Book Description
A vibrant collection of essays on the cosmos from the nation's best-known astrophysicist.
Loyal readers of the monthly "Universe" essays in Natural History magazine have long recognized Neil deGrasse Tyson's talent for guiding them through the mysteries of the cosmos with stunning clarity and almost childlike enthusiasm. Here, Tyson compiles his favorite essays across a myriad of cosmic topics. The title essay introduces readers to the physics of black holes by explaining the gory details of what would happen to your body if you fell into one. "Holy Wars" examines the needless friction between science and religion in the context of historical conflicts. "The Search for Life in the Universe" explores astral life from the frontiers of astrobiology. And "Hollywood Nights" assails the movie industry's feeble efforts to get its night skies right.
Known for his ability to blend content, accessibility, and humor, Tyson is a natural teacher who simplifies some of the most complex concepts in astrophysics while simultaneously sharing his infectious excitement about our universe.
Customer Reviews:
Educational and entertaining.......2007-10-02
I have long known Tyson to be an excellent speaker and purveyor of scientific ideas with a Saganesque ability to convey the excitement of scientific findings with a bit more hipness and swagger to his talks than Sagan. This book is an excellent read through and through. I couldn't beat the feeling as I sat on the roof of a 14 story building in Curitiba, Brazil watching the sunset alone on the summer solstice (their winter solstice) while reading the section on Stick-In-The-Mud-Science and watching the long shadows creep across the sky and have Tyson explain to me all the celestial happenings around me (this really happened). Quite a magical read. The author presents complex scientific ideas in short, readable, cohesively-themed articles. Each article is on a topic familiar to us, upon which he expands towards scientific ideas which may be unfamiliar to us. There is enough overlap in the independent sections that the read feels like one is being 'taught' rather than just reading information. And Tyson is first and foremost a great educator. Although I did find myself trying to remember something from a previous chapter and flipping back through, I feel like I have learned a great deal about astrophysics from a book that was downright entertaining.
An enjoyable read for those with an interest in science and astronomy.......2007-09-27
The qualities that make Neil deGrasse Tyson so annoying on Nova Science Now are absolute positives when it comes to the written word. He is an intelligent and entertaining writer with an uncanny ability to reduce complex scientific concepts to bite sized chunks even I could (mostly) understand.
Death by Black Hole by Neil DeGrasse Tyson.......2007-09-19
An astrophysicist for the American Museum of Natural History, director of the world famous Hayden Planetarium, and columnist for Natural History magazine, Neil DeGrasse Tyson brings to the non-scientific world the ideal book for those fascinated with space, the cosmos, black holes, and all the questions and wonders therein. Death by Black Hole is the perfect book for the reader who wants answers to questions about the universe in a simple and clearly defined way so that even if they know next to nothing about science and it's jargon, Tyson makes it easily understandable.
While I was hoping for something a little more in depth in the style of Brian Greene's The Fabric of the Cosmos or Lee Smolin's The Trouble With Physics, Death by Black Hole nevertheless provides quick and simple answers to many questions everyday readers without a science background have about physics, the universe, space, and most matters dealing with the cosmos. The book is a selection of his columns in Natural History that are organized in a somewhat textbook fashion. Tyson starts with the idea of science and nature in its basic form, how humanity views Earth, the solar system, the universe. Along with this discussion, Tyson also gives minor history lessons on the development of different ideas in physics and astronomy, what people came up with what big ideas and how the progression led to the development of the big theories of our current time with string theory and relativity. Going on from here, Death by Black Hole address the crucial steps that led to the formation of the universe and its development over the many billions and billions of years, again explaining how it is that scientists know what they do and what instruments were used, as well as the history of who invented and used said instruments.
It is then that Tyson finally turns to the subject matter of the title of the book in the section "When the Universe Turns Bad: All the Ways the Cosmos Wants to Kill Us." Here he addresses the complex and still relatively unknown subjects of chaos theory, dark matter (which constitutes over 90% of all matter in the universe, while we still know next to nothing about it), and finally black holes. Tyson takes the reader on a hypothetical journey with what would happen if one were to be sucked into a black hole and how as they approached the event horizon, they would become stretched until the elasticity point of their skin was surpassed and the body would be torn into thousands then millions of little pieces.
