A Briefer History of Time

Book Description

Stephen Hawking’s worldwide bestseller, A Brief History of Time, has been a landmark volume in scientific writing. Its author’s engaging voice is one reason, and the compelling subjects he addresses is another: the nature of space and time, the role of God in creation, the history and future of the universe. But it is also true that in the years since its publication, readers have repeatedly told Professor Hawking of their great difficulty in understanding some of the book’s most important concepts.

This is the origin of and the reason for A Briefer History of Time: its author’s wish to make its content more accessible to readers –as well as to bring it up-to-date with the latest scientific observations and findings.

Although this book is literally somewhat “briefer,” it actually expands on the great subjects of the original. Purely technical concepts, such as the mathematics of chaotic boundary conditions, are gone. Conversely, subjects of wide interest that were difficult to follow because they were interspersed throughout the book have now been given entire chapters of their own, including relativity, curved space, and quantum theory.

This reorganization has allowed the authors to expand areas of special interest and recent progress, from the latest developments in string theory to exciting developments in the search for a complete unified theory of all the forces of physics. Like prior editions of the book–but even more so–A Briefer History of Time will guide nonscientists everywhere in the ongoing search for the tantalizing secrets at the heart of time and space.

***

Stephen Hawking will be lecturing at the following locations:

11/7/05: San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, 408 Alamden Blvd., San Jose, CA, 95110, (408) 277-5277

11/10/05: Paramount Theater of the Arts, 2025 Broadway, Oakland, CA, 94612, (510) 465-6400

11/16/05: The Paramount Theater, 911 Pine Street, Seattle, WA, 98101, (206) 467-5510

Tickets for "The Origins of the Universe with Dr.Stephen Hawking" are available through Ticketmaster.

Customer Reviews:

Half confused, half amazed.......2007-09-20

For as simple as Hawking was supposed to present the complicated theoretical physics concepts, at times I still found myself as confused as Adam on Mother's Day. Dr. Hawking's work is caught between a rock and a hard place in "A Brief History of Time" and the subsequent "The Universe in a Nutshell"; he provides neither the technical language to satisfy the experienced readers, nor the sufficiently simplified rhetoric to appeal to the uninitiated. Not to worry as the theories and supporting arguments in both books can still satisfy the curiosity of the inexperienced, and his celebrity status in the world of physics keeps the experienced audience engaged.

There is one update to this book not mentioned, and that is, Hawking eventually admits that he was wrong about his theory of loss of information in black holes. This idea of his had put him at odds with many theoretical physicists. Instead, he puts forth the unproven theory that information in a black hole is transferred to a parallel universe. Unfortunately, time may not permit Hawking to complete his work on the proof or supporting evidence of this important theory. His terminal illness appears to be finally catching up to him. I wish him well and thank him for his important contributions to the science of understanding the universe.

Despite its shortcomings, A Brief History of Time succeeds in shedding light on the mysteries of the creation of the universe at the point of singularity, what happened subsequently, and what may or may not transpire in the future. Hawking discusses in length Einstein's general theory of relativity, quantum mechanics and the attempt to combine these into a grand unified theory, a lofty goal that has eluded theoretical physicists to date.

Fascinating.......2007-09-17

Quite accessible for a book on the beginning of the universe. It doesn't explain how it got here, but begins at 1 second post big bang. It has a good explanation of the work of Isaac Newton and why it was important and also the work of Einstein. I understood the physics, at least I did when I was reading it. The explanations were good enough to let me wrap my mind around them. It is interesting that the idea of ether is coming back up for consideration again. Not sure I believe in string theory though. Why not just say everything is made of energy?

Hawking :a master writer.......2007-09-02

Hawking's new book "The Briefest History of Time" should be read by all intelligent Americans. Every book of this quality and with a similar contents may help to stop the tide of idiocy proposed by supporters of creationism in America.Only by spreading real science we will escape becoming the richest but also the most primitive intellectually nation in the world. We need a heavy counterweight to the evangelic snake oil peddlers who can gather tousands sing along automata and preach bible which offenses every educated and intelligent mind. Hawking's book can help to be such a counterbalance.

Great Renewed Introduction on our Time.......2007-08-21

This book explains the physical concepts in very understandable fashion. It can be understood by any person. You do not have to be a scientist or physicists to read the book. There are also wonderful examples explaining the scientific phenomenon underlying our universe and black hole or other galaxies.

customer.......2007-06-27

Book arrived in timely fashion, excellent condition, well packaged to protect it during shipment. I'd read it in the library and thought it excellent. I'm a logical person but not a physicist or a mathematician yet the material was understandable, well presented and the illustrations very helpful. The absence of long proofs/equations not only shortened the book but made the descriptions and illustrations easier to follow and not so intimidating. The large print version was especially helpful even though my eye sight is good. I'll read it a number of times and I'm sure my understanding will increase with each reading.

Average customer rating:

This book is a fake!
Author - a true genius
Fascinating
TERRIBLE digital transfer by "Phoenix Audio"
A well written classic

A Brief History of Time
Stephen Hawking
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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The Universe in a Nutshell
A Briefer History of Time
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Ideas & Opinions

Accessories:

Brief History of Time

ASIN: 0553380168
Release Date: 1998-09-01

Amazon.com

Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, wrote the modern classic A Brief History of Time to help nonscientists understand the questions being asked by scientists today: Where did the universe come from? How and why did it begin? Will it come to an end, and if so, how? Hawking attempts to reveal these questions (and where we're looking for answers) using a minimum of technical jargon. Among the topics gracefully covered are gravity, black holes, the Big Bang, the nature of time, and physicists' search for a grand unifying theory. This is deep science; these concepts are so vast (or so tiny) as to cause vertigo while reading, and one can't help but marvel at Hawking's ability to synthesize this difficult subject for people not used to thinking about things like alternate dimensions. The journey is certainly worth taking, for, as Hawking says, the reward of understanding the universe may be a glimpse of "the mind of God." --Therese Littleton

Book Description

A Brief History of Time, published in 1988, was a landmark volume in science writing and in world-wide acclaim and popularity, with more than 9 million copies in print globally. The original edition was on the cutting edge of what was then known about the origins and nature of the universe. But the ensuing years have seen extraordinary advances in the technology of observing both the micro- and the macrocosmic world--observations that have confirmed many of Hawking's theoretical predictions in the first edition of his book.

Now a decade later, this edition updates the chapters throughout to document those advances, and also includes an entirely new chapter on Wormholes and Time Travel and a new introduction. It make vividly clear why A Brief History of Time has transformed our view of the universe.

Customer Reviews:

This book is a fake!.......2007-10-01

As a physicist I am flabbergasted and slightly depressed by the success of this book. First of all this book presents as if they were equally certain some pieces of orthodox science together with some of the author's dubious speculations. The lay reader is not told which are which. Secondly, the author obviously has no knowledge of the actual history of physics and yet he shamelessly "describes" it to the reader.

Hawking seems to have gathered together all the bad cliches about various physical issues and has taken out all the valuable ideas. He explains nothing, he just asserts that "we physicists know that..., we physicists have demonstrated that...". I cannot see how anyone can actually learn anything about physics from this book, about why we know what we know. And yet, judging from the amount of praise this book receives, it seems that quite a lot of people have fallen under the spell that they have been allowed access to some secret. They haven't and I find this trickery immoral.

Quantum physics and astrophysics are really interesting. They don't deserve to be thrashed in this unashamed manner. If you want to learn something about physics, there are other books which do a much better job, for example Asimov's Atom: Journey Across the Subatomic Cosmos.

Author - a true genius.......2007-09-22

Stephen Hawking is a true genius. Although I don't understand everything he writes, all-in-all this book gives one the understanding of how wonderfully made the universe is.

Fascinating.......2007-08-24

I found this book to be ingenious yet accessible to the average reader, which is what I believe Hawking set out to accomplish. Great food for thought in my opinion.

TERRIBLE digital transfer by "Phoenix Audio".......2007-08-10

It's a great book by Hawking, but this product is just a reproduction of something by Hawking/Jackson that we already know is great. So what sort of job does this product do of delivering one of my favorite audio books? Not a very good one.

The original recording sounds fine, but this production from 2005 sounds like it was converted to a low bit rate at some point during editing, and probably had a poor noise removal job done as well. For the benefit of removing possibly a little weak static in the background, we get to listen to a robotic Jackson for 5 hours. It sounds similar to an early digital cell phone with a choppy feel and many T's and S's muffled.

There really isn't any reason I can see for this to not be a perfect reproduction of earlier digital versions. Old bootlegs floating about the internet sound better. Maybe "Phoenix Audio" should have just grabbed those to print, and left all of that tricky audio work to the more competent civilian sector.

