Customer Reviews

Discovering the Universe

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Discovering the Universe is an excellent presentation of fundamental astronomy facts and principles. A major book for amateur astronomers.

William Kaufmann III writes in a clear and concise style, making complex data and theories understandable to the layperson. No sophisticated math or physics backgrounds are required. Yet, he treats complex topics, such as Stellar Evolution, the Origin of the Solar System, etc. in a comprehensive manner. This book will serve as a lasting reference book for your library.

A CD-ROM is included which contains the entire text of the book.

This beautiful, full-color, highly-informative textbook has been great for my Astronomy class. Completely up-to-date (well, with the exception of the possible two new planets, one of which has been confirmed only recently and definitely since the text's Spring 2005 publication), it teaches astronomy equally well to the physics major and the humanities student (such as myslef) who is taking the class for a science credit. The authors present the information in a fun way and introduce terms simply for the student. Supplemental material includes an excellent computer program, Starry Night, as well as web resources for reviewing the text material for tests. I highly recommend this text! (And so, of course, does my Astronomy teacher)

This is an excellent textbook! I bought this book for an intro astronomy class and loved it.. In fact I reread the textbook more indepthly after the course and have recommended this book to others.. these ratings are for the quality of the material not the condition of the particular book that the buyer purchased.. that will be conditional and ever changing... and thusly irrelevant..
Anyhow... terrific book, especially as an overview for an individual new to astronomy... Many topics are covered in a not too technical manner... Good addition to the library...

I had to buy this book for my astronomy class this summer and my student bookstore was selling it for a MERE $80. Please stand by while I weep tears of BLOOD because I'm poor.

My boyfriend suggested checking the internet and it was Amazon to the rescue. I was able to get it for super cheap and above that, it's really an excellent book. It's colorful, INFORMATIVE!!, and kept me interested.

I'd really suggest this to anyone either taking an astronomy class or someone who's just interested in space in general. This is an excellent resource: it has lists of dates for upcoming meteor showers (for years to come), explanations for everything you could ever dream of or ask (including time travel and possibilities therein), and glossy, beautiful pictures and diagrams (easy to follow and understand)

As an amateur astronomer of 40 years I bought this used book as a backup book for my observatory for our astronomy club members and my family to use. William J. Kaufmann and Neil F. Comins wrote a very good book. Easy to read and lots of great questions for the astronomy student to tackle. William has a good style that reads well, not super advanced technical that would be very good for a senior high school student or freshman college course.Some math and formulas but not too difficult.

Lots of great pictures. The book keeps your interest and makes you want to read more as you learn each topic.I liked the astronomers toolbox where specific astronomy tools and formulas to compute various equations. Also in the back is a great appendix listing data on the planets and their satellites as well as the nearest and visually brightest stars....a great quick reference.

Some of the various topics discussed ( There are more) are Discovering astronomy, Discovering the night sky, Earthly cycles, Eclipses, Gravitation, Origins of the Sun centered universe,Kepler's and Newton's Laws ( done very well and important!),Light and telescopes,Optics and telescopes, Radio Astronomy, Spectra, Atoms,The Solar System,The evolution of stars and their life cycles, galaxies, quasars, The expanding universe vs. the steady state. This is only a partial selection. The authors wrote much more and covered all the important bases. A great read for the average layman without getting too technical. As I said great for a senior high school student or college student taking astronomy 101.

I checked out the supplied free Starry Nights Discovering The Universe Software 5.0 software. It loaded well on my MS Vista laptop. However I was not impressed with it. Not able to get full screen Messier objects, galaxies, clusters and planets all at one time. I know this is the freebie software and you can get the upgrade Starry Night Pro for $59 on line. I like my Sky 6 Bisque planetarium software much better.

The newer edition is probably better with updates and more info on newer found exoplanets. This older edition at low cost is fine as a backup reference book and a book for students to answer both regular and more advanced astronomy questions. Would of given 5 stars but the free software was just so so...maybe 3 stars tops. Together the package 4 stars. Try to get the later edition at low cost. If not able to, this older edition is fine as much of the material is still good and will not change. Maybe more information needed on new exoplanets. A good backup observatory book and study guide. 4 stars and recommended.

I think that the book is great, however, if you are getting this book for as an astronomy textbook for a College course you should be aware that the 7th edition (this is the 6th, is already out) seems to be required these days for class. Some instructors might let you use the 6th edition (it is MUCH cheaper, so it wouldn't hurt to check,) but I recommend that you make sure that this is actually the book that you need. It comes with Astronomy Software on the CD that, alone, makes it worth the low price it is selling for anyway.

Well in-depth book on the universe and how it was created. Covers a lot of ground and full of information.

My girlfriend needed a textbook quickly. This was by far the cheapest new one we could find.

Thanks :)

The quality of this book was very poor. The front and back cover was ripped and bent. The pages were also ripped and there was quite a bit of highlighting and underlining in the book. I new it wasn't in the best condition when I ordered it but I didn't expect it to be this bad. I wouldn't recommend ordering from this person/company.

This book is a good source for astronomy information. However, like most textbooks, it's very pricey.