With many questions now answered, in the next section Tyson discusses how science is viewed by the media, Hollywood, and people around the world in general. The final section addresses the concept of science and religion, again taking the reader on a historic journey through the development of first religion, then science, and the struggle that has ensued for centuries. It is the perfect end to a book on science, as Tyson lectures the importance of supporting fact and reality in a time when there are many who believe more in faith, even when all the evidence is to the contrary.
For more book reviews, and other writings, go to www.alexctelander.com
Conversational Cosmology 101 - Superb!.......2007-09-19
New York Planetarium director and astrophysicist Tyson has been writing a column for "Natural History" magazine for some 11 years - that makes about 132 short essays. Tyson says this monthly chore is "one of the most exhausting and exhilarating things I do." Forty-two of these essays appear in this volume, "mildly edited for continuity and to reflect emergent trends in science."
He divides these essays into seven sections:
1. THE NATURE OF KNOWLEDGE - The challenges of knowing what is knowable in the universe.
2. THE KNOWLEDGE OF NATURE - The challenges of discovering the contents of the cosmos.
3. WAYS AND MEANS OF NATURE - How nature presents herself to the inquiring mind.
4. THE MEANING OF LIFE - The challenges and triumphs of knowing how we got here.
5. WHEN THE UNIVERSE TURNS BAD - All the ways the cosmos wants to kill us.
6. SCIENCE AND CULTURE - The ruffled interface between cosmic discovery and the public's reaction to it.
7. SCIENCE AND GOD - When ways of knowing collide.
"Natural History" is the same magazine Stephen J. Gould wrote 300 essays for, overlapping with Tyson for seven years. In both cases, the authors excelled in making their respective fields (evolutionary biology and cosmology) easily readable for the general public, adding to their already impressive credentials.
From page 33: "This universality of physical laws tells us that if we land on another planet with a thriving alien civilization, they will be running on the same laws that we have discovered and tested here on Earth - even if the aliens harbor different social and political beliefs. Furthermore, if you wanted to talk to the aliens, you can bet they don't speak English or French or even Mandarin Chinese. You don't even know whether shaking their hands - if indeed they have hands to shake - would be considered an act of war or of peace. Your best hope is to find a way to communicate using the language of science."
The format provides for benign redundancy as the Big Bang, formation of galaxies, creation of the chemicals in the periodic chart, and predictable physics versus chaos of interactions are looked at over and over from differing perspectives. This book is highly entertaining and I recommend it for anyone who wants to buff up their knowledge of astronomy (cosmology, astrophysics...) or for the confirmed science nut like me. First rate!
Heavy & light reading all in one.......2007-09-14
Anything by this author is worth reading. I like the way he starts off explaining things in a very simple way and winds up getting deep into the end result. "A professional con job with very educational results".
Average customer rating:
- An excellent review of galactic structure and dynamics
|
Dynamics of Galaxies
Giuseppe Bertin
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
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Book Description
Our understanding of galaxies has advanced significantly in recent years. Powerful computer simulations and detailed observations from ground- and space-based telescopes have been instrumental in this. This graduate textbook provides students with a complete, accessible introduction to modern galactic dynamics. The first two parts of the book define the astrophysical problems and the methods for building sound physical models. Next, coverage examines the observational properties and models of spiral then elliptical galaxies. A selection of exciting topics from contemporary research are also reviewed, including the formation and evolution of galaxies, cooling flows, accretion disks, and galaxies at high redshift. Throughout, the volume helps students develop a clear understanding and good physical intuition of the processes involved. Full derivations are provided for key results and helpful problems are included.