A well written classic.......2007-08-01

I have a stack of these :The First Three Minutes: A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe,Cosmic Code and In Search/big Bang: /, so I can compare and contrast.
There is material on black holes here that isn't covered as well in the others. I still would wish that all these authors would put in more of the real equations and less of the dumbing down. One point is that people not able to understand this kind of book, probably won't understand no matter how simple you make the text. Maybe one should make effective use of your time in writing and concentrate on those who will understand and use the results.

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)

Average customer rating:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers
Pants on fire?
Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed.
Very Interesting
History as Science Fiction

History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Anatoly Fomenko
Manufacturer: Mithec
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Similar Items:

History: Fiction or Science? Chronology 2 (Chronology)
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They Cast No Shadows: A Collection of Essays on the Illuminati, Revisionist History, and Suppressed Technologies

ASIN: 2913621058

Book Description

Recorded history is a finely-woven magic fabric of intricate lies about events predating the sixteenth century. There is not a single piece of evidence that can be reliably and independently traced back earlier than the eleventh century. This book details events that are substantiated by hard facts and logic, and validated by new astronomical research and statistical analysis of ancient sources.

Customer Reviews:

Calculations are only as good as your numbers.......2007-08-03

Yes, we can all agree that mainstream history is nearly 100% BS due to politics, economics, ego, problems with dating techniques, and various conspiracies. Agreed. But, I've been researching the distinct possibility that human history (in terms of civilizations) are much more ancient than we've been told, so coming across this book was very interesting to me. I wondered how Fomenko could be wrong (if at all) because he is very persuasive in his presentations. Then it dawned on me. If at previous times in prehistory, due to the various catastrophies that are well documented (comets, asteroids, planetary disruptions, plasma discharge, pole reversals, etc) the Earth was in a different position in relation to the sun, different tilt on its axis, different orbit, different rotation (in terms of velocity and DIRECTION), and the continents were in different positions, then would this not cause the ancients to see the sky (constellations) differently? In other words, is Fomenko making erronious assumptions about the physics of the Earth in pre-history, which then corrupt his data with regards to dating the relevant astrology? The last event to seriously disrupt our planet occured roughly 3500 years ago, according to other good researchers, so is it possible Fomenko has been confused by this? The vastly different physics of our planet in the not so distant past may explain this confusion, which is not to say the "mainstream" version of history is correct; on the contrary. I am not an expert in these fields, but wanted to see if this idea could spark discussion.

Pants on fire?.......2007-07-19

Will people ever read before spamming? Yes, Jesuits could not rewrite world history alone, they had help. Anyway, Dr Prof Acad A.Fomenko does not point to jesuits as the driving force of world wide history manipulation in published volumes 1,2,3;, actually he barely mentions the poor devils. Check it with 'Search inside' feature, please. China is rarely mentioned either, in fact, Dr Fomenko is completely eurocentric. Right, his theory contradicts all mainstream schools of history, because in their actual state they are all built on blatantly erroneus chronology. You don't need a mysterious cabal (conspiracy) to falsify history, the falsification is its modus operandi. It is inherent to history(ians) to falsify (distort) events, as it is inherent to humans to boast as it is inherent to power (authority) to legimize itself by referrring to glorious past made to its own order. Dr Prof Fomenko and team have identified scores of instances of such manipulation in Russian, European, etc.. history, and delivered valid statistical proof thereof. His own 'reconstruction' is completely another story. Forget c14 as a valid method of dating. W.Libby has initially discovered a brilliant method of INDEPENDENT dating. Too bad, c14 method has become a joke after a forced marrige with dendrochronology with consensual chronological scale inbuilt. Radiocarbon method can't stand blind tests, but is so very productive as a rubberstamp.

Accepted History & Chronology Must Be Changed. .......2007-04-09

There is no doubt that history as most know it is a sham, & institution's version of History both University & Church is fradulent & inaccurate. Everything was established with an agenda, The real "Dark Ages" are now when we have access to incredible amounts of information past authorities & more important 'common folk' didn't have but our institutions & educators are slow to evolve because of what has ignorantly & arrogantly been taught for too long. This is on many subjects not just Chronology.

For anyone to question "Why would a Mathematician have anything credible to say of History?" The answer is from Dr. Fomenko's preface in the book: "It would be worthwhile to remind the reader that in the XVI-XVII century Chronology was considered to be a subdivision of Mathematics." These volumes could possibly be some of the most important works to date & should be read by everyone with an interest in History, especially professors & educators who have a duty to the public. I have read both books & must say that 'Chronology 1' has some very eye opening & revolutionary information. Even if these volumes are part true the implications are profound & opens the doors to further investigations & questions which must be done. I speak several different lanquages & must say the logic Dr. Fomenko uses with "inflection" of words & words being read from left to right in one region & right to left in another then written backwards, the removal of vowels & get down to basics of words, or different cities & locations having the same name etc. is correct. Vowel usage has always been optional & varied, actually complicating linquistics & study. The first thing one has to understand is that words never had a fixed spelling in history like we do now, the spelling of words was mutable & regional, as well as names & titles of people were vast, varied & changed, NOTHING WAS FIXED or understood linear. Matters of Life & Death as well as financial profiteering yesterday & today were & are made with ignorant, illogical & conspiratorial views of history & reality, it's time people get closer to the Truth & society collectively grow up.

Very Interesting.......2007-03-07

It is a good proposal and I believe it will mature into something even better in the future. I think it deserves to be read.

History as Science Fiction.......2007-01-10

Anatoly Fomenko has written a very intriguing book, full of pictures, charts, and computer 'proof' of his thesis: backwards of AD900 we don't really know what happened or when. Between AD900 and AD1600 there is more certainty, but there is still a lot of fuzzy ground, and things don't get reliable until we get past the 1600's where the printing press made it very difficult for the perpetrators of this timeline manipulation to change anything that had been committed to print. The Dark Ages did not happen. Books were burned for a reason. One organization has doubled the actual length of its existence by expanding the real chronology. Read why.

I had always wondered why Christ died about AD33 and yet men waited until the 11th century to form the Knights Templar, the Cathars, etc and go after the Holy Land by force. Why the 1000 year gap? Turns out there wasn't more than a 10-12 year gap and he proves it using astronomy. This also implies that the planet is not as old as we have been told, and current Christian and other creationist scientists are already championing that idea without being aware of Fomenko's book. The two groups, creationist scientists and the Russian mathematical analysts corroborate each other. Fascinating.

Of course, all this flies in the face of what we have been told traditionally is the 'proper' chronology of western civilization, and most readers will experience 'cognitive dissonance' in reading this book. It means that our history going backwards from AD1600 becomes progressively more incorrect and unreliable until it cannot be trusted at all... in the space of 700-800 years.

Naturally, the curious, open-minded reader will want to know WHO did this, WHY, and did any of the events we think of as really ancient ever happen?
Dr. Fomenko is a respected scientist/mathematician at Moscow State University who has already answered these questions to the satisfaction of his initially skeptical colleagues. Most of them are now believers, a few still refuse to believe (the usual diehards), and of course the western press has ignored Fomenko's work -- for obvious reasons when you read the book. The ones who perpetrated this chronology ruse have a lot to answer for. They are still with us. That's why this book is a well-kept secret.

I gave the book a 4-star rating because I was unable to check out some of his claims; those I checked were as he said. But if even 1/3 of his claims are true, this punches a big hole in what we think is our history, the meaning of western civilization, our educational process (for repeating the ruse as gospel), and the trustworthiness of the organization that perpetrated this ruse, well-intentioned or not.

This book relates to current research into a Young Earth paradigm, to John Keel's discoveries about our planet, and Fr Malachi Martin's insights (in his now out-of-print books). We are indeed sheep who are manipulated and kept ignorant -- for a reason. While knowing what these men have to say may be the "booby prize" (as in: 'what can you do with this knowledge?'), it will provide interesting reading. Didn't someone say: "...and the Truth will set you free."?? For you to judge if this book contains the truth.

Praxis Manned Spaceflight Log 1961-2006 (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration)

Average customer rating:

Praxis Manned Spaceflight Log 1961-2006
Who did what - and When?
A very great book
A must have!

Praxis Manned Spaceflight Log 1961-2006 (Springer Praxis Books / Space Exploration)
Tim Furniss , David J. Shayler , and Michael D. Shayler
Manufacturer: Praxis
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Accessories:

Distant Worlds: Milestones in Planetary Exploration
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ASIN: 0387341757

Book Description

Praxis Log of Manned Spaceflight 1961-2006 will open with a section entitled: Quest for Space, which will provide an explanation of the methods employed to get in and out of orbit and brief overviews of the different international space programmes. It will be a complete chronological log of all attempted orbital manned spaceflights, including the X-15 "astroflights" of the 1960s that only achieved an altitude of c. 50 miles and the two 1961 Mercury and Redstone missions which were non-orbital. There will be an image depicting each manned spaceflight, and data boxes containing brief biographies of all the space travellers and basic flight data. The main text will be a narrative of each mission, its highlights and accomplishments, including those strange facts and humorous stories that are connected to every mission.

