Gravity's Fatal Attraction: Black Holes in the Universe (Scientific American Library) [Hardcover]

Mitchell Begelman (Author), Martin Rees (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1996 | Series: Scientific American Library (Book 58)

In "Gravity's Fatal Attraction", Martin Rees (Astronomer Royal) and Mitchell Begelman explore gravity where it is infinitely strong: in black holes. These mind-boggling structures can have a mass up to billions of times that of our own sun, but remain detectable only by the evidence of a powerful gravitational force swallowing everything in its vicinity. Updated in paperback to include the latest discoveries, and featuring superb illustrations and photographs, this account of black holes and the associated phenomena of quasars and cosmic jets reveals the workings of our strange and amazing universe.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Reviews from the first edition: 'Martin Rees and Mitchell Begelman are probably the world's leading authorities in the astrophysics of black holes.' Stephen W. Hawking

'Martin Rees is one of the great astronomers of our generation, and this felicitous collaboration with Mitchell Begelman brings alive a subject replete with wonder and mystery - without losing the hard edge of scientific rigour. An exhilarating read!' Paul Davies, author of The Mind of God: The Scientific Basis for a Rational World

'Martin Rees and Mitchell Begelman have provided us with a dramatic, elegant, and fully authoritative account of [black holes], and how they fit into our modern picture of the Universe.' Roger Penrose, author of The Emperor's New Mind

'A terrific book, I doubt that you could find a more comprehensive and authoritative popular account of this spectacular subject.' Marcus Chown, New Scientist

'An excellent beginner's account of the discovery of black holes and their importance in astrophysics today.' Frank E. Reed, Sky and Telescope

'Lavishly illustrated and written with clarity and enthusiasm, this is a spectacular guided tour of our weird and wonderful universe in the safe hands of two of the world's greatest astrophysicists.' Dr. Simon Singh, author of Big Bang: The Origins of the Universe

"This revised edition, effectively an important new monograph, deserves a place in every science library." CHOICE --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Book Description

Richly illustrated in colour, this book is suitable for introductory undergraduate courses, amateur astronomers, and all readers interested in astronomy and physics. It shows how black holes were discovered, and discusses current understanding of their role in cosmic evolution. This second edition covers new discoveries made in the past decade. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 246 pages
• Publisher: W H Freeman & Co (February 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0716750740
• ISBN-13: 978-0716750741
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 8.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,539,468 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, October 14, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Gravity's Fatal Attraction: Black Holes in the Universe (Scientific American Library Series) (Paperback)

I have a technical degree, and I have also read very many popular science books. This is without a doubt one of best. It does not shy away from including most of more technical aspects of astrophysics and yet at the same time it explains them clearly and with beautiful illustrations. If your interested in the math this book is obviously not for you, but if want to understand the physics behind the math then grab this book as fast as you can.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful book about a rather opaque topic, July 13, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Gravity's Fatal Attraction: Black Holes in the Universe (Scientific American Library) (Hardcover)

I do not hesitate to give this one five stars. This book is worth every cent and more that I paid for it; I am reading it for the third time. I have never run across a book on this subject that covers as much ground as this one does with explanations that are as lucid. I have recommended it to many, and will continue to do so. The quality of writing is marvelous, and the organization of the topics is first-rate. Clearly, the authors spent a lot of time with this one, and they did it right! Good work, guys.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Book on Black Hole's to Date!, October 6, 2010

By 

OrangeCrush "Still shooting with Film!" (Farmington Hills, MI USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Gravity's Fatal Attraction: Black Holes in the Universe (Hardcover)

If your interested in learning about Black Holes, the conditions that create them and our overall understanding of their effect on galactic evolution then look no further. Mitchell Begelman and Martin Rees do an outstanding job at presenting this material. Everything is covered here including how Black Holes were first theorized, how they were first discovered, the preconditions required for formation, and the current methods used to detect them. This latest edition covers the most recent discoveries including definitive proof that our own Milky Way harbors a massive black hole at its center.

Black Holes have quickly become one of the most popular fields in astronomy and cosmology and books on this subject aren't nearly as rare as they used to be. With that being said this is easily the best book I have read yet on this subject. If your even remotely interested in learning about Black Holes then this is where you want to start.

5 Stars!!