Customer Reviews:
An excellent review of galactic structure and dynamics.......2000-10-05
It is a difficult but inspiring book written by one of the leading world experts who, in spite of the relatively young age, has obtained an impressive record of new results in the field of galaxy dynamics. If compared to the standard reference in the field (Galactic Dynamics by Binney and Tremaine), the book stands out for conciseness, clarity and homogeneity of treatment. Bertin, in fact, puts emphasis on physics rather than phenomenology and succeeds in compressing the huge field of galaxy dynamics in a relatively short book structured in few chapters. Each chapter is focused on a different physical mechanisms which is then used to gain deeper and deeper insights into the structure of the stellar systems.The book is up to date and provides the reader with an exhaustive list of references. An excellent book to be recommended to graduate students as well as to researchers active in the field
Book Description
This extensively illustrated book presents the astrophysics of galaxies since their beginnings in the early Universe. It has been thoroughly revised to take into account the most recent observational data, and recent discoveries such as dark energy. There are new sections on galaxy clusters, gamma ray bursts and supermassive black holes. The authors explore the basic properties of stars and the Milky Way before working out towards nearby galaxies and the distant Universe. They discuss the structures of galaxies and how galaxies have developed, and relate this to the evolution of the Universe. The book also examines ways of observing galaxies across the whole electromagnetic spectrum, and explores dark matter and its gravitational pull on matter and light. This book is self-contained and includes several homework problems with hints. It is ideal for advanced undergraduate students in astronomy and astrophysics.
Customer Reviews:
Good, but not great.......2004-05-16
This book is a little dense and its homework problems are especially confusing because of the poor framework laid out to solve them.
Customer Reviews:
The best.......2005-09-25
One of the best done books I've ever seen on a topic - don't know how it could be done any better.
Average customer rating:
- A fine intro and very useful quick reference
- Just an amazing textbook covering masses of astrophysics...
- Very badly written - and confusing...
- Very badly written - and confusing...
- Very disappointing
|
Galactic Astronomy (Princeton Series in Astrophysics)
James Binney , and
Michael Merrifield
Manufacturer: Princeton University Press
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Similar Items:
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Galactic Dynamics (Princeton Series in Astrophysics)
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Galaxies in the Universe: An Introduction
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Astrophysics Of Gaseous Nebulae And Active Galactic Nuclei
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Radiative Processes in Astrophysics
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Modern Cosmology
ASIN: 0691025657 |
Book Description
This is the definitive treatment of the phenomenology of galaxies--a clear and comprehensive volume that takes full account of the extraordinary recent advances in the field. The book supersedes the classic text Galactic Astronomy that James Binney wrote with Dimitri Mihalas, and complements Galactic Dynamics by Binney and Scott Tremaine. It will be invaluable to researchers and is accessible to any student who has a background in undergraduate physics.
The book draws on observations both of our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and of external galaxies. The two sources are complementary, since the former tends to be highly detailed but difficult to interpret, while the latter is typically poorer in quality but conceptually simpler to understand. Binney and Merrifield introduce all astronomical concepts necessary to understand the properties of galaxies, including coordinate systems, magnitudes and colors, the phenomenology of stars, the theory of stellar and chemical evolution, and the measurement of astronomical distances. The book's core covers the phenomenology of external galaxies, star clusters in the Milky Way, the interstellar media of external galaxies, gas in the Milky Way, the structure and kinematics of the stellar components of the Milky Way, and the kinematics of external galaxies.
Throughout, the book emphasizes the observational basis for current understanding of galactic astronomy, with references to the original literature. Offering both new information and a comprehensive view of its subject, it will be an indispensable source for professionals, as well as for graduate students and advanced undergraduates.
Customer Reviews:
A fine intro and very useful quick reference.......2005-12-16
Astronomy today deals with a wide array of exotic objects for which relevant physical processes vary so much. To be comprehensive and up-to-date at the same time in such an academic subject is no easy task. If you have the pleasure or dismay of having to expose yourself to the cutting edge information about any subject in astronomy, you know that astronomy in general is confusing as hell. To illuminate the most essential concepts and connection between what appears to be entirely different astrophysical phenomena is very hard, yet in my opinion this text book does a fairly decent job in that respect.
If you are literate about any of the details of astrophysics that this text book might gross over, you sure will find the information to be obsolete and rather simplistic. After all the book is not meant to be a collection of review articles. But since the book means to give you the first exposure to just about any subject in astronomy, the discussions are shallow yet to the point so that you will not lose your big picture in bogging yourself down to boring details. This still might be a slow read if you are really just starting out, but as you pick more astronomy you will start appreciating the conciseness which only help you connect things that you learned but have not necessarily been related in your world of knowledge.
And another important point is, can you come up with any other book that covers introductory astrophysics better? Maybe Shu or Carroll and Ostlie, but the list ends there pretty much.
