Customer Reviews

The Big Bang to Now: A Time Line

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This exciting version of the whole of time divides time into about 100 eras and gives a one page, wrily factual account of each.

The opposite page of each section, has a thought-provoking commentary on the era.

It is an inviting, easy read suitable for anyone from early teens to ancient.

But, no, it is not trivial. The brief summaries of each era are soundly based on the up-to-date knowledge of 2006- with a clear reminder that science is what we know now and will surely change as time goes by. That is a good lesson for anyone to learn, and this book is an easy way to learn it.

A compulsive book for the dipper-in, there are plenty of pointers to further reading on any age that grabs.

This little book will delight, educate but above all amaze those readers who are fortunate enough to find it. I was attracted by its beautiful cover, its paperback format and attractive size, but even as I picked it up I felt my fear of "science..." - I was totally unprepared for the excitement, the mental and spiritual stimulation the book provides. The holistic, individual-page presentation leads past fear and soon I was completely absorbed, savoring the quality of the writing itself, and fascinated by the story of "all of time."

The book is a page-turner that can be read at a sitting, as a seamless whole - or that can be put down when the baby cries or the telephone rings and perhaps not picked up again for days. Nothing will be lost. There is no sense of disconnection, nor any need to keep in mind all that went before as a prerequisite for understanding. The premise of the book is that there is no disconnection--that our amazing truth is that we are all connected, bit by physical bit, moment by preceding moment, to each other and to the source of all, whatever it is. And the author emphasizes that scientific exploration is not in conflict with religious belief; that there are "both scientists and non-scientists who believe in God, and equally those who don't" (p. 11).

I would recommend that this book be put into the hands of as many high-school-age people as you know, to inspire them to take up the study of science without fear of its being "too hard" - to let them know that, instead, it is a fascinating journey, and one that interweaves with all the other ways in which we seek to enjoy and understand our world, e.g. history / literature / art / environmental and global studies. It would make a great gift for friends of all ages as well. I have enjoyed it immensely, and will keep it near at hand in my reading space, to pick up at any time - on any page - to further my own education. I wish this little book great good fortune as it circulates through time!

I am familiar with almost all the events described in The Big Bang to Now, but I still found it compulsive reading. The author succeeded in weaving the major events of time into a coherent whole that the reader can comprehend. The bookis not overwhelming in detail or scientific jargon or discourse about the latest findings, which might be why I understood more about how our universe is unfolding than before I read it.

Since discovering this book, my list for birthday, graduation, and Christmas gifts has been greatly simplified. I am giving it to anyone old enough to care about our planet or who wonders where we fit into the Great Scheme of things. I can even give it to someone who already has everything. They won't have anything like this yet.

Robert Bellarmine

The author has the voice of a storyteller. The book is an invitation, in an accessible style and format, to further reading and reflection. Each one-page narrative is supported by a page of provocative and imaginative details; for example, the narrative page on "Stone Tools-2.5 million years ago" is complemented by comments on the the nature of the primitive, the need for forethought and the development of the neocortex.

This book combines solid science, a critical view of history, elegant writing and nice humor.

Thank you for allowing me to review "The Big Bang Until Now".

I have read the book with enthusiasm and interest.

As a psychoanalytic physician who works with children and young people, I have always been intrigued by "how did this all happen."

This book doesn't explain "how" or "why", but it does explain "what" happened.

This book tells children and young people "where" and "when" in a very readable and educational way.

There are so many things not known which "The Big Bang Until Now" organizes.

Because it is easy and understandable, certainly young people as well as their parents, would be enhanced.

I would encourage any good school to become better by providing this text to students who may want to know more.

Congratulations on this work.

James P. Slovak, M.D.

I recommend Terry Sissons' The Big Bang To Now: A Time Line as both an interesting read and a handy reference guide. When I first received a copy, I opened it randomly and learned that dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago; homo sapiens' migration from Africa took only 10,000 years to reach China and Australia; and Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901. I settled down for an easy, informative read that gave a straightforward perspective on the basic cosmic and historic events of the last 13 billion years.

Though that first read would have been plenty to rationalize the cost of The Big Bang to Now, I continue to find it a valuable reference. My college bound daughter has absconded with my first copy because she wants it at school to answer a multitude of questions that come up from friendly discussions to writing papers. I have obtained copies for both home and the office because it is so easily helpful in answering "When was that?" whether the query is about astronomy, anthropology, science, or western civilization. I have a friend who carries a pocket atlas in her handbag. Now that I have a copy of The Big Bang to Now with me, an understanding of the world we live in and how we got here is always at our fingertips.

I have now read this book twice - small paperback, easily tucked in to one's bag with print that is easy on old eyes. Reminds me somewhat of Karl Rahner's "Prayers for Meditation" `62 and might be a rich jumping off point for self-centering. I read it first from the perspective of a person who believes in God and the second time as someone who believes that there is no God... I found the latter approach more terrifying. If God is not our parachute... She states that "whether you think our past can help us make better decisions for our future, or want to decide if the discoveries of science reflect a creative design that deepens or contradicts religious belief, it's a book that reveals a sometimes beautiful, sometimes brutal, always amazing universe."