By targeting publication in September 2006, the return to flight of the Shuttle, two more Soyuz TMA launches and, quite possibly, a second Chinese manned mission. The resulting book will be a handy reference to all manned spaceflights, the names astronauts and cosmonauts who flew on each mission, and their roles and accomplishments. Recent announcements of a return to the Moon and eventual manned flights to Mars, as new hardware and procedures are developed to support these long-range programs, emphasizes the case for future updates of this book.

Customer Reviews:

Praxis Manned Spaceflight Log 1961-2006 .......2007-06-27

A very comprehensive account of manned space flight. The book contains a time period overview of space travel plus a detailed account of each flight. Enjoyable reading. A must-have for all space buffs!

Who did what - and When?.......2007-04-20

This one is big as a medium size telephone directory - around 820 pages - but it has to be. Chronicling some 250 space flight since April 12, 1961 up to September 29, 2006, and the participants from Yuri Gagarin to Anousheh Ansari, in lucid prose and memory-stirring photographs, this is a worthy follow-up of the Tim Furniss earlier chronicling of the first 103 space flights. That milestone was passed in April 1983. We tend to equal "space flight" with "flights to Earth Orbit" or "Flight to the Moon", but suborbital flight to more than 80 kilometres - 13 in the X-15 rocket plane and 3 in the comercial "Spaceship One" are included as official flights that reached space. Aborts during launches are also included, as are the incredibly sad listings of the crew of STS 51-L, where Gregory Jarvis and Christa McAuliffe attained only 1 minute of spaceflight experience, before that ascent was so cruelly - and unnecessarily - terminated.
The Authors have visely chosen to present all the numerical data in both metric and imperial measurement. If I have to search for something missing, I would wish for an alphabetic index of persons, who participated in which flight style, but then the size of this volume, already in that class which seriously hampers the compulsory bed-reader, clearly would have grown quite out of hand. Let us be thankful for the mass of facts we already have got here.
For the veteran armchair astronaut this volume brings back a lot of memories, and still succeeds in serving up a plethora of data that has slipped the memory over those 45 years. For the young reader, this presents the scope of Mankinds first forays off our planetary shores and trips to the offshore island of the Moon. It's an incredible history after all, and it's all here.

A very great book.......2007-03-30

I was really impressed by the Praxis Manned Spaceflight Log 1961-2006.
Simply the best !!! A book with many details of each manned space mission since the Gagarin's flight. Highly recommended. More than 820 pages rich with any type of information.

A must have!.......2007-02-11

An amazing publication: covers Vostok-1 (Gagarin) to Soyuz TMA-9. Tons of info for each flight: International designation; launched; Launch site; Landed; Landing site; Launch vehicle (for the shuttle you have the tank number, the SRB set and the SSME engines); Duration; Callsign; Objective; Flight Crew; Flight Log and finally Milestones. Also three chapters cover respectively: Reaching the heavens (access/method; Space flight methods/launch systems); The Quest for Space; The orbital programmes (Vostok, Mercury, Apollo, Shuttle, Salyut, Shenzhou etc..).
An outstand reference works for anybody who is interested in the history of spaceflight!
A must have on one's bookshelf.

Average customer rating:

Ancient civilizations' overview
Interesting book
highly recomended
Interesting
No connective tissue

Fingerprints of the Gods
Graham Hancock
Manufacturer: Three Rivers Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Ancient | History | Subjects | Books

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The Message of the Sphinx: A Quest for the Hidden Legacy of Mankind
Supernatural: Meetings With the Ancient Teachers of Mankind
Underworld: The Mysterious Origins of Civilization
Sign and the Seal: The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant
Chariots of the Gods

ASIN: 0517887290
Release Date: 1996-04-02

Book Description

The bestselling author of The Sign and the Seal reveals the true origins of civilization. Connecting puzzling clues scattered throughout the world, Hancock discovers compelling evidence of a technologically and culturally advanced civilization that was destroyed and obliterated from human memory. Four 8-page photo inserts.

Customer Reviews:

Ancient civilizations' overview.......2007-08-21

This book assembles a large number of evidences left by ancient civilizations. Written in an "adventure" format, the reading is quite easy and captivating. You'll enjoy better the subjects that you know little or nothing about (since it would not be possible to collect all the details over a so large number of occurrences).
Strongly recommended for those searching for an initiation on the "ancient civilizations" quest.

Interesting book.......2007-08-06

My husband introduced me to this book while we were dating and I enjoyed it. The author, Graham Hancock, has visited the sites of ancient civilizations in Egypt, Peru, China, Easter Island, and such, and has found evidence of similar and very advanced methods of construction, mathematics, and water management as well as parallel legends that originated at these far-flung places.

highly recomended.......2007-06-11

This thought provoking piece of investigative archeology will inspire you to think about the mysteries of the origin of our civilisation. Very well written so that even moderatly educated people can come to grips with highly technical conclusions that are arrived at using common sense and logic.

Interesting.......2007-06-05

I found most of this book utterly fascinating. I found that Hancock's ideas about all the similiarities between Ancient cultures pretty enlightening. I never realized that so many of the myths were so common among the ancient people like the story of the great flood or deluge. One has to wonder if they new about it, witnessed it, or it was orally passed down. This part of the book was great. You start asking yourself how did these similar stories get around the globe? How did the similarities in their building techniques get around the globe?

And here is where Hancock wants you to take a GIANT leap. For him all of it, everything from the stories to buildings to the gods they worshipped came from a so-called "Lost Civilization" that he thinks lived on Antartica. Fine, I can certainly see how one may come to this conclusion. But I think Hancock simply ignores easier theories because he so blindly believes his own with a scary single-minded tenacity. Hancock himself goes into great detail about how he believes that the ancients were great sailors of the oceans. The boats found buried near the pyramids gives this pretty good footing. So if they were such good sailors and were mapping the continents, Couldn't they have also spread their way of life and their knowledge this way? Couldn't it be as simple as a 'sharing of ideas' among the ancient cultures rather that some hidden, unseen, secret civilization teaching everyone their secrets? I mean the ancient egyptians could have easily sailed to the Americans and shared their building techniques and religious stories. If not the egyptians if could have been the Minoans.

I did like a lot of this book but I think sometimes Mr. Hancock is searching for something so extrodinary that he sometimes ignores the very clues and facts that he DOES find. If you don't believe me read his other books. He is so dead set on there being a "lost" society that he refuses to see somethinge right in front of his face.

No connective tissue.......2007-06-04

The basic gist of the book it: (1) there was an advanced human civilization that developed on what is not Antarctica before the last Ice Age when the continent was habitable and further north; (2) this civilization developed sea-faring technology and journeyed to South/Central America, Egypt/the Middle East, and India; (3) these people passed on aspects of their culture and technology which have come down to us through myths, legends, and certain physical structures.

Hancock takes a lot of cultural traditions and archeological evidence and tries to fit it all into his over-arching thesis; it's kind of like a "unified theory of pre-history." True, it's very interesting and true, there are really no adequate explanations for some his evidence but that's very far from making the case. There just isn't much connective tissue here; it's mostly bizarre pieces of data stuck together with conjecture and imagination (or, as Hancock puts it: intuition).

To read this book and conclude that Hancock has "proved" the existence of pre-glacial civilization(s) (as have some reviewers here, apparently), you would have to be a moron. I have to admit, however, that there is enough here to give one pause. One cannot completely dismiss the theory.

It certainly seems possible (and, perhaps, even probable) that humanity reached some degree of civilization before the last Ice Age and all the global climatic catastrophes that went with it. But Antarctica? Even if you accept the explanation that the continent suddenly shifted south by 2,000 miles about 15,000 years ago, why would this super-civilization emerge there and so outpace human societal evolution elsewhere in the world? How would people have gotten there in the first place (or would Hancock claim that a branch of the human race evolved there independent of Africa and elsewhere?)

I could go on but I won't. Bottom line is: interesting but not compelling. It's an interesting theory and might even be possible, but lots of things are possible. FotG does not "prove" anything; it just presents one tantalizing theory to explain historical oddities that will probably never be explained.

Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love

Average customer rating:

Interesting subject, thin prose.
Galileo imprisoned for furthering a truth that disagreed with biblical writings and Christian teachings: a daughter's view
FAMILY PORTRAIT
Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love
THE EARTH ALSO RISES:

Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith and Love
Dava Sobel
Manufacturer: Walker & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time
The Planets
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Brunelleschi's Dome: How a Renaissance Genius Reinvented Architecture
Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling

ASIN: 0802713432

Amazon.com

Everyone knows that Galileo Galilei dropped cannonballs off the leaning tower of Pisa, developed the first reliable telescope, and was convicted by the Inquisition for holding a heretical belief--that the earth revolved around the sun. But did you know he had a daughter? In Galileo's Daughter, Dava Sobel (author of the bestselling Longitude) tells the story of the famous scientist and his illegitimate daughter, Sister Maria Celeste. Sobel bases her book on 124 surviving letters to the scientist from the nun, whom Galileo described as "a woman of exquisite mind, singular goodness, and tenderly attached to me." Their loving correspondence revealed much about their world: the agonies of the bubonic plague, the hardships of monastic life, even Galileo's occasional forgetfulness ("The little basket, which I sent you recently with several pastries, is not mine, and therefore I wish you to return it to me").

While Galileo tangled with the Church, Maria Celeste--whose adopted name was a tribute to her father's fascination with the heavens--provided moral and emotional support with her frequent letters, approving of his work because she knew the depth of his faith. As Sobel notes, "It is difficult today ... to see the Earth at the center of the Universe. Yet that is where Galileo found it." With her fluid prose and graceful turn of phrase, Sobel breathes life into Galileo, his daughter, and the earth-centered world in which they lived. --Sunny Delaney

Book Description

Inspired by a long fascination with Galileo, and by the remarkable surviving letters of Galileo's daughter, a cloistered nun, Dava Sobel has written a biography unlike any other of the man Albert Einstein called "the father of modern physics- indeed of modern science altogether." Galileo's Daughter also presents a stunning portrait of a person hitherto lost to history, described by her father as "a woman of exquisite mind, singular goodness, and most tenderly attached to me."

The son of a musician, Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) tried at first to enter a monastery before engaging the skills that made him the foremost scientist of his day. Though he never left Italy, his inventions and discoveries were heralded around the world. Most sensationally, his telescopes allowed him to reveal a new reality in the heavens and to reinforce the astounding argument that the Earth moves around the Sun. For this belief, he was brought before the Holy Office of the Inquisition, accused of heresy, and forced to spend his last years under house arrest.

Of Galileo's three illegitimate children, the eldest best mirrored his own brilliance, industry, and sensibility, and by virtue of these qualities became his confidante. Born Virginia in 1600, she was thirteen when Galileo placed her in a convent near him in Florence, where she took the most appropriate name of Suor Maria Celeste. Her loving support, which Galileo repaid in kind, proved to be her father's greatest source of strength throughout his most productive and tumultuous years. Her presence, through letters which Sobel has translated from their original Italian and masterfully woven into the narrative, graces her father's life now as it did then.

Galileo's Daughter dramatically recolors the personality and accomplishment of a mythic figure whose seventeenth-century clash with Catholic doctrine continues to define the schism between science and religion. Moving between Galileo's grand public life and Maria Celeste's sequestered world, Sobel illuminates the Florence of the Medicis and the papal court in Rome during the pivotal era when humanity's perception of its place in the cosmos was about to be overturned. In that same time, while the bubonic plague wreaked its terrible devastation and the Thirty Years' War tipped fortunes across Europe, one man sought to reconcile the Heaven he revered as a good Catholic with the heavens he revealed through his telescope.

With all the human drama and scientific adventure that distinguished Dava Sobel's previous book Longitude, Galileo's Daughter is an unforgettable story.

Customer Reviews:

Interesting subject, thin prose........2007-09-29

My real issue with this book is that Sobel's writing leaves me cold. I had avoided reading this for a long time because I had not really enjoyed Longitude. But countless critical raves and the response from friends caused me to decide to give Galileo's Daughter a try.

The subject matter is interesting enough. The book is very little about Galileo's daughter and is more a book about the man himself. That is not really a bad thing, since there is sadly not very much to know about Suor Maria Celeste. The episodes Sobel chooses to highlight are interesting, and I believe she succeeds in making Galileo human to the readers.

I would be hard pressed to say what exactly it is that I do not like about Sobel as a writer. It is not something that I can easily articulate. I think that it has something to do with the fact that her prose feels like an overextended magazine article. Both in Longitude and in this book, I felt as though the material were too thin for the weight that she was trying to hang on the pages. I am not sure that this is true, and suspect it may have something to do with the structure. In any case, with both books I had the experience that I was quite impatient with the prose even as I was interested in the material.

If you are interested in scientific history and in the mood for some reasonably light reading, then my review should not discourage you from picking up Galileo's Daughter. Myself, I am probably going to avoid Sobel in the future.

Galileo imprisoned for furthering a truth that disagreed with biblical writings and Christian teachings: a daughter's view.......2007-09-29

At sixty-eight years of age, Galileo, a Catholic, was sentenced to three years imprisonment for writing a philosophical story in support of the Copernican sun-centered universe theory. Unfortunately for him (and the truth), it was in conflict with the wording of the bible (p 62):

"O lord my God, Thou art great indeed....Thou fixed the Earth upon its foundation, not to be moved forever.[103:1,5]

The actions leading up to that event make up the majority of the book, which distinguishes itself from other biographies by its inclusion of the content of letters written by his elder daughter, Virginia, who was born in 1600 and "adopted the name Maria Celeste when she became a nun" at age thirteen. Because Galileo's letters were destroyed, the majority of what we learn about him is through her writings, which is both the book's strength and its weakness. In fact, it might more aptly be titled, Galileo's Daughter's Letters: a view of his life from behind the walls of the nunnery. Because there are no letters before she became a teenager, little is known about that part of her life. And although it is reader friendly, even for the non-scientifically minded, it could have been shortened by a fourth to a half of its 420 pages without losing much in readability and coverage of the most important aspects of Galileo's life.

FAMILY PORTRAIT.......2007-07-11

A violent and unruly age is the setting for this story of the relationship between Galileo and his illegitimate daughter Maria Celestes (born Virginia). Placed in a convent at the age of thirteen, she spent her remaining years loyal to the hard life of her order, the Poor Clares, and to her infamous father. While not engaged in a "typical" father daughter relationship, the 124 letters written by Marie Celestes to her father offers the reader an insight into the intense personal devotion that developed between the two........ as well as a retelling of Galileo's notorious clash with the Inquisition and his subsequent trial for heresy as seen through his daughters eyes.

Along the way, we are exposed to the horrors of the bubonic plague as it rampages through Italy, the problems with travel and communication, the loss and damage caused by the 30 years war, and a vicarious trip into the garish lifestyle of Galileo's patrons, the Medicis.

This is truly more a story of Galileo than his daughter, but nevertheless interesting. Reading this story brings to the forefront the several interesting situations and provokes the reader to examine and compare life in the 17th century with our lives today. For example: (1) the reaction of the populace to bubonic plague versus our initial reaction to the AIDS epidemic, (2) the continuing tenuous and conflicted relationship between science and religion (stem cell research, etc.), (3) the opposition to the acceptance of revolutionary new discoveries over established methods, (4) the curtailment of freedom to pursue thought and speech that is contradictory to what is considered acceptable (attempted censorship of the conservative media).

Ms. Sobel's love for her subject matter is obvious in every word she put to paper.

Galileo's Daughter: A Historical Memoir of Science, Faith, and Love.......2007-05-20

The Seventeenth century was the most significant period after the fall of the Roman Empire. When the Roman Empire fell apart, all knowledge of the Romans was lost. However, all this knowledge slowly recovered when the Reformations, Renaissance, and Science Revolution were initiated. People brought back the Classic Age that had been lost. Art, music, and literature were not difficult to revive, but science was. When the Classic Age ended, and after the Black Plague, people believed all the teachings of the church were right. People against the Church's teachings were considered heretics.
This book, Galileo's Daughter: A historical memoir of science, faith, and love by Dava Sobel, starts with a letter from Galileo's daughter, Maria. In her letters, the readers can learn many details of the 1600's. Even though she is a nun, she supports his father and does not consider him as heretic because she knew that his theory was the truth. When Galileo saw that the Copernicus's ideas were more likely to be true than Ptolemy's established philosophy, he began the teaching it in defiance of the Catholic Church. However, he was forced to recant his theory. Despite opposition of the Catholic Church, Galileo publishes Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems: Ptolemaic and Copernican. Because of that, his book was banned, and he encountered peril. He was put on trial for heresy and convicted. Maria Celeste was insightful, grandiloquent, and loved her father as he loved her. Regardless of her occupation, she supported her father through the trials. Although Galileo and Maria sent letters back and forth, Galileo's letters to Maria are nowhere to be found.
At first, I thought this book was about the story of Sour Maria Celeste and her relationship with her father, Galileo. However, this book manifested the struggles Galileo went through externally and internally. Because he was a religious man, he had a hard time fighting for what was right, his theory over the teachings of the Church. At the end of the book is very poignant moment, when Galileo's body was finally allowed to be placed in the monument.
I recommend this book to other students completing this assignment because it shows Galileo's accomplishments, and much more. This book is profound to the extension that as a daughter, I could see the father and daughter relationship, and how that relationship has effected Galileo I become one of the most extolled scientists in the world.