Just an amazing textbook covering masses of astrophysics..........2002-12-08
This book is, as it says on the cover, for readers with a background in physics - specifically, for professionals, graduate students, and advanced undergraduates. It will therefore be heavily mathematical, as there is no other way in which to express the theories within, and to quantitatively distinguish between them - an essential part of all scientific research.
The ideas are explained clearly, and there are frequent up-to-date references: the book was published mid-1998, and updated quite a lot from its previous incarnation. Where a field is moving very rapidly, like in parts of astrophysics, there is clearly always a danger that the work will become out of date, but most (at least all I have had to read) of what is in this book is still current.
This book is not only beautifully written, and presented, it also covers an incredible range of subjects, making it suitable not only for background reading for those who study galactic astrophysics, but also those working in stellar astrophysics. The authors clearly know their stuff in very wide-ranging areas of astrophysics, and are passionate about them, as it comes across very clearly, and adds to the joy of reading this book.
One of the many things that makes this such a wonderful book is the clear linking of astrophysical phenomena with basic physics, something which is easy to lose sight of when confronted with exotic objects and processes. A particularly lovely example of this (IMO) is the explanation of the effects of the kappa-mechanism in variable stars in terms of the humble heat engine in thermodynamics.
Admittedly, if you were wanting an introduction to galactic astronomy this would not be the book for you, but, for its target audience it is an amazing book.
Very badly written - and confusing..........2001-06-28
I read the complete book but I must admit I understood very little of it. The main reason for this is that the authors seem to have written the book for those who already are fully versed in the technical details of the subject. I am not, and I was hoping this book would elevate my understanding of the field. Unfortunately it did not. Furthermore, I found the book completely lacking in information about the more recent discoveries in cosmology. It appears to be about ten years behind.
Very badly written - and confusing..........2001-06-28
I read the complete book but I must admit I understood very little of it. The main reason for this is that the authors seem to have written the book for those who already are fully versed in the technical details of the subject. I am not, and I was hoping this book would elevate my understanding of the field. Unfortunately it did not. Furthermore, I found the book completely lacking in information about the more recent discoveries in cosmology. It appears to be about ten years behind.
Very disappointing.......2001-04-22
There are three specific areas in which this book fails. I will address them in turn: 1) The information is way out of date. Although the publishing date is recent, the authors have made very little attempt to present the major advances that have occurred in this science over the last few years. As a result of this problem, there is some critical information in the book that is simply inaccurate. The information reflects understandings that are five to ten years old - not what we know today. 2) The writing style is very difficult to follow. The authors seem to think they are writing for their fellow professional astronomers, not for students. They don't explain the concepts sufficiently and they end up leaving the reader confused and disappointed. 3) About half the pages are mostly mathematics. This is fine if you understand advanced math and you can follow the authors reasoning. The problem is that as I closely checked the math I found glaring errors in it. On just about every few pages there would be a math error. This makes it that much more difficult to understand the information. I would suggest you save your money - and frustration! Find a better book.
Book Description
Galaxies are perhaps the most popular of all visual targets that are sought after by visual observers. At present the only way to get up-to-date information, is to query various (often highly technical) speciality books or digging deeply into the Internet. This can be a time consuming and often frustrating task, as the data aren’t often compatible. This book satisfies the need for a modern, comprehensive review in combining the three major aspects: the physical background on the nature and data of galaxies, the relevant instrumentation and viewing techniques, and finally the targets and their individual appearance in telescopes of various apertures. To illustrate the latter, a comprehensive sample of galaxies, including quasars, groups and clusters of galaxies is presented. This combination of theoretical knowledge and practical information guarantees successful observing sessions. The book could become a standard source on galaxy observing for all kinds of amateur observers, from the beginner to the experienced.
Customer Reviews:
A very good book.......2007-10-04
It is excellent writting, comprehensive, analytical and all subjects well presented and in the appropriate order.
most up-to-date, clearly structured reference book on galaxy observing.......2007-08-13
Wolfgang Steinicke was the leading author of the german "Praxishandbuch Deep Sky"(Kosmos 2004), which I like very much. So I started reading his new book on Galaxies with high expectations...and I was not disappointed :
I believe this is the most up-to-date, clearly structured reference book on galaxy observing - satisfying a very broad range of interests.
