Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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43 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Cosmos: Astronomy in the New Millennium, November 25, 2002
This is a five-star book! Designed as a textbook for basic astronomy courses, it also serves as a stand-alone book for the average person who wants seriously to find out more about the universe. The content is clear and easy to follow, moving from the earth through the solar system, stars, galaxies, black holes, quasars, and finally issues of cosmology. Pages are well laid-out for easy reading, and enhanced with beautiful four-color photos and diagrams. Each chapter concludes with a concept review and questions for reflection. Help in learning terminology is provided by boldfaced vocabulary throughout the book and a glossary at the end.
Special features that are set apart in the text, either on separate pages or in boxes, include interviews with people in astronomy (excellent diversity of persons), exercises in calculation, expanded "closer looks" at topics, biographies of scientific figures, and exercises in finding things in the sky.
Web-enhanced features for students that go with the book include www sites for more information using the Internet, web-links, chapter maps, quizzes, and even a source on popular misconceptions. Instructors' ancillary materials include photo resource catalog, overhead transparencies/slides, and a computerized test bank.
You don't have to be a scientist to read this book! Anyone can learn a great deal about the universe from these 395 pages. Pasachoff and Filippenko have produced a winner. Enjoy!
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Astronomy Text, February 24, 2006
This is a great introductory Astronomy text. It is easy to understand and learn the material presented. There are magnificent photos and easy to understand illustrations for those who are visual learners. I recommend it to anyone wanting to just have an understanding of the subject, whether in an educatinal setting or just wanting to learn it on their own.
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29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great - Simply Great, May 15, 2006
As I look at a beautiful new astronomy book like this one, I am reminded of Galileo who was sentenced to be shown the implements of torture and then confined under house arrest for the remainder of his life for publishing that the sun went around the earth rather than the other way around. Galileo's first telescope was probably about eight power, about standard these days for binoculars.
Today with the advanced state of even inexpensive commercial telescopes, CCDs and advanced software which can be processed quite easily on the very powerful home computers fo today, the home astronomer is up to about where the pros were a dozen or so years ago.
If you are a student using this book as a text, you are lucky.
If you are just interested in astronomy, this is a highly recommended book. It's writing quality, and the quality of its printed pictures is supurb. It's up to date with as good a discussion on recent findings such as the accelerating expansion of the Universe (one of the authors AF, was on one of the teams that discovered this), dark energy, dark matter, and of course the eleven dimensions that make up superstring theory as you will find in any book. They even make these subjects clear without having to go into deep mathematics. (Then again, going into deep mathematics may well not make these subjects more understandable at all.)
Now updated in its third edition this book accurately reflects the current state of astronomy. It would make a great present to an amateur astronomer.
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