David Stevenson was born in Paisley, Scotland, in 1968. He studied Molecular Biology at Glasgow University and obtained a PhD in Genetics from the University of Cambridge. He then studied Astronomy and Planetary Sciences and Geophysics and Geochemistry (S267) at the OU.

After a stint in academia, he became a teacher, but continued to write science articles for various publications. In July 2007 an article on Type Ia Supernovae, "A Bigger Bang", was published in Sky & Telescope, with a second article on supernovae published in the same magazine in October 2011. Three books have followed on supernovae, red dwarf stars and star clusters (Extreme Explosions, Under a Crimson Sun and The Complex Life of Star Clusters, respectively). A further article on stellar mergers is at the production stages with Astronomy magazine, while a spin-off article from Extreme Explosions, "Supersized Stellar Mystery", was published in Popular Astronomy in February 2014. Despite a background in Biology, the author's father inspired his interest in Astronomy from an early age. Many parallels can be drawn between the lives of people and those of stars. Exploring the cross-roads of different scientific disciplines is a key interest and motivation in both teaching and writing.

His publishing history includes peer-reviewed biological research articles from 1999-2009, including one on the early development of life, "The Origin of Translation" published in the Journal of Theoretical Biology (Elsevier Press) and an article on the discovery of antibiotic resistance genes in plants, published in Plant Physiology; numerous articles published on the Blackwell Plant Sciences website 2002-2007; "Turning out the Lights" - Popular Astronomy August, 2003; "A Bigger Bang" Sky & Telescope, July 2007; "Exceptional Explosions", Sky & Telescope, October 2011; "Extreme Explosions" and "Under a Crimson Sun" books, Springer 2013; "Supersized Stellar Mystery", Popular Astronomy, January 2014; "The Complex Life of Star Clusters", Springer, May 2015; and "Stellar Mergers" in production with Astronomy magazine, [due July 2016;] "The Exo-weather Report", Springer, is due in Summer 2016.

Examines the most recent and exciting discoveries about what happens at the end of the stellar evolution of a massive star

Includes controversial topics like the calcium-rich supernovae recently discovered by the Katzman Automatic Imaging Telescope (KAIT)

Discusses types of highly energetic and enigmatic supernovae in simple terms

Includes supplementary material: [...]

The Evolution of Massive Stars.- The Top of the Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram.- Collapsars, Hypernovae, and Long Gamma Ray Bursts.- Quiet supernovae, and Death by Fall-Back.- Luminous Blue Variables and Supernova 'Imposters'.- Death by Magnetar.- Pulsational Pair Instability and Pair Instability Supernovae.- Luminous Blue Flashes.- Population III Stars.- The Impact of Nuclear Reactions of Massive Stars on the Present Day Universe.- Red Novae and the Enigma of V838 Monocerotis.