The book often brings one up short "Earth may be unique in the Universe. If there are other planets where we could survive, they are thousands of light years away, we haven't found them yet, and if they exist, we won't have the means of reaching them for a considerable time. IF we do manage the trip and somebody is there before us, we might not be welcome. So if we want to survive, we had better take care of our Earth. Living somewhere else that doesn't depend on support from Earth isn't going to be possible any time soon." (page 29). She ends by saying that "In about 4 billion years, our sun will run out of energy. Earth, our solar system, and some day our galaxy will burn out. Ultimately, even the entire Universe may end. Bleak as this may sound, neither science nor religion assume this is the end of the story. We live in mystery." (pg 211)

This treatise on time, on life, on relationships, on personal responsibility is thought-provoking, inspiring, and humbling. I found myself oscillating between determination and despair, and between anxiety and inspiration as to my role (infinitely small and seemingly inconsequential) for the survival of our universe. But it is profoundly important for my own life, my own development, my own sense of peace.

What a wonderfully exciting book! It was clever of the author to see there was a gap in the market for something like this.

I really cannot find anything about it which doesn't thrill me, but what I like particularly is the concept and layout. Unlike so many academics at the top of their subject, the author identifies with those who find the Big Bang or all of time difficult subjects, and shows the reader that it is possible for ordinary inquiring minds to understand much of what science tells us about our past. I've so often felt a fool trying to sort out our ice ages from our tropical forest days. With this book, ice ages, mass extinctions, meteor strikes, dinosaurs, humans, and life as we know it today fall into place.

At the same time, the author does not shy away from pointing out questions where scientists disagree or have no answers.

I have discarded my other reading for the time being so that I can dive into this little gem of a book. It is short and clear, and I am sure I will return to it as a reference many times in the future.

The Big Bang to Now: A Time Line is a penetrating but easy-to-understand overview of the current scientific history of the universe. Reading it along with more detailed books like Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything or Dawkins' The Ancestors Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life makes both books more rewarding.

But there is one question I have heard asked more often than any other. It is whether it is possible to live a life committed to religious values and at the same time to accept most of what science says today about the world. For anyone asking this question, I cannot recommend a better book to read alongside The Big Bang to Now than Edward O. Wilson's The Creation: An Appeal to Save Life on Earth. It demonstrates that it is possible to embrace a scientific world view and be at the same time a deeply religious and committed believer. In fact, science can deepen one's awe of the world God has created, and make our guardianship of it more effective and caring.

Sissons' The Big Bang to Now and Wilson's The Creation each deserve five stars for what they tell us about the world and our place in it. Put together, they deserve six.

THE BIG BANG TO NOW: A TIME LINE

By Terry Herman Sissons

Is pithy a too quotidian a descriptive for the way that Terry Herman Sissons has constructed her narrative of the history of not just the earth but the universe? Perhaps, but it is apt. In a short, 228 page book Dr. Sissons has telescoped the story of the important eras of the history of the world. First, is the time before the `Big Bang,' that event of 13.7 billion years ago, followed by the galaxies and stars, the planets, the onset of life, and at nearly half the book's length begins the history of man. This is done by a clever strategy. The left hand page has a crisp description of the event (e.g., the beginning of stars.) But, nicely on the right hand page is a more nuanced and fuller description.

One of the pleasanter aspects is that Dr. Sissons recognizes that much of the story of how the earth, life, and man developed is not known for certain but is speculative. By being candid her story is the more believable. We don't know what came before the `Big Bang.' We do not know what will be the final disposition of the earth. And, there is no conflict between religion and science in her story. Religion has its authority and science speaks from its knowledge. They are not in competition.

What are the major events detailed in Dr. Sisson's book? The `Big Bang', of course, is the start and the development of stars and planets. But, also are the beginning of life and the manufacture of atmospheric oxygen by primitive life forms which became the means of their self-destruction; the coming of larger life forms - dinosaurs, their extinction; the development of higher forms of life - mammals; and, finally man. The `great extinctions' of the early microbes and dinosaurs are noted by again candidly acknowledging that their true causes is not known but can only be surmised, whether by meteors from outer space, or massive epidemics, or other factors.

The history of man, Neanderthal, Cro-Magnon and finally us, Homo sapiens, are discussed. The development of abstract thought, farming, tool-making, cities, nationhood, the Renaissance and modern life are delineated.

This book is a delight to read. Science and especially its sub-field, geology, are forever in a state of flux. New hypotheses and concepts come up inevitably. Sometimes, as with plate tectonics theory, come up more than once but understanding depends on knowing the past. Dr. Sissons's well written book offers a succinct means of providing this background.

Tom Stuart

August 2006