64 of 66 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
one of the best cosmology books I've ever read, June 13, 2005
Every year I read about 5 books about cosmology and physics. So I know what I'm saying: this book really is great.
Sure, it's about 8 years old, too old in cosmology. In particular, the discovery that the universe is accelerating has changed a lot of the questions that cosmologists contemplate. But even if you read a book that was published yesterday, it'll be out of date next month. So you have to either hang out in the physics lounge at Princeton, or accept that you're gonna be behind a bit. As it goes, I think that this book is so good that it's certainly worth reading even though it's a bit old.
I especially recommend this book if it will be your first book on cosmology.
I bought it because of the discussion of the structure in the universe: superclusters of galaxies, and beyond them to the sheets and bubbles that seem to be the largest structures in the universe. I'd been curious about these things, and never read a good account of them until this book. He covered it all, including reviewing our local intergalactic neighborhood, the Virgo cluster and supercluster, and the mysterious Great Attractor. He discussed the formations of galaxies and stars and planetary systems, including our own solar system. Not since Sagan's "Cosmos" had I read such an enjoyable discussion of this topic--the one that fascinated me so much as a child.
That's high praise.
But I was also surprised by how well other things in cosmology were explained. Of course the question of the geometry of the universe was well explained; even better, the discussions of inflation and Linde's chaotic inlation and multiverse were great. The issue of dark matter was very well covered. Relativity was explained well enough, and the world of quantum physics was explored enough to make the points Ferris wanted to make. (He didn't explain Smolin's black hole based multiverse, probably because it's a lot more speculative than Linde's inflationary multiverse.)
Every pop science writer has to simplify things, and at some point offer explanations that someone will consider inadequate. I thought his discussion of the principles of life on earth and the possibilities of extraterrestrial life were great, but they were probably a bit too brief for someone completely unfamiliar with the topic. I think a first-time reader would not understand several points in his description of quantum theory. But hey, when you're sure you don't understand quantum theory, that's evidently about as close as you'll ever get.
The same goes for his discussion of the anthropic principle and God. Now, actually I basically agree with Ferris' worldview (strong agnosticism), and I think his discussion of it was spot-on. But if I had to write it, I would have gone a bit more slowly, explaining things in a bit more detail. You can find among these reviewers some who criticize Ferris for saying that cosmology doesn't prove God's existence. Well, it doesn't. Ferris also explained that it doesn't disprove God's existence. But Ferris doesn't flatter theists as much as some other writers in the field.
All the same, the general discussion about the universe was great.
Incidently, if you're primarily interested in quantum physics rather than cosmology in particular, I recommend Brian Greene's "The Elegant Universe." Not so well-written, but in greater depth is Nick Herbert's "Quantum Reality." If you're primarily interested in multiple universes, look at Smolin's "Life of the Cosmos" but especially at Guth's "The Inflationary Universe." And if you're interested in the end of the universe, I suggest Davies' "Last Three Minutes." And finally, although it's a bit dated in some respects, the best exploration of the theological implications of cosmology (which bothered some reviewers of this book so much) remains Paul Davies' "God and the New Physics."
If you haven't read about cosmology yet, get one of these books and enjoy it. Regardless of which one you choose, scientific cosmology is one of the most fascinating, mind and soul expanding topics in the world.
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36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This book covers the whole....well, you know, March 20, 2000
Although he taught English and Journalism at the university of California, Berkeley, Timothy Ferris is one of the more knowledgeable fellows on the planet when it comes to cosmology. And this is, in fact, an extraordinary work on cosmology.
As a pre-requisite to Ferris' book, I would recommend "The First Three Minutes" by Stephen Weinberg. Although Weinberg's book is 20 years old (published, 1979), it is nonetheless still a classic in the cosmology field. It is also rather terse - only 150 or so pages in & out.
Ferris brings us up to to date on many of the "happenings" in cosmology since 1979. He discusses such diverse areas of physics as gravity waves, the mystery of singularities, why black holes have no hair and quantum weirdness (although the latter is an understatement...). I actually preferred this book over the much more famous "A Brief History In Time" by the Cambridge physicist Stephen Hawking. Hawking's prose is a bit more dry than Ferris' and "Brief / Time" does not go as in depth into many important concepts as this book.
So, for those of you who wonder (like me) how in the world the universe began (or, perhaps, how in the universe the world began), this book is for you. Ferris can't answer all your questions, to be sure. But you can learn an awful lot in the process of engaging what we don't know. Also, in addition to this book I would recommend the PBS home video "The Creation Of The Universe" which is hosted by Ferris. It is the best video cosmological documentary I have ever seen (and I have seen quite a few). It, too, is available at Amazon.com
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good overview of all aspects of cosmology, February 25, 2002
I took a short, on-line course in cosmology this past month for which Timothy Ferris' book, The Whole Shebang, was the required text. Although I have a strong interest in physics and cosmology, I am by no means what I would call "good" at it. With only a rudimentary understanding of things like quantum mechanics, relativity physics and string theory, I still found the text readable. I felt that it was clearly enough written for the lay person that I was able to recommend it to a friend with little physics background who had enquired about the subject. This was especially the case as the text covers almost every aspect of cosmology, even in its final two chapters the question of God and the universe.
Covered also are the concepts of the speed of light and "seeing" the past of the universe, the expansion of the universe and the question of its fate, the first few moments of the universe and the creation of matter, the possibility of other universes, the possibility of other dimensions beyond the four we experience, the evolution of the large scale structures of the universe, the anthropic cosmological principle, and for those with a special interest in the topic of religion and philosophy vis a vie physics and cosmology, a discussion of God and the universe. Although there are several books which give a more in depth account of each of these topics, this one is an excellent compendium, which is probably why it was chosen as the text for the class.
The bibliographic notes to the text are all a little old, being mostly primary sources. This is good from the historical perspective, as it makes the reader aware of the underlying research in support of the author's text, who did it, what it was, and when it was done. However, it doesn't give the reader many of the more current titles with which to follow up his/her own interests.
All in all a good starting point.
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