Customer Reviews

The Whole Shebang: A State-of-the-Universe(s) Report

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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 But even if you read a book that was published yesterday, it'll be out of date next month.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.

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

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.

Ferris is a tremendously popular science writer, which is not surprising, as he's a wonderfully skilled and entertaining writer. But he's not a scientist, and his understanding of a lot of the topics he's writing about just aren't very deep. Reading Ferris you get a very good picture of the sceintists he writes about but you're left with little understanding of the science.

For example: He describes gravity as a warping of space-time- good so far- but then talks about an apple "falling downhill in space-time", i.e., he simply begs the question. His example of how compressing matter raises its temperature never touches on why this is the case, and to top it off he gives you an incorrect illustration- that of a penny placed on a railroad track, squashed by a passing train. Oops, sorry Tim, the penny is *not* compressed. It's distorted, yes, but the density remains essentially the same. His doppler illustration starts off well enough- but then he just sort of waves his hands and says light works the same way. How's that?

And that's the pattern you get in the book. The educated reader is constantly left dangling with terms and major concepts unexplained or glossed over. Sometimes it's downright sloppy. The reader is increasingly left with the feeling that Ferris is just repeating ideas he himself doesn't understand too well.

The end result is that when you finish one of Ferris' books, you realize that you've been entertained, but you haven't really learned anything. If you really want to learn about modern physics and cosmology, get a book by a physicist like Kip Thorne or John Gribben, to name two of the better writers. You'll have to think a bit harder, but you'll be learning from someone who really understands the issues and the science.

This is an absolutely stunning summary of the leading edge theories of advanced physics in an easy to read and entertaining format. Although nobody can understand a physics book without at least a modicum of knowledge about the basics, Ferris' work manages to remain easy reading until the end. It addresses everything you always wanted to know about quantum physics, cosmology, space-time, unified theories, superstring theory, etc. More importantly, instead of shoving a long, historical introductory chapter into your face (like most other books in this genre tend to do) it sneaks in the relevant historical facts in the form of small, captivating and humorous personal stories that pepper every chapter.

It is getting outdated, of course, as the years go by, but I still haven't seen anything that would be better while remaining just as comprehensive and readable. It is in roughly the same genre as "The Cosmic Code" or "The Dancing Wu Li Masters", but without any pretentious mumbo-jumbo. Finally, it shows much more respect to religion than other works, which is refreshing.

I cannot rate this book highly enough for its lucid presentation of difficult topics and success in orienting the general reader towards current cosmological theories. For someone, like me, who has difficulty with the gritty math behind astronomy and physics but still yearns to know, this book is a godsend. In my opinion no other introductory work is necessary before reading this one.

Scientists who write books continually struggle with the problem of how to make complex scientific subjects intelligible to the layman. To some degree this sort of effort must often be more difficult than the challenges they face in their daily scientific work. In the first half of this book Mr. Ferris' ideas successfully penetrate the wooly interior of my brain, and allow me to perceive some of the complexities of the structure of the universe that we live in (and there may be other universes out there, friends).

Things get progressively more sticky, however, as we approach the "speed of space". I begin to experience problems. Perhaps the subject matter is now too difficult for many laymen, or I am a few million neurons short of a fully equipped brain, or perhaps Mr. Ferris's explanatory powers have hit the wall. Naturally my pride leans toward hoping for the last possibility mentioned.

I had some difficulty understanding the horizon problem connected to the expansion of the universe. I decided to see if I could find a discussion of this subject presented by another science writer. New to my library is a book just released called "The Elegant Universe", by Brian Greene, a very prominent string theorist. Mr. Greene does indeed discuss the horizon problem, and I found his presentation quite accessible.

In a nutshell, then, TF is a good writer, and this book is an important one for the layman. But if you find chapters you don't understand, it may be TF and not you who are to blame.

This book is a must for anyone interested in the history of the universe. It gives a detailed description of the predominant models of the universe presently used by scientists (with the exception of Superstring theory). It also goes in depth into the factors that come into play which determine why astronomers and physicists think the way they do about the origin & evolution of the cosmos. This book covers much the same material as Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History In Time" but I think Ferris' book is a bit more lucid and easy to read. His writing style is also not as dry as Hawking's. This is certainly not the only cosmology text out there, but I believe it's one of the best. People interested in this book should also consider purchasing the PBS Home Video "The Creation Of The Universe" (also available at Amazon.com) which is hosted by Ferris.

The Whole Shebang is a marvelous book that expertly explains the working of the universe in a simple and understandable manner, which almost ever reader will comprehend. Whether you're an amateur cosmologist, or just an average Joe (or Joe-Ann) who wants to learn a little about the universe, this book is for you! Ferris does a wonderful job of explaining all the basics of the universe, in a loose and fluid writing style, without overwhelming the reader, making the book a lighter read then some of its counterparts. Does this sound too much like a commercial? Well, if it does, I'm sorry. But this book is by far the best educational literature I have ever read.

This is an extraordinary work, and obviously a labor of great love by the author. I have read many books on cosmology and physics which are aimed at a general readership, and none even comes close to this book by Mr. Ferris. He is a wonderful writer who takes very large and complex concepts and reduces them to ideas which even someone like me who lacks scientific training can appreciate and understand. He makes the toil and exploration of hundreds of scientists and philosophers come alive in a coherent whole. The book ends with what is a personal description of the author's struggles with some of the implications of what has been discussed. I am personnally troubled by some of those implications, just as the author is. That is, I believe, a strong endorsement of Mr. Ferris' efforts and scholarship. I won't give away the punch line, though. This is a great book.