9.99) is the easiest way in — full colour on compatible devices, searchable across all chapters. The softcover ($19.99) is the working copy — standard paper, priced to keep the book accessible. The hardcover ($44.99) is what we'd print every copy as if cost weren't a factor: premium paper, materially richer colour reproduction, and a hardback binding built to outlast the eclipse it documents. The content is identical in all three; the choice is about how you want to live with the book.

Does it cover my destination?

Yes, if you're watching from Iceland, northern Spain, or an eclipse cruise in the Atlantic or Mediterranean. Chapter 4 is a full comparison of the three viewing regions, with city-by-city contact times, how to read the cloud-cover odds, how to choose a site, and practical planning considerations for each region. If you're outside the path of totality, the book will tell you — honestly — why 99% is not 99% as good as 100%.

I've never seen a total eclipse. Is this the right book for me?

It's especially written for you. The whole book is structured around the idea that preparation is what unlocks presence — that you'll experience totality more fully if you know, in advance, what you're about to see. First-time observers are the primary audience.

I've seen totality before. Will I learn anything?

The science chapters go deeper than any pamphlet-style eclipse guide, and Koh Joo Beng's Veteran's Notes sidebars — drawn from two decades and fourteen eclipses — offer practical insights you won't find in a first-timer guide. Many experienced chasers will find the 2026-specific destination comparison and the shadow-bands section particularly useful.

Is this a photography book?

Not primarily. It contains a photography cheat sheet and practical gear guidance for observers who want to record the eclipse, but the core message from both authors is: don't photograph your first totality. Use your eyes. The book exists to make that experience deeper, not to make you a better photographer.

What about eye safety?

Covered in detail, with ISO-certified filter guidance and clear protocols for when it is and isn't safe to look at the Sun. Eye safety is non-negotiable, and the book treats it that way.

Can I get a review copy?

A small number of advance reader copies are being distributed in May to experienced eclipse travellers and astronomy-adjacent media. If you're in one of those categories, email hello@chasingtotality.org with a short note about your background.

Chasing
Totality.