Thursday's Universe [Hardcover]

Marcia Bartusiak (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bartusiak is a specialist in astrophysics who in 1982 won the American Institute of Physics Writing Prize. Buffs of the genre will welcome her attempt to render the history of this century's astrophysics, up to its merger with quantum particle physics and cosmology, for the book is freshly angled with inside lore and lab legend about the serendipitous discoveries and one-shot speculations of physicists and astronomers normally passed over by science writers. Too, Bartusiak is knowledgeable about the most sophisticated technology that has permitted the amazing growth of knowledge about pulsars, quasars, "radio galaxies" and much more. Her detailed scenario ranges from our new awareness of stellar evolution to recent findings relating the world of quarks and their kin to bizarre speculations called GUTs (Grand Unified Theories), which take science beyond the Big Bang virtually intometaphysics? Bartusiak shows how science confronts a cosmos incredibly vaster and more violent than ever imagined. Photos.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

As the title implies, cosmology has far to go, but Bartusiak's review of major discoveries and theories about the origin and characteristics of the universe also shows how far it has come. Especially great strides have been made recently as astrophysicists, who theorize on a multigalactic scale, and particle physicists, who study atoms and their components, converge upon a Grand Unified Theory from different directions. Having interviewed many of the U.S. scientists who are pushing back the frontiers of physics, Bartusiak identifies who has been responsible for what major developments. Her explanations of often bizarre-sounding theories are expressed metaphorically rather than in the mathematics or specialized terminology of physics. For general readers. Laurie Tynan, Huntingdon Cty. Lib., Pa.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 306 pages
• Publisher: Crown; 1st edition (October 12, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812912020
• ISBN-13: 978-0812912029
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,580,928 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Combining her training as a journalist with a master's degree in physics, Marcia Bartusiak has been covering the fields of astronomy and physics for three decades. She is currently a professor of the practice in the Graduate Program in Science Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has published in a variety of publications, including Science, Smithsonian, Discover, Technology Review, National Geographic, and Astronomy. She is the author of "Thursday's Universe," a guide to the frontiers of astrophysics; "Through a Universe Darkly," a history of astronomers' quest to discover the universe's composition; and "Einstein's Unfinished Symphony," a chronicle of the international attempt to detect cosmic gravity waves. All three were named notable books by the New York Times. She went on to write "Archives of the Universe," an anthology and commentary on the historic discovery papers in astronomy, and most recently "The Day We Found the Universe," on the birth of modern cosmology, which won the Davis Prize from the History of Science Society. Bartusiak is also a two-time winner of the American Institute of Physics Science Writing Award and in 2006 garnered the AIP's prestigious Gemant Award for her "significant contributions to the cultural, artistic, or humanistic dimension of physics." In 2008 Bartusiak was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, cited for "exceptionally clear communication of the rich history, the intricate nature, and the modern practice of astronomy to the public at large." Bartusiak lives with her husband, mathematician Steve Lowe, and their dog Hubble, a bearded collie, in a suburb of Boston.