Blind Watchers of the Sky: The People and Ideas That Shaped Our View of the Universe (Helix Books) [Hardcover]

Edward W. Kolb (Author), Rocky Kolb (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1996 | Series: Helix Books

In this immensely readable book, noted cosmologist Rocky Kolb reveals the very human struggles of astronomy superstars seeking cosmic truths while lost in the clouds of confusion. Punctuated by the author’s razor-sharp wit, this book provides anyone curious about science with a behind-the-scenes peek into the discovery process—it’s not exactly the scientific method you learned in school.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Theoretical astrophysicist Rocky Kolb presents a popular history of astronomy and scientific cosmology from Tycho Brahe to the second half of the 20th century. In a style touched with humor and honed through numerous lectures to audiences ranging from third graders to Ph.Ds, Kolb introduces the pantheon of cosmologists, while offering a wonderfully proportional rendering of science and biographical sketches.

From Library Journal

Writing with lively enthusiasm and frequent leavenings of humor, theoretical astrophysicist Kolb presents a popular history of astronomy and scientific cosmology from Tycho Brahe to the second half of the 20th century. At a few points in the discussion of earlier historical periods, his interpretation might cause the eyebrows of professional historians of science to raise just a little. However, he conveys the gist of important developments well enough to give general readers an accurate impression of the progress of astronomy in the last 400 years, and he is on firmer ground when he gets to the late 20th century. Recommended for most public and academic libraries.?Jack W. Weigel, Univ. of Michigan Lib., Ann Arbor
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 338 pages
• Publisher: Perseus Books (April 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201489929
• ISBN-13: 978-0201489927
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,658,735 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It's simple and entertaining, May 23, 2001

By 

Kalad Hovatter "Caesar Salad" (Orange) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blind Watchers Of The Sky: The People And Ideas That Shaped Our View Of The Universe (Helix Book) (Paperback)

Unlike the other reviewers here, I *had* to read this book. Why is that? Because I took Natural Sciences 101 at the University of Chicago, and it happened to be taught by the very same Rocky Kolb. I must say, I was a little leery about reading a book written by the prof, I mean, how self serving is that? But let me tell you, this book captivated me more than any other that quarter. It's clear and concise, but most importantly, its humor keeps you wanting to read more. He writes just like he teaches. That's his voice speaking from the pages, and he's speaking something he knows a lot about. If you want to get the basics of the history of cosmology and get in on the ground floor of a few of the more complicated cosmologiacl principals, all in an entertaining read, this book is for you.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars O coecos coeli spectatores, January 7, 2000

By 

Frank Christiny (Houston, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Blind Watchers Of The Sky: The People And Ideas That Shaped Our View Of The Universe (Helix Book) (Paperback)

When I first picked up this book at my local library, little did I know it would become my obsession and my friend for the next week or so. The more I read, the more enchanted I became with its well-wrought out stories, its amusing, sometimes touching, anecdotical commentaries; and, the sheer joy it evinces throughout on relating this particular epic of the scientific quest for knowledge and discovery.

I specially enjoyed the insights into the tribulations and serendipitous breakthroughs every great astronomer, every great blind watcher of the sky included in Kolb's book, had to confront and interpret for our greater understanding of the universe. Unlike other books that dismiss mathematical details altogether for fear of alienating prospective readers, Kolb does the next best thing: it includes it all at the end!

After I read the library's copy through and through, I went out and bought my own copy--which I am annotating this time. It is a book I am sure I will be referring to in the years to come. I look forward to reading Rocky Kolb's next book. (I hope he is writing one!) We can all benefit from this type of clear and inspirational scientific popularization.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kolb provides an interesting, and eclectic,look at cosmology, June 24, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Blind Watchers of the Sky: The People and Ideas That Shaped Our View of the Universe (Helix Books) (Hardcover)

Many students of astronomy/cosmology/astrophysics are rarely shown the interesting, chaotic blind luck experiments that have come before them. This book is an incredibly well-written, humorous recounting of the great minds that have shaped, essentially, our universe, through hard work and experimental luck. From the loquacious "astronomer-king" Brahe, to such equally profound minds as Einstein and Edwin Hubble, the stories of experiments and old-fashioned, "mind work" provide all an opportunity to look at these great men in an entirely different ( and sometimes, unflattering) light. And for those already experienced in the heavy physics and mathematics used to derive cosmological equations, this book provides the humanistic side to the "bland scientist" critique leveled at these founding fathers.

All told, this is a wonderful book that will delight readers at all levels of astr/physics proficiency