Customer Reviews

Foundations of Modern Cosmology

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I got this book from my university library. Pretty easy reading considering I'm an engineering student. But then, this book isn't just for physics/astronomy students, as the authors have mentioned. It starts by giving a brief history of cosmology, continuing to current understanding before going to the current problems. The book is not math intensive as it emphasize on understanding the concepts. That's why it is something like a popular-science book. For those who have an interest in cosmology, consept-wise, I recommend this title. Those requiring intensive math, look elsewhere. The other cosmology book I've read is by Martin Roos.

This is a serious yet easy to read book on a facinating and popular subject and its main commendation is its accessibility and rigour. It is an excellent antidote to some of the glossy and expensively packeged books by "pop" writers and TV programmes.

As the introduction of the book makes clear, the authors aim for a wide audience for whom Cosmology is not a core discipline. Not only do they do a good job in meeting this goal, but they also present the physical concepts and experimental results in a way that provides new and deep insights to those whose main interest is Physics. For instance, the discussion of the Big Bang and the cosmic models provides an excellent complement to the mathematical presentation of authors like M.V. Berry. Equally, there is a plethora of material that describes experimental results like those for General Relativity: bending of light under the infulence of the sun's gravity, the Eotovos experiment to demonstrate the Equivalence Principle, etc.

The book covers a broad field: Some historical aspects, Special and General Relativity, the Big Bang and various cosmic models, dark matter, and large scale structure.

The glossary and the authors' web site provide further information on the subject.

I dearly love the subjects of astronomy and cosmology, and was very much looking forward to updating my knowledge in this area with this text book. In particular, there has been so much new knowledge gained in the last decade, that I really wanted to get up to date. Hence my disappointment to discover what a poorly written piece of work this book is. The explanations are unclear. Sentences ramble from one topic to another in the same paragraph, so much that you have no idea where the author is going. In areas where I already know what he is talking about, I marvel at how unclear he is in explaining fairly simple ideas. And in areas where I am new to what he is describing, I get hopelessly lost, having no idea what he's trying to say. He's very long-winded on astronomy-history, telling us for chapters about Aristotle, Ptolemy and Copernicus. I'm not interested in a history of cosmology, nor in the quirks of various astronomers' personalities. I want to learn cosmology. And this book does a rambling, poorly organized, and unclear job of it.

This is a great cosmology textbook used in some universities for undergraduates. The math involved is about college-level algebra, so you don't need to know calculus with this book. Make sure you get the 2nd edition (2005) which includes the major discoveries and updates in cosmology that happened in 1998.

I found this book fascinating. It has the best non-mathematical explanation of special and general relativity I have ever read. It is easy to read and does not require a background in math, physics or astronomy. If you enjoy sience writing I don't see how you could fail to enjoy this adventure.

tom

Foundations of Modern Cosmology
Excellent effort. Hawley and Holcomb introduce the conceptual material of cosmology and quantum physics with a flare for the excitement and little of the overpowering math. You'll be rubbing shoulders with Einstein and Hubble in no time flat.

Topics are presented clearly and logically. This text is very readable and offers a great balance between the (algebra based for the most part i.e. little/no calculus required) physics and history of cosmology. If your professor is using this text, consider yourself lucky. It really isn't half bad - pretty interesting to tell you the truth. Anybody who remembers their HS algebra could pick this bad boy up and understand it perfectly. It really is clear and easy to follow.

The best introductory book in Astronomy I have seen so far. Straight to the point.

I took the class given by Hawley and he makes the book extremely easy to comprehend. Granted, he wrote it, the man is a hilarious comedic genius. He makes the concepts in the book very simple, and easy to understand. I've learned the concepts before in this book, and havent fully comprehended it. This book made it all come together. Get it!