In three major sections, the authors not only address the needs of the most ambitious observers, but frequently add encouraging hints for beginners as well.
I recommend it A) as a reading book to gain a broader knowledge
and B) as an excellent planning guide when you want to observe MUCH MORE than the most commonly known galaxies.
SECTION I (70 pages) provides a basic understanding of the different types of galaxies and clusters, plus all those data that are important for visually observing them.
Chapter 1 explains different galaxy classification schemes, special cases and pecularities - then chapter 2 introduces pairs, groups and clusters of galaxies and shows their place within the hierarchy of the universe.
Chapter 3 presents a well structured overview for many different types of galaxy catalogs, containing galaxy data and nomenclatures. Advantages/disadvantages of these catalogs are discussed and their data quality is critically judged.
I strongly recommend to study this chapter 3 on catalogs first, because the same presentation structure is followed in the later SECTION III on observing programs.
SECTION II (33 pages) covers the Technical Aspects on observing galaxies.
Key technical instrumentation aspects are only summarized briefly (chap.4), but the Theory of Visual Observation (chap.5), together with practical recommendations on observing, star hopping and observing logs (chap.6) demonstrate the authors very broad experience in finding, identifying faint galaxies and documenting them.
SECTION III (110 pages) on "What to Observe? - The Objects" contains the largest, most valuable part of the book.
An instructive combination of "photo/textual" descriptions presents a large number of objects in the most "objective" way :
Not counting individual galaxies inside groups or clusters (though mentioned in the tables), a total of 500 objects are listed in data tables - following that same structure introduced in SECTION I. Each data table is immediately followed by a separate table with textual descriptions. Around 600 such descriptions are given, based on the visual appearance of each object with different instruments: 1. binocular (if possible),
2. medium aperture telescope(6-10"), 3. large telescope(13-20", sometimes larger).
All these observation descriptions in chapters 7 to 10 stem from renowned observers; e.g. Steve Gottlieb, Steve Coe, beside the authors.
Chapter 7 suggests a variety of Observing Programs, based on
a) M-, NGC/IC- or UGC- CATALOGS
b) Sky Areas and constellations
Chapter 8 suggests selection criteria which are dependent on the characteristics of the individual galaxy; i.e. by sorting them by their distance or by their appearance.
Chapter 9 concentrates on Groups and Clusters; i.e. by listing a) pairs and trios, b) small groups and chains, then c) clusters.
Chapter 10 finally suggests interesting targets "off the beaten path" or in the category of "ultimate challenge".
My reason for mentioning all these details is to demonstrate that this book is quite well organized - especially for all those readers with a minimal amount of patience and learning will.
There is only one unfortunate omission : Springer printed the 1.edition of this unique reference book without a page index !!!
However, after I emailed the author, he swiftly produced an INDEX OF ALL OBJECTS (xls), which can easily be downloaded
from the (Homepage Wolfgang Steinicke).
A Wealth of Information, Poorly Organized.......2007-04-17
This book is filled with a lot of really interesting information on galaxies. However, it is extremely disorganized. My copy of this book is now full of bookmarks to help me find information later. Why? This book has no index. Let me repeat that--this book has NO INDEX. This is an unforgivable sin for any reference book! Furthermore, the subtitle is "and how to observe them." There is not a clue about how to observe galaxies. Instead, the pictures of galaxies are taken through large professional telescopes that for the most part are not even identified. There are observer's descriptions for some galaxies, but most of these are through 20" and larger telescopes. Only a few descriptions are for telescope sizes you might be likely to own.
On the plus side, there are a number of pointers to more information sources, but often these are given in large, undifferentiated lists, instead of the authors making specific recommendations.
Some of the descriptions of galactic structure and evolution are extremely sparse. You won't find a clear definition of Seyfert galaxies, for example.
If you're looking for a definitive work on galaxies, this isn't it. But if you want to learn some interesting facts, you might find this book a fun read. You'll probably come away with some observing ideas as well, but stock up on bookmarks!
Book Description
Two of the world's leading astrophysicists, James Binney and Scott Tremaine, here present a comprehensive review of the theory of galactic dynamics at a level suitable for both graduate students and researchers. Their work in this volume describes our present understanding of the structure and dynamics of stellar systems such as galaxies and star clusters.
