Customer Reviews

Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos: The Story of the Scientific Quest for the Secret of the Universe

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A history of cosmology, somewhat dated now, that is structured around biographies of some of the major players. Allan Sandage, Stephen Hawking, Alan Guth, Beatrice Tinsley, James Peebles, Marc Aaronson, etc. I have to tip my hand and say that this is one of my favorite books about astronomy and cosmology. Maybe I like the biographical aspect, or the fact that Overbye is just a great storyteller, and this is one great story. You gain an inside track into the transition of power between Hubble and Sandage. I don't think I really understood the inflation theory until I read Overbye's presentation (better even than Guth's book "The Inflationary Universe). If you like to read biographies of astronomers, this book will be right up your alley. If you like to read about cosmology and astrophysics, you may be distracted by Overbye's approach, but you'll still find the book worthwhile.

This is the only book I have read where, halfway through, I said, "God, don't let me die suddenly before I finish this book!" The book is so beautifully written, especially the first half. Although I think the Big Bang Theory and Guth's sealing-wax fix to that theory are sadly erroneous, this book gives a dramatic impulse to the story of the develpment of Big Bang cosmology, from Hubble to Sandage. The story as the author presents it is exciting, like a race, and you will not want to put it down. I was concerned by another review, however, that there were inaccuracies in the book. As a layman, I could not detect these, if present. All I know is, whew! What a book! Hats off to Dennis Overbye.

Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos is the greatest book every written about the search for ultimate answers about the universe. But the science is secondary to the gallery of scientists who are revealed in all their pettiness, persistence and ultimately greatness. The story of Allan Sandage - from boyhood dreamer to discoverer of mysteries - could be a book in itself. This is a book of almost poetic prose - a real page-turner that I couldn't set down. Get it today

Author Dennis Overbye studied physics at MIT and for years has been Deputy Science Editor of the New York Times. He has been associated with science his entire career and his journalistic style stands apart from the usual writings of scientists. I have yet to find a scientist write something like, "photographic plates whose grains were hysterical for the light that had left some star or galaxy before the human race was born."

Overbye spent some five years attending PhD cosmology seminars and conducting recurrent weeks-long working interviews with world-class scientists. What results is a series of mini-biographical sketches of the important players while new technologies blew this exciting field wide open - and the never-ending fight for who would get credit.

For those interested only in the history, technical and scientific paragraphs are easy enough to skip, but the interspersed science is manageable under Overbye's direction. I learned the easy way - about ages of stars, anthropic principle, antimatter, background radiation, black holes, big bang theory, bottom-up theory of galaxy formation - just a few items selected from the "a's" and "b's" in the index.

Although the book was published in 1991, the science is still almost current. Recent publications suggest there have been no new significant findings in physics in the immediate past decade (although astronomy has been booming). This is a great read, and a valuable kick-start in my on-going efforts to understand particle physics and cosmology.

In Overbye's "Lonely Hearts" the reader will find a contemporary history of one of the most exciting fields of science in the 20th century. Told with a personal style that helps the reader understand that the both the scientists and the science exist in a very real sociological frame work, the narrative focuses on the developments in answering, "What is the Earth's place in the cosmos?" and "What is the fate of the universe?"

Overbye centers his story around the life of Allan Sandage, the sometimes hesitant successor to Hubble. In examining his life as well as the lives of numerous other astronomers and physicists he helps the reader see both the high and the lows of a life of pursuing knowledge in a scientific context. He also helps us understand the sometimes rough and tumble world of publication, scientific ego and underlying uncertainty found in such pursuits.

The only drawback is that the book's original edition was written so long ago. While the newer edition seeks to add more information about recent progress in the field, there is a lack of the exploration of the personalities that are doing the science. Additionally, even with the update, the book is once again somewhat behind the latest work in the field.

That having been said, I still strongly recommend this book for anyone interested in astronomy or physics as well as for anyone who is a student in the history of science. I would also recommend this book for students seeking to pursue a career in the sciences. The book does a wonderful job of showing what a person must do to be successful and what obstacles a person faces when following that path.

This book was used in my high-school cosmology class and made a wonderful textbook because it is so much more readable than a traditional textbook (more humorous!) and yet just as informative. If you need an introduction to cosmology, look no further! BUY THIS BOOK!!

Overbye has done a spectacular job bringing to life the search for the origin of the universe and the men and women involved. The characters come to life, it reads like a novel. Overbye explains the fundamental points of each breakthrough with thoroughness and clarity. He makes this rather arcane branch of physics understandable and exciting to anyone with a modicum of knowledge of the subject. The reader is drawn into the quest and personalities. I gave a copy to my father for Christmas and he was so fascinated he read it three times and has given copies to other friends and associates. If you have any interest at all in cosmology it's well worth the read.... You won't be sorry.

A strongly personality-focused story-line, by a highly respected science journalist, about some of the clashes and rivalries that have beset 20th Century extragalactic astronomy. We are treated to highly unsympathetic portraits of the very great astronomers Alan Sandage and Gerard de Vaucouleurs, and to a detailed history of their rivalry, dislike, and competition re: the extragalactic distance scale controversy. This is an entertaining and very controversial introduction to the personalities who revolutionized 20th Century extragalactic astronomy; but ultimately this is a very depressing and dispiriting book, as we are imparted the idea that doing science is only about ego, unremitting struggle with only minor inspiration, competition, backbiting, and dislike for rivals.
( I found my copy in the "Romance" section of the bookstore! ).

Given that when Alan Sandage dies, an irreplaceable treasure trove of knowledge about galaxies will disappear forever, I believe that this book gives an unfair and unflattering description of his personality and motivations. Yes, Sandage is an odd sort of guy, but an unusual personality is not uncommon in people like him who are much smarter than everybody else and who discover much more than everybody else!
To add insult to injury, the book aims a very low blow at him when it claims that Sandage was at the end of his career at the time of the book's writing. In fact, here we are, many years later, long after Sandage's official retirement, and he is still contributing important papers!!

I enjoyed Overbye's book very much when it first came out. But I noticed a mistake, and I wonder if it has been corrected in later editions. On page 225 of the original hardcover, we read: "Something of his [Weinberg's] frame of mind was revealed in his 1977 book about the big bang, The First Three Minutes: 'The more the universe seems incomprehensible,' he wrote, 'the more it also seems pointless...'"
Weinberg's famous statement reads: "The more the universe seems COMPREHENSIBLE, the more it also seems pointless." This statement was a focus of the book Origins, where many physicists were asked for their reactions to it.

I have come across this misquote elsewhere. The addition of the "in" is small typographically but rather earth-shaking philosophically. Can anyone enlighten me?

This is one of the best books on physics I have read. Not only doees the author Dennis Overbye present the information about the fascinating personalities in astrophysics, cosmology and astronomy, he will actually explain in laymen's terms some of the scientific formulas they were after and why. Wish I had this in school, would have helped me understand all those calculations a little better