The Exploding Suns: The Secrets of the Supernovas; Updated Edition [Paperback]

Isaac Asimov (Author), William A. Gutsch (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA In his 310th book, Asimov explains the secrets of the supernovas in his usual clear and concise manner. He gives the historical background of the different theories advanced by many astronomers and astrologers over the centuries. The "big bang" theory is discussed as the means of forming our universe. He goes into detail about the composition of the different types of novas, black holes, the makeup of the universe and much more. He relates past studies to those of the present and speculates on what science has yet to uncover in the years ahead. All unusual terms are defined carefully within the text. Asimov takes a complicated subject and puts it into an easily understood format for non-scientists. Pat Royal, Prince George's County Public Schoolu System, Md.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Plume; Rev Sub edition (August 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0452276608
• ISBN-13: 978-0452276604
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 5.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,177,103 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Overview of Stars + Brief Biology, May 8, 2006

By 

David Diez (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Exploding Suns: The Secrets of the Supernovas; Updated Edition (Paperback)

"The Exploding Suns" covers much history of human's study of the sky and much about stars and life in a surprisingly interesting manner. Descriptions are given about observations throughout history, especially of supernovas (which are what the text comes back to again and again -- hence the second portion of the title).

The question that seems to be the main motivation for this book is, how do we explain our present situation? However, that question is too broad, so Asimov answers many smaller questions to build the big picture. Where did all the elements come from? How did they form? How did life arise? How did life develop? (The last two are not explained as thoroughly as the first two.) These are just some of the questions that motivates the reader throughout the book.

Asimov leads the reader through many different types of stars and explains, quite clearly, how a star goes nova or supernova. Of course, if you are looking for the mathematics behind all of this science, this is not the text! Near the end of the text, Asimov also describes some basic biology and gives a "quick" explanation of how life has evolved. Regardless, it is great if you are just interested in the topic, which was my situation. Also, no prior background is assumed; this text is self-contained. Overall, I found the text lively and engaging, something that is not a given with this subject matter. 5 well earned stars.

"Updated Edition" (What's new?)
From what I could gather from my updated edition, the "only" update is an added chapter. This new chapter, written by Dr. William A. Gutsch Jr., is worth reading since it contains new developments through recently observed supernovas and describes some modifications to our theories of Type I supernovas (as described in earlier chapters of the book). This isn't saying the earlier chapters are worthless; they explain a lot and this background is needed to understand the recent observations. From my understanding, the modifications to the theory really are modifications to fit the new observations and not an entirely reworked theory, so reading Asimov's text will not be a waste of time (it is not outdated -- new discoveries build on it).