Nicknamed "the Bible of galactic dynamics," this book has become a classic treatise, well known and widely used by researchers and students of galactic astrophysics and stellar dynamics. Praised for its modern approach, as well as for the rigor and exemplary clarity with which the authors handle the material in this book, Galactic Dynamics includes classic results and data while also reflecting the many recent developments in the field. The authors maintain an effective style of exposition throughout, keeping clear what is present knowledge and what is still speculation, while allowing the reader to grasp an overview of the subject before following through (where needed) with the mathematical detail. Most of the astronomical community since the late 1980s was introduced to galactic dynamics through Galactic Dynamics, and it remains the most widely used graduate textbook in galactic astrophysics today. No other book gathers together and presents our current understanding of the field in such a clear and concise way. Through this approach, Binney and Tremaine succeeded in creating a classic reference of enormous pedagogic value.
Customer Reviews:
Galactic Dynamics.......2007-01-11
Not for the faint of heart. Well written, but very technical. Needs good math and physics background.
THE Definitive Work on Galaxies.......2006-12-28
Binney has cleary established Galactic Dynamics and its companion volume Galactic Astronomy as the definitive works on the subject. The NASA Astronomy Abstract Service lists 3411 citations for this book as of 12/2006 so it is clearly an important part of the literature of astrophysics.
This book is written at the graduate or researcher level. As it deals with the behavior of galaxies, potential theory, energy distribution, angular momentium and dark matter so the mathematics employed are quite powerful.
Please create an audio adaptation ..........1999-06-02
To the publisher I would appreciate it if the publisher could produce an audio adaptation of this book. I would love to listen to this while I drive to work and to let my 16 month old son listen to it as a bedtime story. Arnold D Veness
The "Bible" of Galactic Dynamics.......1998-04-18
This book is a very well-known and widely used reference for students in extragalactic astrophysics and stellar dynamics. A solution manual for the problems would be highly welcomed.
Book Description
Physical Processes in the Interstellar Medium discusses the nature of interstellar matter, with a strong emphasis on basic physical principles, and summarizes the present state of knowledge about the interstellar medium by providing the latest observational data. Physics and chemistry of the interstellar medium are treated, with frequent references to observational results. The overall equilibrium and dynamical state of the interstellar gas are described, with discussions of explosions produced by star birth and star death and the initial phases of cloud collapse leading to star formation.
Customer Reviews:
Good book.......2007-04-11
good book
lot's of useful informations.
It's good to have one.
A classic in astronomy, but not worth the price for students.......1997-12-06
Here, Spitzer introduces many fundamental concepts in astronomy, and at the time it was written was perhaps the only single publication that covered all of the topics in the table of contents from a fairly fundamental level.
When I paid $80 for this book for an Interstellar
Medium course about 5 years ago, the instructor
said he would not have required it had he known the price. Now it stands at $112!
If this material is important to you and you do not
have a well developed graduate level curriculum
to study from, then perhaps it is worthhwhile, otherwise I recommend "Astrophysics of Gaseous Nebulae and Active Galactic Nuclei"
by Donald E. Osterbrock for $36 as an excellent substitute, though you won't find much on dust grains and kinetics in it. For those topics you
should go to review articles and a statistical mechanics text anyway!
Spitzer was a great astronomer and he wrote what was at the time an indispensible book, but at this price think carefully before you buy.
Book Description
In The Spiritual Universe, Fred Alan Wolf brings the most modern perspective of quantum physics to the most ancient questions of religion and philosophy. Taking the reader on a fascinating tour of both Western and Eastern thought, Wolf explains the differing view of the soul in the works of Plato, Aristotle, and St. Thomas--the ancient Egyptian's belief in the nine forms of the soul, the Qabalistic idea of the soul acting in secret to bring spiritual order to a chaotic universe of matter and energy, and the Buddhist vision of a "nonsoul." Wolf also mounts a defense of the soul against its modern critics who see it as nothing more than the physical body.
Customer Reviews:
Please be cautious..........2007-07-12
If you are curious about quantum physics, read books by Werner Heisenberg or Max Born or David Bohm. I you are curious about relativity, read books by Albert Einstein or Max Born or Hans Reichenbach or Wolfgang Pauli. Read books by Richard Feynman. A great source for these is the Dover books catalog.
