Customer Reviews

Calibrating the Cosmos: How Cosmology Explains Our Big Bang Universe (Astronomers' Universe)

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Frank Levin's new book on Cosmology is a wonderful introduction to the subject for anyone who has read the words "black hole", "inflation", "Big Bang", "omega zero" and wants to know what they are about and how they connect to each other. I am an experimental physicist doing 25% of my work in nuclear astrophysics, i.e. laboratory measurements on what happens inside stars. At conferences, I would hear talks using these words, but only had a vague idea what some of them meant. Dr. Levin's book gave me a coherent explanation of what they mean, using simple models and pictures, and how they could be used to understand the current picture that cosmologists have about the history of your universe. He explains how many of the results are arrived at, in terms that any person, with or without a scientific background, can understand. And he tells what is still not understood. Levin has a great talent for making a complex subject understandable for the average, interested layperson. He uses simple words and pictures, and no equations. I recommend the book highly to all who are interested in modern science, but are not scientists. And even the scientists can learn a lot from his book if cosmology is not their specialty.

I am a biology professor, but I've always been interested in astronomy -- I was just too math-incompetent to be an effective astronomer. How do they figure out the distances to stars? Why does the big-bang theory provide the most consistent (if not universally accepted) explanation for what we see? If these are the sorts of questions you want the answers to but either got nothing from science TV programs or were intimidated by the math, this is for you. For the first time (thanks for nothing, former physics profs!) I finally understand on a half-way intelligent level why astronomers and cosmologists conceive of the universe as they do. This book ended some of my frustrations with my astronomical ignorance ... now I just need someone to point me towards a book that can explain to me how relativity can effect biological organisms and not just clocks. =)

I like to read about cosmology, and want to know more than easy layman stuff but not super mathematical either. I want there to be enough math to give it context though, without making me think too hard. This book will make you think some, but the understanding it gives you in return is phenomenal!!! I highly recommend this book to anyone serious about knowing what humanity currently understands about the universe. It won't make you think about who's trying to BS who with their latest theory on string-branes or multi-universes. This is what is currently accepted as true, and delivered in a context that can be comprehended, with some effort, by the lay person. Want to feed your need for existential validation? This is the physical world's answer!!!!