Customer Reviews

The Sky at Einstein's Feet (Springer Praxis Books / Popular Astronomy)

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A grand book illuminating our understanding of the cosmos, and the amazing techniques used in an array of astronomical observations. Over 100 topics are addressed in a concise and clear style that managed to hold my attention and not leave me hanging, even for the more difficult subjects. Many images are incorporated to help in his subject presentation, and some are used to help build on the wonderful historical perspective inherent in astronomy.

Keel also adds warmth to his book by often giving short and personal stories of some specific men and women dedicated to astronomy and physics, as well as, on occasion, share some of his own personal and interesting experiences. As an amateur, I was not overwhelmed with any complicated presentations thanks to his careful explanations of even the tough, thought provoking topics. I definitely recommend this book to any who are hungry to go a little deeper in getting to know how astronomers have been able to ascertain so many new truths about our universe that once stood before Einstein, and now stands before you and me

The best aspect of this book is how it explains to an educated reader, who is not an astronomer or physicist, the latest results that confirm Einstein's theories. It is still not a light breezy read. While non-mathematical, you do still need to pay attention to the various concepts as Keel explains them.

Some of the observations are very elegant, like gravitational microlensing. And the analysis of the vast data accumulated from IRAS, Hubble and Chandra. What is impressive is how lensing is now no longer used as a test of General Relativity, but as an extremely powerful "telescope" in its own right.