Features
- Cover Type: Paperback with 304 pages
- Published by: Basic Books September 22, 1998
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0738200336
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0738200330
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Book Dimensions:
9 x 5.8 x 0.7 inches
- Weighs: 13.6 ounces
Product Review
"Although we cannot observe them (and they may be forever inaccessible), other universes are a natural expectation from current cosmology. Moreover, many features of our universe that otherwise seem baffling fall into place once we recognize this." Sir Martin Rees, the British Astronomer Royal, gives a vivid, occasionally acid tour of current
astrophysics and cosmology, with insights into scientific politics, such as the enormous increase in the cost of the space telescope because of its association with the Space Shuttle. He also offers keen observations on personalities such as Subrahmayan Chandrasekhar and Isaac Newton, Yakov Zeldovich and Albert Einstein.
Joseph Silk calls
Before the Beginning "an unusual blend of wit, asperity and cosmology a combination of clarity and conciseness."
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Sophisticated instruments and spacecraft expeditions probing deeper into space have all increased our knowlege of the universe and its place in the grand scheme of things. From the theoretical insights to experimental confirmations, this book describes the universe and our quest to understand it. Rees, the well-known cosmologist and director of Cambridge University's Institute of Astronomy, outlines the historic context and explains discoveries and ideas (both his own and those of his colleagues) with clarity and in an engaging style. He successfully avoids jargon and formulas, but numbers, being too important to leave out, are mentioned in the order of magnitude rather than values. What makes this book unique is the radical theory that Rees puts forth. He asserts that there is an infinity of universes, besides our own, that were and are being created. None but our own is observable because of the hostility of the other universes' environment to intelligent life. Rees argues his case eloquently and without invoking theological issues. Essential for academic libraries.?Jayashri Nagaraja, Engineering Lib., Princeton Univ., N.J.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Reader ReviewsI read dozens of books a year, usually more than 50, and among them I try to read several books on cosmology or physics. So I was pretty familiar with the material in this book even before I read it. The reason I read it anyway was because Rees discusses some of my favorite speculations: Andrei Linde's inflationary multiverse theory and Lee Smolin's theory of fecund universes. I am in no position to evaluate those theories, but I just have an old-fashioned hunch that Linde's theory must be true, while Smolin's is merely possible. But I like them both, and I hope they're both true. So I read whatever I can on them. What I got out of it that I didn't expect was a deeper respect for Chandrasekhar and Hoyle. Otherwise, I got what I wanted. Now, if you don't read about cosmology or physics much, I honestly wouldn't recommend this book. John Barrow is on the cover saying it'd be a good first book, but I firmly disagree. Ahead of it, I'd recommend Ferris' "The Whole Shebang," which, until something better is written, is the best cosmology book available: the best thing since Sagan's "Cosmos," in fact. Don't ask me why it isn't more widely appreciated. It has a wider scope than this book, it goes into greater depth on every point (so it's longer), it's better-written, and its explanations are clearer. Rees' book is a little hard to get into because some of his writing is simply wooden, and he often doesn't trouble himself to explain things very carefully, however. BUT - it's not that bad really; it just compares unfavorably to Ferris' book, which I strongly urge you to read before this one. Or just hang on awhile; within a few years something better has got to come out because neither of these books, nor any book that I know of, provides a good introduction to cosmology that includes recent work on the large-scale structure of the universe and the recent, cosmos-shaking discovery that the expansion of the universe is accelerating. Here's a major gap in the pop-sci literature, and it's bound to be filled soon. If you want to read something by Rees, I suggest checking out "Our Final Hour," his more recent, and more provocative book.
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