Customer Reviews

Bang!

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It has taken 13.7 billion years, but the Universe has finally produced a coffee-table quality book to commemorate the Big Bang and its consequences. _Bang! The Complete History of the Universe_ (Carlton Books) by Brian May, Patrick Moore, and Chris Lintott is not massive, as coffee-table books go, but its big format is perfect for the dramatic sorts of pictures that the Hubble Space Telescope or the larger Earth-bound telescopes can give us. It isn't just pictures, however. The text does an exemplary job of covering a huge amount of information. Necessarily, in 190 pages laid over with photos, details are skipped; on one page are both the disaster of the Permian Extinction 250 million years ago and the Cretaceous Extinction (wiping out the dinosaurs) 65 million years ago. There is the most detail in the earliest pages of the book, dealing with the events before around 700 million years ago, when there started to be discrete objects like galaxies that we could have actually seen, had we been there at that time. (In a sense, we do see them at that time, as the Hubble's lovely deep field images can show.) This is also the part of the book that makes the least sense to those of us who are stuck in a Newtonian world. There are books with fuller explanations of the strangeness of the Universe immediately after the Big Bang, but none quite so much fun.

For fun is obviously part of the trip the three authors have taken, and it starts right on the cover, which above the book's title shows a huge, glowing, fragmented fireball, obviously the Big Bang in progress. "Our cover artwork is for fun only. There is no suggestion that any part of the Big Bang ever looked like this." Not only that, but it could never have been seen at such a distance, because there was no such distance; space did not exist except within that Bang. There are still gaps in our understanding of the Big Bang and how it produced all we are and all we see. "We must remember that it is impossible to prove a theory, and all one can hope to do is ensure it is consistent with all the available evidence." The evidence isn't all in, and they remind us, "...we would be amazed if in a few years time our book would not need to be substantially re-written." Given all the confirmatory data, it is hard to imagine that the big picture given here would be in error in any large way. After the main text of the book, there are a useful glossary, capsule biographies of the modern astronomers and cosmologists who have added to our understanding of the Big Bang, and a basic primer on practical astronomy that includes good directions about the topic "How to become an astronomer". This is upbeat, compared to the final chapter which has to do with the end of the Universe.

Much has been made in the British press about the personalities who produced the book, although _Bang!_ would easily stand on its own without famous authors. The least known is Chris Lintott, a working astrophysicist who assists Sir Patrick Moore in presenting a famous monthly BBC show _The Sky at Night_, which is now the longest-running science program in the world. Moore himself, because of his show and his hundreds of fiction and nonfiction books, is possibly the world's best known astronomer. The surprise author, for those who do star-gazing of the celebrity rather than astronomical type, is Brian May, who as a kid was inspired by one of Moore's books to take up astronomy. He was a founding member of the famous rock group Queen and a guitarist of some note. May was doing his PhD studies in interplanetary dust when Queen took off (he wrote such songs as "We Will Rock You"). He is currently updating and completing his thesis in between musical activities, although he does already have an honorary degree of Doctor of Science. If a little celebrity power gets people interested in the book, and interested in the huge amount of scientific thinking it reflects, I think it makes up for the additions to our culture made by, say, Britney Spears. _Bang!_ is a wonderful summary for adults and would be a terrific book for any reading young person.

I have to come clean, I was interested in this book because of Brian May's role in the authorship. I am also a musician that prides himself on having outside interests, so seeing what he has accomplished is inspiring. The book itself is an interesting look into the History of Time. Science isn't the main function of this book, not to say that it isn't accurate. It doesn't read like a textbook, explanations are thought provoking, yet easier for the non-PhD to comprehend. I can recommend this to anyone who has spent time watching Discovery Channel and wished for something more, something you could poor over for a moment.

Very comprehencive. Lots of great pictures and information. This book is geared to an adult mind. If you are looking for something to explain things to a younger mind you should keep looking. I, however, found it wonderful. (age 63)

I heard a Brian May NPR interview shortly after this book was published and was fascinated by his passion for both rock music and astrophysics - quite a combination. I'd known that May studied the subject before Queen hit the big time but hadn't heard him speak about it before so this book, and his Doctorate degree came as quite a surprise.

I was a bit skeptical about "Bang!! The Complete History of the Universe" but intrigued as well, especially when I saw the two co-authors, Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott, and I must say that the book did not let me down. "Bang!" is a quite comprehensive, but very approachable primer on the latest 'birth of the universe' theories. Written in a highly engaging, but not simplistic, style and beautifully illustrated, it is an outstanding introduction to astrophysics for the novice and a great review of current theories for the more knowledgeable.

The fact that Dr. May's name on the cover may bring readers that would not normally pick up a book like this is just icing on the cake.

Kudos to all involved!

Sir Patrick Moore (an amateur astronomer and music composer) and his two colleagues Brian May (astronomer/guitarist/songwriter from Queen) and Chris Lintott (astrophysicist) combined forces to produce an excellent book on the history of the universe!

From the cool 3-D cover concept (designed by May) to the theory of the big rip about the end of the universe, the book contains detailed information about many different topics such as the sun, neutrinos, the discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) that gave the big bang theory a boost, Sir Isaac Newton's prism experiment to split white light into its component colors, supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, the emergence of life, and not yet fully understood topics such as the mysterious dark matter and dark energy.
The book also features stunning color pictures by the Hubble Space Telescope, some made by the authors themselves, a glossary, and 'practical astronomy' section designed to help you make the best of your sky observations.

If you have an astronomy interest, then try this great book and learn about the leading theories about the universe's formation and how it may end!
Thanks for taking the time to read!
Later...

