Customer Reviews

Walking Zero: Discovering Cosmic Space and Time Along the PRIME MERIDIAN

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4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
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Walking Zero by Chet Raymo was a suprisingly enjoyable read. Raymo, Professor emeritas of physics and astronomy at Stonehill College, is a wonderful tour guide through the hills of England as he walks the Prime Meridian and talks about important scientific people and events that took place near it. Reading this book is like attending a science class led by a enthusiastic teacher who wants to share his love of science to his students. From the Library of Alexandria to the Hubble telescope, Raymo covers a terrific amount of knowledge, including some fun bits of trivia, like the origin of the meter. He speaks in layman's terms when he can and uses lots of illustrations to explain astronomy and how our knowledge of the universe has grown and is still growing. One of the things that fascinated me most was reading about men like Newton, Galileo, and Aristarchus. These men looked at the world and wanted to know how and why it worked. Most of us spend our lives just trying to get from one day to the next. These men changed the size of our world through their wisdom. Raymo spends a lot of time trying to encourage the reader to leave their comfort zone of being the center of the universe, and this book will make you want to. He's a little to reverent of Darwin for me, but that's a small problem. Another plus, Raymo keeps it short, only 181 pages!

As I grow in age and, hopefully, maturity, the wonder of our universe fills me with awe. When I saw this book reviewed in the Los Angeles Times Book Review section, I knew it was one I wanted on my book shelf. And I was right! Written in a language a lay-man/women can understand and filled with wonderful anecdotes, it is, in my opinion, a "Must Read!" for those who look out at the world and whisper "WOW!"

This book takes you on a historical tour of the prime meridian and all of the controversy over it's placement in England as well. The Author obviously loves his work and it glows through the pages of this book. It is a one day read, and week long re-read. It is that good!

Chet takes us on the path of the First Meridian and on its way - and pages- tells us interesting stories as well as the philosophical foundations of science, the evolution of math and physics since the early Greeks up to the newest theories on the origins of our planet, life on Earth, a.s.o. Extemely captivating!

Author Chet Raymo is a physicist and astronomer, and his WALKING ZERO: DISCOVERING COSMIC SPACE AND TIME ALONG THE PRIME MERIDIAN focuses on the history of the prime meridian and its impact on scientific luminaries throughout the ages. Raymo walks across southeastern England in the course of a journey probing not just history and astronomy, but geology: this lively discourse will appeal not just to students of science, but to general-interest readers.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Raymo's short book is like a 181 page review of basic Earth Science, Physics, and Evolutionary Biology. It has indeed been a long time since I studied how to calculate the circumference of the earth, but Raymo's simple yet erudite writing is like reading a more literate textbook. It is clear that Raymo deifies Charles Darwin, and his criticism of Westminster Abbey is a little confusing, but he more then makes up for these weaknesses with his clear and simple writing for some difficult subjects.