Customer Reviews

The Three Big Bangs: Comet Crashes, Exploding Stars, And The Creation Of The Universe (Helix Books)

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The authors' three big bangs are 1) THE Big Bang thought to have given birth to the known universe, 2) the later explosions of supernovas which produced the heavy elements not originally present in the early universe, which was dominated by the light elements hydrogen and helium, and 3) the crash of a comet or asteroid near the Yucatan peninsula 65 million years ago, which destroyed the dinosaurs and gave fresh opportunities to mammals and, eventually, to us humans. For the authors, these diverse events are linked because they have each played an enormous role in determining the nature of the world we now live in. These three big bangs give us a strong sense of physical evolution, comparable to the modern view of biological evolution. This is a new perception. When I was a child in the 1940's I read everything about popular astronomy I could get my hands on. The view I got at the time was of a completely static universe, in which nothing much ever happened. The universe was magnificent and awesome but certainly not dynamic. Now the universe is a place of explosive evolution and is vastly more magnificent and awesome. "The Three Big Bangs" tells this story well. This is a book that openly panders to our fascination with violence, but in a way that is socially acceptable!

This truly enjoyable book is a very readable overview of what I find to be some of the most interesting areas of science. The author clearly explains the formation of the universe, the formation of our solar system, and the mass extinction that eventually brought mammals to where they are today.

I have recommended this book to many of my friends who have shown an interest in layman's astrophysics.

Haven't read the book, but Dauber was my high school physics teacher and he is the man. Dude has a boat

okay...i admit it, i thought he would be nice...but that has changed. i don't like him anymore, he is too stuffy. he is still brilliant, tho.

Boring, not good. What's the deal with his hair?

there should of been more storie