I expected to receive the first edition (as advertised) - more valuable as a collector item. Anyway - it is very well written and a truly enjoyable reading. In just a couple of days I changed my mind about my very own existence (and of the Universe), and ultimately it will be present in every key aspects of my life, just as I expected, and just as any well written Queen song I recall. It's an intriguing poetry-science book - pretencious in title, but absolutetly acessible to ordinary people.

Gene Simmons, a college graduate, has a degree in English; Paul Stanley graduated from New York's (FAME) High School of the Performing Arts--and was born without hearing in one year; Tom Scholz ("Boston") has a Master's Degree from MIT (Engineering), and Brian May (Queen), has co-authored a VERY readable, heavily illustrated interpretation of the history of our universe (with well-known astronomer Patrick Moore). My point: If you have children who sit around at home, listening to their iPod's, and think, for ONE minute, they have what it takes to succeed in this world being rock-stars, they're wrong. It takes intelligence, integrity, and an EDUCATION to succeed. None of the rock-stars mentioned above (and several others I could easily name) have succeeded in life, or business, without an education. Gene Simmons speaks four languages, fluently, Paul is TONE deaf in one year, and Brian May has a Ph.D. thesis in astro-physics. The next time your child says to you, "I want to quit school and play guitar," show him/her this book. Enough said. Excellent reading 5/5 stars--and it supports the notion that extreme intelligence can co-exist with rock music.

A while back, I read a short interview with Brian May; he described in understandable and interesting terms his long-delayed (for understandable reasons given his tenure in Queen) dissertation on interstellar dust. Impressed, I made a note to find this forthcoming astronomy text. On pg. 118, we learn that a book by Patrick Moore, "The Earth," in Brian May's school library introduced him to trilobites, "and inspired him to a life-long passion for astronomy." My sons found this book and started to borrow it themselves-- a compliment to the example set by Moore and continued by his colleagues. Compiled by May with BBC presenters Sir Patrick Moore and Chris Lintott, it's a handsome volume with plenty of helpful illustrations and color photographs. Those enchanted by the images from the Hubble Space Telescope may find many more within this wide-ranging yet compact overview.

Tucked down on the copyright page is a note on the lenticular explosion on the cover. It tries not to replicate the Big Bang, but allows us to imagine it if we could somehow step outside of our universe! The editors remind us, in the encouraging tone that permeates their first-person plural prose: "However, we really have an even more privileged position-- we are all actually inside of the mother of all explosions, and the further we peer into space, the more we realize that, all around us, everywhere we look, the Big Bang is what we see."

As someone with no background but a long-dormant childhood exposure to the basics of astronomy, I found parts of this challenging, as to be expected. Dark matter, dark energy, particle physics, and what happened in the earliest moments after the Big Bang likewise present difficulties for those who've studied these matters for decades. Not to mention the anthropic principle, easier though that conjecture may be to summarize. The editors strive, nonetheless, to tell us what scientists know and what they conjecture in clear, conversational, and careful language.

The organization follows a timescale. "Grey areas" give sidebars on anecdotes and digressions; the main text takes you from as far back as we can guesstimate to light, evolution of the universe, stars and planets, life's emergence, and what the future holds, and the end. "We are drifting slowly but inexorably into the long twilight of the universe." (147)

It's a sobering look at the way we came to be, and humbling in its scope. Facing what appears to be the "Cosmological Constant," a Big Rip possible long after the Big Bang, our boastful humanity's dwarfed indeed by this "accelerating descent into darkness." Radiation continues even after time's annihilation.(150) For now, we learn what we can: "A Universe that ends in any of these ways seems pointless, and there well may be a vital factor that we are missing." (154) They conclude in their epilogue that they've tried to explain "how" things have happened, but never "why." "If we spent a lifetime trying to understand completely how a single daffodil is made, we would be no nearer to understanding why such beauty is shown to us; nevertheless, we can have endless fun satisfying our curiosity in both areas. We wish you endless fun." (157) So they conclude their text!

Their narrative may alter even in the next decade, all the more astonishingly, given the rapid pace of discoveries. Even the 2008 copy I have published by Johns Hopkins UP is a second edition, two years after the first with added material. The up-to-date, solid, and speculative blend of excitement, hesitation, and wonder typifies the thoughtful, understandably almost awed tone of much of the material that stretches any reader's mind while pondering the contents here. A series of biographies of famous astronomers, a glossary, a timeline, and a section on "Practical Astronomy" by Moore conclude this short but comprehensive book which manages to live up to its ambitious title.

This book is a perfect introduction to the science of cosmology for those with little or no knowledge or education on the subject. It explains the origins and evolution of the universe in a well written simplified but comprehensible manner and introduces complex theories such as inflation and even general relativity. The authors also successfully describe some of the relationships between cosmology and quantum/atomic physics, again in a manner comprehensible to the person with no science education beyond high school. In fact even though I took a college level cosmology class years ago I found the book very interesting and useful in that it informed me of the latest theories and discoveries over the past years which I was not fully aware of. The illustrations and photographs are wonderful in themselves plus they add to one's understanding of the concepts discussed and described by the authors. Highly recommended for all ages and for all levels of education in this topic.

The Universe has exploded, and has been expanding and expanding for nearly fourteen billion years. "Bang!: The Complete History of the Universe" is the tale of this explosion that is completely responsible for the book itself- and everything around it that humanity holds dear. It even looks into the future, where everything will be engulfed by a Red Giant Sun billions of years from now, through time in this pull no punches look at the universe, its history, and everything about it. "Bang! The Complete History of the Universe" is highly recommended for community library astronomy collections and for anyone who wants a unbiased look at the universe itself.