THE EARTH ALSO RISES:.......2007-03-20

It is a fascinating tale of a father, a devout Catholic, obedient son and above all a scientist, astronomer, and a philosopher, decades ahead of his time. He paved the way for all future discoveries and revelations in Physics and Astronomy. Newton, who was born the year Galileo died, did stand squarely on Galileo's shoulders to go where no man had gone before .

It is Galileo's courage and conviction that we so admire in facing Pope Urban's ire and ridicule in the 17th century Italy. Popes come and go but the name of Galileo would shine for ever as long as the Jovian moons would orbit their planet. His brilliant "dialogues" on astronomy, wave theory, motion and scores of other subjects were the foundation of everything we know today about anything.

Even today, it is sad to say, there are remnants of Urban's ilk all over the world that cling to creation theory and even believe that Ptolemy was right.

Galileo had two daughters and a son. Tradition forced him to enroll the girls in the convent hoping to find suitable husbands if not marry them to Christ and spend rest of their lives as nuns. Sister Maria Celeste, the older daughter, a paragon of virtue, devotes her entire life in serving others and above all to take care of her dear father. Her letters are down to earth, personal, articulate and at times with a touch of humor.

The book narrates Galileo's epic journey from early childhood, as a medical student even contemplating on becoming a priest. He eventually gets his degree in physics and engineering, his true calling, and then becomes a professor at prestigious university at Padua. Medici's hire him as their court advisor. His experiments from the leaning tower of Pisa are known to all of us who took any science in school. His books promote Sun being the center of the universe confirming Copernicus's theory. The church clinging to Bible's version of a stationary Earth is outraged and begins its ignominious inquisition, sentencing the aged scientist to house arrest where he dies, blind and heart broken.

The book's other protagonist, the ever loving daughter, whose letters to her father are interspersed throughout the book, makes a interesting and noble contrast to the dogmatic, self centered pious hypocrites of Church in Rome.

It is MUST read.

Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon (Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 (Awards))

Average customer rating:

Will use this in class.
team moon
A Good Read for all ages
An Adventure in Science Fiction
Simply Breathtaking

Team Moon: How 400,000 People Landed Apollo 11 on the Moon (Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 (Awards))
Catherine Thimmesh
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0618507574

Book Description

Here is a rare perspective on a story we only thought we knew. For Apollo 11, the first moon landing, is a story that belongs to many, not just the few and famous. It belongs to the seamstress who put together twenty-two layers of fabric for each space suit. To the engineers who created a special heat shield to protect the capsule during its fiery reentry. It belongs to the flight directors, camera designers, software experts, suit testers, telescope crew, aerospace technicians, photo developers, engineers, and navigators. Gathering direct quotes from some of these folks who worked behind the scenes, Catherine Thimmesh reveals their very human worries and concerns. Culling NASA transcripts, national archives, and stunning NASA photos from Apollo 11, she captures not only the sheer magnitude of this feat but also the dedication, ingenuity, and perseverance of the greatest team everthe team that worked to first put man on that great gray rock in the sky.

Customer Reviews:

Will use this in class........2007-05-12

I will use this book in my middle school curriculum when I teach about space. When I showed it to students, they pretty much just looked at the pictures. After they watched "Apollo 13" it made a lot more sense to them. Then they wanted to understand more about the technology available at the time. This book makes a great companion piece to "The Right Stuff" and "The Dish" as well. If you are trying to get a historical perspective on that time period and didn't live through it as some of us did, please do yourself a favor and read it. The current textbooks cannot portray the taste of adventure we felt each time the astronauts voyaged out into dangerous places,as students back home gathered around black and white TV's brought into the classrooms to watch splashdowns. Knowing that the support structures have to be so huge may help people both understand why it costs so much to run a space program as well as perhaps pursue careers in the aerospace industry that are not just in the small astronaut corps.

team moon.......2007-03-25

i thought this book was great. i added it to my classroom library and the students love it too.

A Good Read for all ages.......2007-01-10

Definitely a juvenile-oriented work, but nonetheless very interesting and full of information not generally provided in accounts of the first manned moon landing.

An Adventure in Science Fiction.......2006-11-22

Though I typically lean towards fantasy and adventure-themed novels, this was one of the few science fiction books I was able to appreciate, not only for its interesting word choice, but also for its unexpected suspense. The author of this book really paints an image in your mind. The beginning, for me, was something I had to somewhat struggle through, but once I got past it, I was able to dive into the past, understanding the fears of the unknown that the people of that time must have faced. What was it like to go to the moon, to step onto that land that no man can describe? And 400,000...that's no small number, just as it was no small feat to land Apollo 11 on the moon.

~From the reader

Simply Breathtaking.......2006-11-08

I apologize for paraphrasing the title of Dr. Jones's review, but it really is appropriate and fitting; the book does give you "a catch in the throat [and] a hint of a happy tear in [your] eye in admiration for the men and women of Apollo" on so many different levels. Through her compelling writing and her keen eye for selecting breathtaking photos (in Thimmesh's context, even black and white, mission control shots are "breathtaking"), as well as the stunning layout and design she herself put together for the book, Ms. Thimmesh truly impresses on the reader the incredible nature of the mission and the accomplishments of so many who contributed to the endeavor.

I would reiterate the comments dismissing out of hand Mr. Waldron's completely off the mark review (and would ask other readers to consider the response to Mr. Walderon's review by clicking on the comments to his review). It would be a shame if any reader (and particularly children who did not have the privilige of experiencing those historic events first hand) were disuaded from reading the book and sharing, at least at some level, in the wonderous accomplishments of so many. It is hard to understand how one could not encourage everyone they know to read this book; failing to do so would not only deprive someone of (re)experiencing the truly awe inspiring nature of this epic event, it also deprives those who did so much for mankind (and it is hard to overstate the importance of their accomplishments--if on no other level than the perspective it gave humanity on the chunk of rock they share with each other) of some long overdue recogintion.

This is truly a book that should be read by everyone--not just children--to try and regain that perspective. I recomend it wholeheartedly to everyone.

The book is Simply Breathtaking!

Average customer rating:

on one equation
Fills a huge gap

Cosmic Rays and Particle Physics
Thomas K. Gaisser
Manufacturer: Cambridge University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Introduction To Ultrahigh Energy Cosmic Ray Physics (Frontiers in Physics)
Cosmic Ray Astrophysics
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ASIN: 0521326672

Book Description

Over recent years there has been marked growth in interest in the study of techniques of cosmic ray physics by astrophysicists and particle physicists. Cosmic radiation is important for the astrophysicist because in the farther reaches of the universe. For particle physicists, it provides the opportunity to study neutrinos and very high energy particles of galactic origin. More importantly, cosmic rays constitue the background, and in some cases possibly the signal, for the more exotic unconfirmed hypothesized particles such as monopoles and sparticles. Concentrating on the highest energy cosmic rays, this book describes where they originate, acquire energy, and interact, in accreting neutron stars, supernova remnants, in large-scale shock waves. It also describes their interactions in the atmosphere and in the earth, how they are studied in surface and very large underground detectors, and what they tell us.

Customer Reviews:

on one equation.......2003-07-31

I looked at equation (3.22) for other purpose (than counting
cosmic ray particle collisions) and there seems to be a sign mistake in the first equation (integrated mass <25g/cm^2): as
it is, the equation indicates that the mass increases as the
air column gets smaller (or higher altitude).

It seems to be a pretty colorful "fitting formula" and it
could have been more useful if the reference to M. Shibata can
be found in the reference list (p.264: paperback) which may
have information on which "data" (most likely a combination
of measurements/modeling/computations) the formula originates from.

I presume that the next volume will have improved.

** the rating should be dismissed: I did not read through the
book and do not have a judgement. I chose the middle because I did not have choice not to choose. It will affect the
arithmetic statistics and if it matters, it is an unfortunate result of the limited survey method that mandates a choice of rating.

Fills a huge gap.......2000-06-22

With interest in cosmic rays and particle astrophysics growing, Tom Gaisser's Cosmic Rays and Particle Physics is really the only contemporary introduction to the field suitable for undergraduates as well as beginning graduate students. There is no attempt to be fully comprehensive - the field is too broad for that - but processes relating to extensive air showers and their products (including muons and neutrinos) are covered in some detail. I regularly recommend this book to students who are considering research in particle astrophysics. There are a few gaps and a few topics covered in more detail than most people need, as is typical for a first edition. I hope Prof. Gaisser will find the time to prepare a revised and updated edition soon!

Average customer rating:

highly speculative and non-scientific
Not as good as It could be
Sun has a twin ?
A must-have book for any thoughtful reader
Lost Star--Dark Star?