Learn about these topics from the masters. These "pop-physics" books have a certain appeal, but be careful about speculations and the combination of science with spirituality. It can be entertaining to read these books, but keep a healthy skepticism.
Hopefully this Remains only One Physicist's Vision.......2007-06-19
I'm glad to see this book has people thinking about the concepts Fred presents. However, the book has more than one fatal flaw. Read this, but also read Frank Tipler's The Physics of Christianity.
Now, I'm not implying Tipler's book is flawless. It isn't. But both books help the reader to grasp a clearer picture of what physics actually IS saying.
My advice... whenever you read a claim that seems new to you, look for a reference in the endnotes. If the reference seems reputable, fine, if questionable, question the assertion. In either case, keep reading as new books are published. The definitive book hasn't yet been written on this subject.
Is this book fatally flawed?.......2007-02-14
After reading Cynthia Larsen's review, I was very intruiged and went and gave this book a good look. What intruiged me about Cynthia's review was her report that the book has the notion that the individual soul is an illusion, that there really is only one universal soul we all participate in. I've felt this way for decades, which drew me to looking more closely into the book.
But about chapter 4, Fred Wolf reveals a fatal flaw in his fundamental premise, which is that the universe expands for billions of billions of years and then begins to contract. Fred claims that his entire argument is based on this assumption. Well, when he made it, it had as good a chance as the the opposite idea that the universe would go on expanding forever. In a footnote to the second edition, he mentions that this fundamental premise has been questioned by recent theories but that the jury was still out. Unfortunately, it no longer is. The most recent and very compelling evidence is that the universe some billions of years ago passed into a phase of ever increasing accelerated expansion. Those are the observed facts. The theory behind it is wrapped up in the idea of dark energy, a (probably) constant anti-gravitational force that has existed since the big bang and will continue forever, gradually causing the entire universe to evaporate into nothingness.
So much for Tipler's notion of the eventual contraction of the universe "squeezing" it back into infinitely rich life in the distant future. Wolf seems to depend a lot on Tipler's ideas along this line.
However, if we taken an even larger view that encompasses our particular universe, there is now the notion that the universe is only one of an infinite number of others that always have existed and always will exit. Within that context, the notion of their being only one soul of which each of us is but a dim reflection still has life. Perhaps Wolf will come out with a new book and salvage his original insight of the "one soul" that will not depend on a scientific theory that has been falsified.
And indeed the notion that there is only one soul is more of an insight than a belief or speculation. The challenge of explaining this insight is twofold. First, explaining what it means. This first part is very important and would thoroughly explain the difference between an insight and a speculation and why this is the former and not the latter. Second, rationalizing it in terms of the latest scientific theory, to show that it is not contradicted by the facts that we know about the way the universe actually is. This of course is what Wolf tried to do. The problem is he based it on a scientific theory which has now been falsified. Time to go back to the drawing board.
Something is missing in this quantum, spiritual universe.......2005-05-04
I had previously read Fred Allen Wolf's "Parallel Universes" and was intrigued to read about his quantum understanding of the soul. "The Spiritual Universe" begins with a detailed review of the opinions of Plato, Aristotle, and Buddha, among others, concerning the nature of the soul. Apparently Wolf hasn't heard of a fellow named Jesus Christ who did not make the cut for any historical quotes on the nature of the soul. Then again, maybe he had some graduate students doing the heavy lifting work on the book and we all know that physics majors generally aren't known for being well-rounded in the academic sense. Honestly, I found this introduction incredibly tedious rather than enlightening. At the time it seemed like Wolf had arrived at his final conclusions about the nature of the soul while drinking a decaf caramel Macchiato at Starbucks one day and merely required some filler material, much like a typical, well padded undergraduate thesis.
Plodding through this book requires two talents: the tenacity of a polar icebreaker coupled with the gin guzzling gusto of the former captain of the Exxon Valdez. Laboriously cutting through the book like a Toro like a lawnmower with a dull blade, it seemed like I was on a scavenger hunt seeking something resembling substance. To be fair-minded, Wolf does say in his first sentence that this is not an easy book for a scientist to write. He sure delivered on that statement.
