The Friendly Guide to the Universe: A Down-to-Earth Tour of Space, Time, and the Wonders of the Cosmos (The Friendly Shakespeare) (Paperback)

by Nancy Hathaway (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
Astronomy is a field replete with guidebooks of various sorts; this one is more of an informal personal survey of the field. Hathaway begins with a chronology of astronomical events and then proceeds, in a series of vignettes, to describe various aspects of the solar system, the constellations, the Milky Way, and the outer reaches of the universe. As is the case in many works on such topics, the process and history of scientific discovery is emphasized. Reminiscent of, but more structured than, Patrick Moore's Fireside Astronomy ( LJ 6/1/92), this book would be a good addition to the astronomy collections of larger public libraries.
- Joseph Hannibal, Cleveland Museum of Natural History
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Astronomy, friendly author Hathaway tells us, "inspires something akin to love" in all sorts of people with little or no science education. Hathaway's chummy yet instructional volume provides stargazers with a lucid and comprehensible overview of theories of the universe, past and present. It begins with an amusing yet quite useful chronology of the universe that runs from the big bang all the way to the distant future, hundreds of trillions of years from now, when life as we think we understand it ends anticlimactically in the big crunch. Having got our attention, she returns to less catastrophic scenarios. She describes each planet in the solar system with a judicious amount of levity, calling Mercury "a heavy metal world," Venus our "Toxic Twin," and asteroids "vermin of the skies." Writing in sound-bite style, she summarizes the work of pioneering astronomers and physicists, confidently escorts us out into the Milky Way and beyond, succinctly introduces quantum physics, and then gamely explains quasars, black holes, and UFOs. Literary types will love the excerpts from James Joyce's Ulysses that introduce each section, and everyone will learn something about the universe without brain strain. Donna Seaman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 480 pages
• Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics) (November 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140153810
• ISBN-13: 978-0140153811
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,200,746 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A REAL hitchhiker's guide!, December 18, 1999

By	"ryanlt" (Cleveland, OH) - See all my reviews

What a great book for anyone that has even the slightest interest in space, physics, or just how in the heck everything got here! She takes difficult subjects and breaks them down into interesting "fun facts" that anyone can appreciate and understand. It's simply impossible to not share something out of this book if someone else is in the room while you're reading it!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Takes a dry subject and makes it fun. Great for SF fans., June 5, 1998

By A Customer

I originally took this book out of the library when it came out in hardcover as I'm a long-time been a space buff and fan of science fiction but had never really studied any of the science behind it. I had always found astronomy pretty dull, but this book completely changed my views on the subject. Hathaway has a wonderfully light writing style with just enough of a comic touch to keep this book continually amusing. I've since bought my own copy and keep it our on my shelf of books to flip through on a regular basis. It's a must read for any SF fan who wants to know what your favorite characters are talking about and the sectons on the history of astronomy are great as well (especially when she talks about all of the truly bizzare things that people have believed over the ages). This is a great book that makes you fall in love with the wonder of space.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good for astronomers (and others, too), February 17, 1999

By	AnnaClaire (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews

A Friendly Guide is fabulous! I have read it several times in the several years that I've owned it (and I rarely read anything I don't have to!). Nancy Hathaway devides and subdevides astronomy into small enough bits and mixes enough wit to make it easier to understand for those who don't know much astronomy. The small subsections also make it possible to read for us who do know something about astronomy but are pressed for time.