Lost Star of Myth And Time
Walter Cruttenden
Manufacturer: St. Lynn's Press
ProductGroup: Book
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ASIN: 0976763117

Book Description

The myth and folklore of ancestral peoples around the world hints at a vast cycle of time, with alternating Dark and Golden Ages. Plato called it the Great Year. Long believed to be a fairytale, there is now new astronomical evidence to show it has a basis in fact. Moreover, because it is caused by the acceleration of our Sun around another star, we learn that the Earth should soon be carried into a region of space that will have a beneficial affect on our atmosphere, nudging mankind into a higher age of consciousness.

Lost Star of Myth and Time weaves together some of the latest archaeological evidence with cutting-edge astronomy to reveal a history of the world that finally fits with myth, folklore and the archaeological record. While this book explores some of the most interesting aspects of a once advanced civilization that covered the Earth, it is really about what happens to the Earth and consciousness as our solar system moves through space in the mysterious motion known as the "precession of the equinox". This astronomical phenomenon has since Newton been attributed to local gravitational forces wobbling the Earth's axis. Lost Star now shows us in no uncertain terms that the Earth's axis does not change orientation relative to objects inside the solar system at the same rate that it changes orientation to objects outside the solar system, meaning precession must be due to our Sun's binary motion around another star.

Chapter by chapter it becomes clear that ancient cultures knew of precession, used it as the clock of the ages, understood it to be due to the solar system's motion through space, and realized this subjects the Earth to a cycle of waxing and waning stellar influences. It is these forces that affect our magnetosphere, ionosphere and indirectly create the larger seasons of the Great Year. As you will see this not only gives cause for a major rethink of human history and potential, but indicates we are approaching a tipping point in the awakening of consciousness.

Customer Reviews:

highly speculative and non-scientific.......2007-09-26

What defines civilization? Is it the magnitude of knowledge, or tools, or transportation, or commodities, or peace, or all of these? Some writers have postulated the easiest method to ascertain a civilization's height is sift through their garbage dumps. There is some predisposition to believe a civilization is more developed if the refuse shows signs of complexity in art or construction technique. Archeologists have sought in vain to find records in the dust bearing the knowledge of deceased civilizations. The best they have found is records of commerce or letters between merchants or rulers.

Walter Cruttenden makes a pretty good case for our sun being a companion star in a binary or trinary system. And he presents some curious research on the finer influence of energy upon living tissue. But the idea of information stored in rocks or the earth's surface stretches credulity. The storage of information involves the imprinting of specific, organized patterns. To date, no one has noticed patterns of any kind (geological phenomena aside) residing or emitted from rocks or soil. I submit that the mark of a truly advanced civilization is it's ability to record and PRESERVE its knowledge for future generations. What would be the point of life if what is learned is carried to the grave? Isaac Asimov wrote an interesting story of a world which self-destructed caused by superstition, each time all the planets and moons occulted the sun. After a great number of cycles some information was preserved, enough that those of learning could disseminate to subsequent generations the discovery of the cause for periodic occultation, as well as the technical knowledge gained since the previous conflagration.

Mankind, in order to survive, must have transportation. The nomadic way of life has never produced a culture or civilization of advanced degree. It may contain a significant body of knowledge, but the passing of that knowledge verbally and by myth are the least effective of tools. The Ancients Walter speaks of may have had some knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, and various technologies, but they certainly weren't highly developed when it comes to technology, nor do they evidence anything of the Calculus we have today.

The Ice Man of 3500 BC may have owned an axe of highly refined tool grade copper, but did that knowledge die with him? Where are the others like it? Today we may not know how to refine and harden copper to that level, but apparently that knowledge was not widely disseminated by the Ancients either.

Did these Ancients levitate all those giant megaliths around like Tibetan monks in meditation? The scientific investigation into Stonehenge shows that those stones were moved by raw muscle-power which was destructive to bone and sinew. The Sumerians may have had beautiful gardens, sewers, tools of metal, medical technique, and the wheeled cart. They also had war. But none of it was as highly developed as we have today. No evidence has come forth demonstrating widespread education, high technologies in metals, glass, oil derivatives, medicine, art, and transportation. All of these advancements over the basic knowledge the Ancients had have happened in less than 200 years. It is exceedingly difficult to overlay this explosive growth with the Cycle of the Ages as Walter presents it. It doesn't fit the gradual cycle curve controlled by an interlaced binary companion star.

We may have lost some of the ancient knowledge of more refined energies, but no civilization of the past can rival the developments in knowledge dissemination and preservation, technology and artistic materials as we have today. Where is the evidence that a Pavaroti could be heard and observed not only in real time thousands of miles distant, but repeatedly as often as desired? Where is there evidence that man has brought back soil from the Moon, along with the technology to transport him there and back? Where is there evidence that the Golden Age of the Ancients had pictures of the surface of Mars, of asteroidal impacts upon Jupiter, of those tiny light sources in the sky really being galaxies of endless number as far as we can see?

The Ancients may have known many things we have yet to discover. The Spinx and Giza pyramid may forever remain a mystery as to how, when, and why they were constructed. But their "Golden" civilization does not hold a candle to the opportunities of learning, mobility, health, and leisure of today. It has been estimated that 70% of all the people who have lived on this earth are alive today. Surely, we do not know the extent of population on the earth back 10,000 years and more. But this merely begs the point: any advanced civilization will leave a trail of evidence indicating that of all advancements, chief will be reliable record keeping. The Egyptians will remain embarrassed over the mystery of the Sphinx and Pyramids. Ralph Ellis can go rooting around the north slope of K2 for the fabled Hall of Records. But the pattern that has emerged to date indicates no knowledge more advanced than we have today lies anywhere on this planet, nor were there ever any people who had greater comforts and self-fulfillment than today. Nor were they able to preserve their "advanced" knowledge against the Decline.

I'll trade the stone commode or bath-house for a modern flusher and sauna in a thermally efficient, heated room. If the Ancients were masters at canals and waterways it couldn't be due to unwillingness to use advanced technology over stone building. Walter claims there is evidence of widespread prosperity, but that is an unwarranted conclusion about a culture based on digs. I'll take the modern instruments used to do cranial surgery (which replaces the entire bone in its original location) over the crude Egyptian trephine any day.

Walter contradicts himself in many places trying to fit the eccentric binary orbit into the gradual loss and accretion of knowledge. He attempts to account for the changes in life span via the precession cycle, without investigating research into the errors in the Bible and his other sources of ancient longevity. It is amazing in one place he can assert that Terra Preta pottery is more than 10,000 years old, yet high tech metals, plastics, glass, and ceramics couldn't possibly last for more than a few hundred years. Archeologists dig up clay inscripted tablets from several thousand years back which are still legible! The obvious conclusion points to the absence of such technologies because nothing like ours has ever existed in the past. To assert that the Ancients figured out how to recycle any advanced metals, glass, plastic and chemicals back into the earth without a trace and learned to live without it is absurd. Nearly in the same breath he points to evidence of metal working discovered inside coal and stone, and stone blocks in an Oklahoma coal mine that survived several millennia. His stroll through the beaches and bluffs of southern California finding assorted trash is hardly equivalent to unearthing evidence of civilization several meters into the earth like Mexico City, the Cave of a Thousand Buddhas, and a thousand other digs.

The main subject Walter overlooks in his presentation is the prevalence of war in all ages. We have not found evidence of any civilization in ancient times without it. Walter also does not mention the Caste systems of India and China which extends back into the Golden Age he so glorifies. Nor does he treat in detail civilizations declining because of catastrophism. People who build with stone (megalithic or otherwise) don't recover from severe climate changes or deluges in short order.

While Walter presents reasonable and cogent research by professional scientists, his own approach is not scientific. Like much of the phony astronomical science of today, Walter has his process backwards, and leads the reader to believe that our world civilization's decline and rise are explained by association of Precession with ancient myth and folklore (ancient "science"). To him it is a forgone conclusion.

His book contains many interesting discoveries. But his speculations, assumptions, and premature conclusions simply do not hold as an explanation for the fall and rise of this planet's civilizations.

Not as good as It could be.......2007-08-08

When I first read the synopsis of this book, I thought this is the book I always wanted to write.
After reading it I can summarize my feeling in just one word: disappointment. This book is about the connection between the cosmic cycles of the traditions and the precession. According to Walter Cruttenden there must be a companion star out-there. Why? First: because there are some astronomical problems with the precession (for more details see: "Binary Research Institute" web-page). Second: this is a chance to give material reason of the ascending and descending ages (golden, silver, bronze, iron). How: via electro-magnetic waves. If the companion stars nears our Sun we become enlightened, when it goes away we fall into the dark age. (Sounds weird?)
The other planet hypothesis is not new, but mostly scientifically unproved. The best theory I have ever read is from Woelfli and Baltensperger. This book is contains some vague predictions about the size and distance of this object, but the Sirius would be the perfect fit (as the book suggests). Only some very new laws of the universe should be discovered, and we will understand the importance of Sirius in ancient mythologies.
Until then I will have time to write my own book.
Anyway, this is not a bad book, it's like a work of Graham Hancock. Terra Preta was the most interesting for me, that would be worth a book on it's own.