Several credible topics were entirely lacking in his tapioca-thick tome. First, it would seem incredibly intuitive that the average person might equate spirit, or soul, with the concept of ghost. Spirits have been the cornerstone of human mythology, tradition and folklore throughout history. I was mildly interested if Prof. Wolf had any insights from the study of quantum physics that might shed some light on why peoples from all cultures have reported seeing spirit or ghost manifestations. This topic was never addressed. Equally disappointing was the fact that Wolf completely ignored any discussion of out-of-body experiences (OBEs), near death experiences (NDEs), or after death communications (ADCs) as evidence of a spiritual or soul state. There is an amazing amount of fascinating literature on these subjects. On a purely personal level, it is difficult to not find at least one person at a cocktail party that has not had some kind of unusual or deeply spiritual experience being reunited with a recently deceased loved one, most frequently during the dream state. I would have been greatly interested in learning what light quantum theory might shed on the viability of ADCs. Could heaven be a parallel universe created from the void by conscious thought? One of the great centers for scientific study for evidence of the continuance of consciousness, the life of the soul after the death of the body, is at Human Energy Systems Laboratory at the University of Arizona. Wolf mentions that he spoke at a conference there yet never discusses any aspect of the academic work on the viability of consciousness after death of the body by scientists like Dr. Gary Schwartz or others. It begs the question, how does one write a scientific examination of the soul without addressing the current research being conducted on the subject? Wolf saves his best for last with his discourse on Bass's Proof and the story about something called Robotina. To be fair, Wolf does warn the reader that he had simplified the material in chapters 7-12 to make it a bit easier to digest.
Well, if you can get through the story of Robotina without drinking the bong water and inserting flaming bamboo slivers under your fingernails you've got my admiration. Sadly, this book is a feckless stinker that will render insensible even the most ardent readers. In the words of Clara Peller, "Where's the beef?" I only recommend the book if you are suffering from acute insomnia and need something innocuous to help kick in the effects of a Nyquil Rusty Nail cocktail to promote a restful nights sleep.
mind opening..........2003-12-28
This is a great book combining metaphysics and quantum physics! This book would deserve five stars but Dr. Wolf did not provide sufficient examples to explain difficult concepts. I do not mind re-read sentances or even pages to have a deeper understanding of the concepts and this book opened my eyes to the spiritual universe.
Book Description
The dark matter problem is one of the most fundamental and profoundly difficult problems in the history of science. Not knowing what makes up most of the mass in the Universe goes to the heart of our understanding of the Universe and our place in it. In Search of Dark Matter is the story of the emergence of the dark matter problem, from the initial 'discovery' of dark matter by Jan Oort to contemporary explanations for the nature of dark matter and its role in the origin and evolution of the Universe.
Written for the intelligent non-scientist and scientist alike, it spans a variety of scientific disciplines, from observational astronomy to particle physics. Concepts that the reader will encounter along the way are at the cutting edge of scientific research. However the themes are explained in such a way that no prior understanding of science beyond a high school education is necessary.
Customer Reviews:
In Search of Dark Matter.......2007-08-04
I found this book to be very informative, up to date, and could be understood by the layman
An EXCELLENT book on Dark Matter.......2007-05-10
This book sets out the evidence for missing matter in the universe in an entertaining yet thorough way. There is virtually no math in the entire book, and yet each subject area is treated fully. I had thought the first evidence for dark matter was star rotation rates in galaxies as set out by Vera Rubin and others. However this book traces the roots of the "something is wrong with our picture of the universe" back to the 1930s and Fritz Zwicky and Jan Oort--two astronomers who could not be more different from each other. And that is another strength of this book--we learn something about Zwicky and Oort without being seriously sidetracked.
"In Search of Dark Matter" strikes a perfect balance between moving the story along (and it does read like a story) and stopping here and there for brief asides about the personalities and milieu involved at the various stages of dark matter research. Finally, alternatives such as MOND theory are discussed. This book is not a deep tome--it is only roughly 150 pages. But it certainly piqued my interest and made me want to find out more. The authors succeed in bringing up most topics assuming little or no background in astronomy, yet don't get mired explaining the basics. A great read!
Excellent Book.......2007-02-22
The book is very well organized and enjoyable to read. Well done!
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