Customer Reviews

Galaxies and the Cosmic Frontier

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

 

 

If you are new to astronomy and are looking for a primer on galaxies and cosmology, do not buy this book. If, however, you have exhausted the million and one "begginer's guide to (insert cosmologically correct buzzword here) " books, then this is the book for you.
The amount of detail is increadible and rewarding. The reader is given detailed, text book-like information on galaxy genesis, structure and developement. Everything from million mass black holes at the center of spirals, to the structure of our own Milky Way, to gas flow patterns in spiral arms, even to the increadible pyrotechnics exhibited by merging galaxies is addressed in a clear, concise and entertaining narrative.
I can not recommend this book enough. Part of the fun has been reading the descriptions of some of the naked eye galaxies and then finding them in the telescope. It is great to see that little smudge in the eyepiece and to know what's REALLY going on.
Although I have enjoyed the beginner books and they definately served their purpose, it was time to sink my teeth into something meatier. I couldn't be more pleased.

I thoroughly enjoyed this nicely written guide to the structure and organization of galaxies near and far. It opens with a general outline of what galaxies are and what they look like, then describes those galaxies surrounding our Milky Way, finally it looks at the Cosmos as a whole, exploring (as so many have) the Big Bang etc. What I loved about this book is that it had some meat to it. I've grown tired of astronomy books that simply outline the science so that 94% of the population can smile and shake their heads about black holes and the like. I don't think this book is written for the masses, but it is written for that 1% of people that really want to learn something about galaxies. It has loads of information, several sets of lovely astro-photos, and a usable glossary and index. Though it has textbook content, I found it easy and enjoyable to read. I recommend it to those with an interest in astronomy looking for a bit of substance.

This is an excellent and up-to-date book about galactic astronomy that can be read by just about any interested person. It has an enormous amount of descriptive material about galactic anatomy, the Milky Way Galaxy, the Magellenic Clouds, the Local Group, Clusters, and Superclusters. It discusses the problem of the "missing mass," and of galactic origin and evolution. There's an introduction to interacting and starburst galaxies, to ultra-luminous infrared galaxies, to radio galaxies, Seyfert galaxies, Gamma-ray bursters, and Quasars. All in all, it is an easy way to learn a great deal about the subject: it has more meat than most books for the layman but is easy to understand.

This book starts off with simple galactic morphology, and quickly delves into much weightier topics, such as the dynamics and evolution of galaxies, galactic interactions, and active galactic nuclei. The book gets into some deeper cosmological issues, as well.

The style of writing is that of a textbook, but it is never dry or boring, merely very informative, and not wasteful of words.

This book could easily be used for an astronomy course for non-scientists, or added as supplemental reading for a more rigorous astronomy class.

I bought this book a couple months ago. In a few days, I had already finished reading the first of three parts of this fantastic book. This book, of one of foremost astrophysicists Paul Hodge and William Waller, gives plenty of information about galaxy structures, formation, dynamics and origins. It would have gotten 5 stars if it wasn't so short, in my opinion of course. 334 pages, 16 pages of high quality photos, plenty of graphs, tables and other data.
They managed to explain difficult subjects to a layman.
I'd say you have to grab this book if you are interested in how our Universe really is. For this great price.

This is a comprehensive non-mathematical descriptive-level textbook about galaxies; with some deficiencies in the clarity of its writing and its explanations. However, as there are so very few introductory books available on galaxies, Waller and Hodge nevertheless remains a valuable reference - at least until something better comes along, or the authors produce an improved second edition!

The main shortcomings of Waller & Hodge are:
(1) It unwisely tries to cover everything about galaxies in 300 pages - which leads to skimpy explanations that lack detail.
(2) The book makes free use of significant numbers of important concepts and ideas that are not properly defined anywhere within the book.
(3) The prose lacks cogency, inspiration and flair; and some of the explanations are a bit "muddy" and not totally clear.
(4) Important diagrams & graphs needed for a real understanding of several sections of the book are hidden away in hard-to-find places, or are not included in the book. A handful of simple equations would also have improved the pedagogy!

This textbook does have some merit; because it is reasonably detailed and comprehensive, and it represents up-to-date thinking about galaxies.
Admittedly, the prose in this book is leaden and boring, so this book does need significant editing and rewriting. But because this is one of the VERY FEW books available which really explains galaxies for the general reader, this text is still a valuable introductory overview of galaxies.
All in all.... a slight disappointment, compared to the classics of the past; such as "The Milky Way"(5th edn.) by Bok & Bok, and Hodge's previous introductory textbook ["Galaxies"(1986)].