Sun has a twin ?.......2007-03-09

I was little bit sceptic when i order this book from Amazon. Lost STAR ? huh, this is ridiculous. So i start reading and page after page it take my attention. I pass whole "Accepting truth" process during first chapters. Author did extraordinary work, collecting those facts/ideas/myths. It is easy to read, easy to understand, so don't be affraid about the flood of facts. Author really know his customers (readers). So everything is served well.
I love part about the "Yugas"( world ages ), but maybe some of the parts are little bit short, i was missing some of the major ideas/facts about the ages. I understand it was not the main line of the book, but for some not well informed readers it might be little bit "vonDaniken" style.
But i really recommend this book to all 2012 scientists and researchers.

A must-have book for any thoughtful reader.......2007-01-10

Certainly one of the best books that I've read in recent years. Extraordinarily thoughtful review of the evidence that indicates that energy provided by the sun and its twin star affects our intelligence. In turn, this cyclical variation in intelligence results in cycles of dark ages followed by golden ages. Words fail me as I try to describe this remarkable book. Most highly recommended.

Lost Star--Dark Star?.......2006-09-08

Walter Cruttenden,
Lost Star of Myth and Time
(St. Lynn's Press, Pittsburgh) 2005
Paperback, xxii+340 pages
ISBN 0-9767631-1-7

Andy Lloyd
The Dark Star
(Timeless Voyager, Santa Barbara) 2005
Paperback, xiv+304 pages
ISBN 1-892264-18-8

Critiqued by Frederic Jueneman

Here is a pair of scenarios, very old ones in many respects, to be sure, but motifs that take the reader on multidisciplinary journeys through space and time, of history and cosmology, and of culture and tradition. Regular readers of such literature will find that all of these groups plow pretty much in the same celestial fields. Notwithstanding, in a somewhat eclectic exposition one author (Cruttenden) come uncomfortably close to what this reviewer regards as new age occultism. But then, don't we all take a lot of things on faith and hope.
Cruttenden himself is a nonprofessional archeo-astronomer who builds and relies on earlier authors, both contemporary and historical, as well as assembling his own cache of mythic material to fortify his case that our Sun is part of a double-star system which orbits one another in approximately the same period as the Precession of the Equinox--a polar retrograde wobble of Earth currently figured at 25,770 years. Moreover, as the most original concept in the book, the author argues that the binary motions and gravitational influence of the two-star system cause the precession itself.
In like manner, science writer Andy Lloyd takes inspiration from Zecharia Sitchin's ancient Babylonian interpretations although with marked reservations, while also delving into myth and alternative science. Yet he generally tends to follow es¬tablishment guidelines in giving credence to his argument for a solar binary system. His major theme is based on the cliff-like Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt of asteroidal objects and comets that drops off rather precipitously beyond some 45 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun--one AU being the Earth-Sun distance--a gap that ostensibly extends several hundred AU to the inner boundary of the the¬oretical comet-filled Oort Cloud beyond.
The Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt was initially proposed in 1943 by the British researcher Kenneth Edgeworth and later resurrected by American as¬tronomer Gerard Kuiper in 1951. This gap is argumentatively considered by Lloyd to be swept out by what might eventually be found to be a so-called brown dwarf star and its retinue of planetesimals, which have yet to be observed.
Such brown dwarfs were first theoretically described by radioastronomer Jill Tartar in 1975 as small, very dense and dim planet-like stars, which are radiating mainly in the infrared. They were called "brown" to differentiate them from the already designated black, red, and white dwarfs, although brown dwarfs were ultimately found to glow magenta to reddish.
Cruttenden's book, on the one hand, despite being replete with physical phenomena and apocalyptic mythology, also attempts to reinforce his earlier mercantile DVD exposé with additional detail from mythic and mystic lore by enumerating and expanding on the four stages of the Yuga ages: The primeval Kali Yuga, typifying the dark age of iron from which we have just emerged in the endless Hindu cycles of time, and our now having recently entered into the Dwapara Yuga, or bronze age, with the increasingly enlightening Treta and Satya Yugas, of the respective silver and golden ages, still some thousands of years ahead in the distant future. Our increased enlighten¬ment is apparently predicated on this approaching Lost Star, which endows mankind with field-induced expanded mental capacity. There are ascending and descending phases of these ages, the divya or half-yugas that comprise something over 12,000 years each, delineating the half-cycles of the equinoctial precession: The rise and fall of mankind's intellectual proclivities.
The Lost Star spends an inordinate number of pages on the significance of these ages on human culture, where a high point in human capacity and competence was reached some 11,500 years ago, and has gone downhill ever since, or at least until the end of the medieval period just a few centuries ago. According to Cruttenden, the lowest point--the Kali Yuga--was from about 700 BCE to around 500 CE; however, no allowance was made for the global renaissance of the 6th century BCE, where religious, philosophical, and intelletual thought burgeoned throughout the civilized world; a flourishing which gave rise to the received wisdom of India. Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Greece. This may have been an aberration according to his scenario, but the excep¬tion does test the rule.
This is where the two authors differ, in that Lloyd is less enthusiastic than Cruttenden about the mysticism surrounding recorded events in human history. However, both authors do pay tribute to Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend, who themselves had furrowed their pioneering groundwork of mythic lore by highlighting the Precession of the Equinoxes, and who also complained, "It goes without saying that the still more modern habit of replacing `culture' with `society' has blocked the last narrow path to understanding history. Our ignorance not only remained vast, but became pretentious as well."
Both of our authors under review bemoan the fact that astronomical ardor doesn't include many who, either through ignorance or hubris, even bother to consider an otherwise "unknown" or "unseen" massive companion to our solar system in the light of mounting evidence, other than minuscule icy worlds such as the recently discovered Quaoar, Sedna and Varuna, inter alia. But, as we all know, tradition is a very viscous medium.
Late 19th and early 20th century cosmologists, who had studied the perturbations on Uranus and relatively newly discovered Neptune (1846), determined that beyond these planets there was another massive body disturbing their motions; but, the discovery of tiny Pluto in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh didn't account for the expected discrepancy, although Voyager 2 in 1969 supposedly settled the cosmological question by assigning Neptune a greater mass than was previously reported.
Only Lloyd referred to the earlier research of the late Hughes Aircraft mathematician John P. Bagby, assisted by his wife Loretta L. Bagby, who were intrigued by planetary perturbations that seemed to indicate what they termed a Massive Solar Companion (MSC), situated out of the plane of the ecliptic in the direction of Sagittarius. Bagby, who was well known to this reviewer, initially and tentatively proposed this MSC back in 1972 but only formally and obliquely published his results some years later in a study related to earthquake periodicity. However, his investigation seemed to indicate that such an MSC, or perhaps a distributed mass in Lagrangian orbits, might be also located in the direction of Sirius. Bagby postulated Lagrange distributions for several of the orbital parameters, which much like the Trojans in Jupiter's orbit may either lead or lag the gas giant by 60°.
Sagittarius, however, would turn out to be a "star-crossed" option since it is well within our most abundant view of the Milky Way galaxy, which leaves astronomers looking into the headlights of millions of stars that would make finding a dim body among such stellar traffic toilsome at best. The latest IRAS (InfraRed Astronomical Survey) satellite exploration of the heavens showed an excess of 200,000 dim suns within relatively short telescopic range that are available for study. So, where do those who want to look decide to seek such a candidate star? In the other direction, of course, where there isn't quite so much glare. The comparatively open celestial sectors of Orion or Canis Major will do nicely.
Interestingly, one of Bagby's major postulated orbits had a period of 1467.6 years, which is uncannily close to the so-called Egyptian Sothic period of some 1460 years, which makes an enticingly roundabout connection with Sirius. This reviewer had corresponded at length with Bagby over this observation, and subsequently copies of his summary were distributed to his colleagues.
Sirius, in Canis Major, visible in winter months just to the left (east) of Orion in the celestial sphere, turns out to be a candidate "lost" star for Cruttenden's argument, despite its 8.6 lightyear distance and -1.43 magnitude brilliance, making it the brightest nighttime star in the heavens. It is Cruttenden's nominee for a root cause of Earth's precession, because of some residual resonant effect, as well as Sirius' own unique proper motion. It is this singular proper motion, which remarkably is in the direction of our own locale in the galaxy that keeps it almost stationary over the centuries in its annual heliacal rising despite its gradual transit across the constellations.
Sirius has risen heliacally on almost the same Julian date for the past 4000 years, and is currently moving out of Canis Major. Here, however, Cruttenden makes an oblique reference to the calendar reform of Julius Caesar, whereas the Julian calendar used in the astronomical community was devised by Joseph Justus Scaliger (1540-1609), whose own calendar reform was published in 1583, one year after the Gregorian amendment devised by the Jesuit astronomer Christopher Clavius was instituted by Pope Gregory XIII. Scaliger's formula, however, using days instead of years, is called the Julian Day Count--a practice still in use by astronomers today and named after his father, Julius Caesar Scaliger.
Both authors had scrutinized ancient literature, which claimed that in ancient times this star was red in color, which Sirius currently is definitely not. However, up until about 500 AD, observers did record Sirius as reddish in color. If, in counter-argument, it had been something akin to Betelgeuse, which is a bloated bright red-orange star of 0.7 magnitude in Orion, north and somewhat west of Sirius, then sometime in the distant future we may be treated to a shedding of its reddish envelope, exposing a bright white star within.
As an aside, an intriguing point was made by Cruttenden that Sirius' own incredibly dense white dwarf companion, Sirius B, orbits in front of its parent star every 50 years, which it did in 1989 as observed and recorded by Canadians Karl-Heinz and Uwe Homann, and as it did so Earth's daily rotation slowed down by a full second over the course of this transit, returning to normal after the event. If this is found to be verified, then it also appears to suggest that gravitational waves travel at light velocity as well. However, we won't have this particular opportunity again until around 2039.
The Dogon peoples in West Africa had their legend about a massive diminutive and unseen companion of Sirius that had a 50-year relationship with the parent star, supposedly well before it was known to astronomers, according to historian Robert Temple. In the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, our hero has a dream in which he is drawn to a heavy star that cannot be lifted--an indirect reference to Sirius B.
One might also speculate that, by the mechanism of "accretion disk accumulation," the massive gravity of the dwarf Sirius B may have stripped its parent of a conjectured red envelope within own our historical past, fomenting a nova, and revealing the brilliant star we see today. This, moreover, is in contrast and contradiction to what Cruttenden described. We might not expect this of the red giant Betelgeuse, since it doesn't seem to have such a dense companion. But since Sirius does, it leaves open the question: Could Sirius actually have under¬one such a nova event within our own recorded historical past? Say, prior to 500 AD?
Cruttenden also makes the point that the Sun's angular momentum is almost entirely tied up in its planetary family, and argues that this runs counter to known physical laws for a solitary stellar body, but bodes favorably for a binary system where such momentum is focused and normalized with another gravitational source. The period of revolution for our binary is considered equivalent to the Precession of the Equinox, based on the resonant effect due to the angular curvature of the mutually orbiting systems, and which is the crux of Cruttenden's hypothesis.
Others, as UC Berkeley physicist Richard A. Muller, who also opt for a binary star system of our very own, prefer a 26-million-year orbit, because over Earth's geological history there have been periodic upheavals and extinctions coincident with this cycle. This is the "Nemesis" star of media note, although Muller thought that it might be a red or brown dwarf. Lloyd is more modest in his reasoning for a 3600-year orbit, more in keeping with Zecheria Sitchin's scenario, thereby keeping it within the confines of the Oort cloud within our own outer solar system, and sweeping out the void beyond the Edgeworth-Kuiper Belt. (This reviewer may have to rescan some of Sitchin's endless writings to see if something critically important was inadvertently missed.)
Evidence for high-culture ancient civilizations abound in both the Old World and Asia. This is in addition to ley lines, stonehenges of various sorts, earthenwork mounds and pyramids scattered around the globe, and foundations of cities with no apparent prior historic past, such as found in Sumer. And, since the discoveries of Cornell geologist Charles F. Hartt in 1871, such evidence also surfaced in South America. The extremely rich, renewable soil of myriads of scattered pockets of what is termed Terre Preta do Indio (Indian Black Earth) throughout Amazonia, from Bolivia to Venezuela, has made archeologists sit up and take notice. While most of the Amazon basin is infertile "green desert," known as Oxisol, some ten percent comprises this extremely valuable and sought-after productive loam, which is also characterized by the multi-stratigraphic inclusion of abundant ceramic shards that indicate a sophisticated fire-savvy culture as early as 9000 BCE. This is in contrast, for example, to ancient abattoirs found by archeologists around the world, who indiscriminately consider them to be ritual sacrificial sites by primitive peoples who were overly concerned with religious practices.
If ancient Old and New World civilizations had been decimated by some periodic global cataclysms, it doesn't augur happily for Cruttenden's prognostication of the upcoming ages of enlightenment coinciding with the pending approach of another stellar body nearer to our solar system. But notwithstanding, if Cruttenden and Lloyd, and Muller as well, are all justified in their estimations, perhaps we are not merely a member of a binary star system, but conceivably part of a ternary or even a multiple star complex.
The Sumero-Babylonian astronomers and scribes, who had meticulously recorded disasters as they were observed, aren't given much credence by today's know-it-alls, who relegate most all such "myths" to the dustbins of legendary history. The Jesuit scholar Francis X. Kugler, who pioneered the study of ancient "star wars" (sternkampf) did give these ancients some credit, but seems to be ignored except for a few researchers outside the pale of academic science and history. Kugler's two-volume opus, Sternkunde und Sterndienst in Babel ("Astrography and Astralatry in Babylon"--literally, star-mapping and star-worship), did nevertheless question the competence of Mesopotamian astronomers before the reign of Nabonassar in the mid-8th century BCE because of anomalies in their calculations, but before he died left the door open for further investigation. And, Zecheria Sitchin evidently was also influenced by and receptive to these anomalies mentioned by Kugler, resulting in his aggregation of books on the subject, which ideas were later taken up by Lloyd with alternative explanations. Cruttenden is otherwise occupied with Great Cycles over the ages.
Nibiru, of Sumerian myth, is the name of the red star that entered the ancient Mesopotamian night sky, and was equated with Marduk, the god supreme of Sumer. Was this red star the Surya of Sanskrit texts, the Sothis of the Greeks, the Sopdet of the Egyptians, the Al Shi'ra of the Arab world, the Lost Star of Cruttenden, the Dark Star of Lloyd, the Venus of Velikovsky?
There are many more such mysteries to be solved, both here on Earth and in our night skies. And, both Cruttenden and Lloyd have given us something of an awareness of the interdisciplinary aspects of approaching some of these mythic enigmas from widely differing, sometimes opposing, and of course puzzling perspectives. Accordingly, this overlapping critique is basically in consideration of both of these interesting if not persuasive books. However, although each is recommended for their individual merits, this reviewer suggests that each potential reader make up his or her own mind as to which author comes closest to one's own personal inclination.

