Wonders of the Universe [Hardcover]

 

 

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First of all let me express a few small gripes and get them out the way.

The production values of the book aren't that great, for example the photographs are often a bit uninteresting and the paper quality is dull - especially when compared with Dorling Kindersley volumes (and no I don't work for them, I just like the books they produce)

There isn't a lot of substance to the text. Of course this is a necessary "evil" as the point of the book is obviously to support the TV series so in no way can it be considered a definitive volume, more of an introductory one. It should certainly stimulate people to get into science more which has to be a good thing and there are many, many more in depth books that readers of this book may be stimulated to buy. I can only hope that this isn't one of those books that people are going to buy almost like a fashion accessory, but that people will actually READ the thing. I have to say that the text is very readable indeed, clear and interesting and in the knowledge that I am slightly contradicting myself the diagrams and some of the photos add greatly to the understanding.

Apparently there are some factual errors - I am not in a position to say one way or the other, but as this book is so obviously aimed at the layman then it has to be deemed a success, and at Amazon's price a relative steal (see what I did there?) .

Following on from the 'Wonders of the Solar System' I was really looking forward to this follow on book and TV series. I was not disappointed, finding myself reading the entire book over a weekend. If the TV series captures your imagination, and it is difficult for it not to, then the book provides greater detail and further explanations of what is presented on the small screen. This volume is written in four main sections and once again Brian Cox attempts to explain difficult concepts and ideas about our current understanding of the universe, the forces that have shaped it, and its evolution from the Big Bang to its ultimate fate. Again there are many wonderful colour illustrations from sources including the Hubble Space telescope and Earth based radiotelescopes etc. This volume includes expanations of the nature of matter, sub-atomic particles, light, gravity, necessary for an understanding of the exploration and structure of the universe. However, some of the concepts are more difficult to follow than in the 'Wonders of the Solar System', including for me the relationship between space-time and how this is affected by gravitational fields, but this is probably due to my ability to comprehend rather than the explanation itself! This is therefore a slightly more challenging volume than its predecessor. I would particularly single out the sections concerning the lifecycle of the stars, and creation of heavy elements by nuclear fusion and the fate of large stars becoming supernovas and finally neutron stars, together with the thoughts on the ultimate fate of the universe as being particular high spots for me. Although I'm sure there is a good reason for it, the first TV programme 'Destiny' dealing with the nature of entropy and the fate of the universe is actually the final chapter of the book.
However, although having high praise for the book as a whole, there are still some slightly niggling elements for me. In particular, the previous series tried to illustrate the geology and nature of the planets and satellites in our solar system with reference and analogy to what we see on Earth (eg. vulcanism, glaciation etc.). Although I felt some of these comparisons were a little tenuous in the first series, I was prepared to roll with it. I understand that this is part of the anecdotal style of the presenter and designed to promote accessibility and develop ideas, but in this book some of these Earthly comparisons and ilustrations seem beyond tenuous and begin to look more like an excuse for a bit of global travel eg. turtles on the beach, glacial carving and the decay of buildings in the Namibian desert.
The first Volume (Wonders of the Solar System) did contain a rather large number of errors, and I'm glad to report that I identified far fewer in this volume, although there were a few. In fact what is almost the first sentence on page 8 states the universe in 45 billion light years across, although the fly cover and description below states it is 93 billion light years. Here we go, I thought! However after this I noticed very few. Page 71 gives 10-36 seconds rather than correctly 10 to the power of minus 36 seconds. The diagrams p28 has a number of annotations that are not explained, and part of the diagram on p48 is so faint as to be almost unreadable. Also at one point Betelgeuse is described as the 9th brightest star in the galaxy, which should be qualified 'as seen from Earth' (ie. apparent magnitude rather than absolute magnitutde). However, I may be being a bit picky here, as the proof reading was obviously a considerable improvement upon the first volume. No doubt others will find and report those I have missed.
In addition, I would like to have had a little more detail about the search and current knowledge of exoplanets and thinking upon the likelihood of extra-terrestrial life. This is mentioned but I wanted more detail because it is such a current topic.
In summary, though, this is an excellent and generally well presented read which gives a pretty comprehensive overview of our current understanding of the universe with great illustrations.

I've got many a book on physics and space and the inerworkings of atoms and light; but this book just seems to pull all that together in one place with a fantasic path through the lot... Very easy to follow and with all the key points beautifully explained and crafted to make it interesting too; I'd rate this as pertty much the best book for the subject I have, so if your like me, average chap (or lady) ;-) that has a great interest and is fascinated by all things space, light, atoms and things that pop up from nothing then this really is a treat... as the title says; I'd rate it as brilliant...! you wont be dissapointed...
Dazza

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