The Illustrated on the Shoulders of Giants: The Great Works of Physics and Astronomy

Average customer rating:

Deeply disappointed.
Physics! History! Math!
LOVELY PICTURES

The Illustrated on the Shoulders of Giants: The Great Works of Physics and Astronomy
Stephen W. Hawking
Manufacturer: Running Press Book Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0762418982
Release Date: 2004-10-12

Book Description

The first edition of this revolutionary look at the scientific discoveries that changed our perception of the world, by the renowned physicist and bestselling author Stephen Hawking, sold over 65,000 copies. Now it's available in a gift-worthy special edition with color photographs and illustrations depicting theoretical models of the planets and their orbits--making Hawking's brilliant insights all the more accessible. This original compilation is based on seven classic works of physics and astronomy which, read in chronological order, trace the evolution of modern science. THE ILLUSTRATED ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS includes selections from On the Revolution of Heavenly Spheres by Nicolaus Copernicus; Principia by Sir Isaac Newton; The Principle of Relativity by Albert Einstein; Dialogues Concerning Two Sciences by Galileo Galilei with Alfonso De Salvio; plus Harmony of the World by Johannes Kepler. It also includes five important critical essays and an original biography of each physicist, written by Hawking himself.

Customer Reviews:

Deeply disappointed........2007-09-03

In Brief -- This is an illustrated version of "On the Shoulders of Giants". This book is not, however, "On the Shoulders of Giants" with some additional illustrations. There are pretty illustrations, which are largely irrelevant, but they replace more than 80% of the text and most of the useful illustrations that are contained in the original book. Whereas the original contains complete versions of works such as Galileo's Dialogs and Newton's Principia, this book contains only excerpts from these works, augmented with largely useless illustrations, but missing the useful diagrams from the original book.

In more detail -- This book consists of five sections, covering the lives and some of the science of Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton and Einstein. Each section begins with a brief (10-12 page) discussion of the scientist's life and an outline of his work and its importance. It is followed by a 35-40-page section that contains one or more excerpts from their scientific works. Each chapter is illustrated with paintings or drawings that illustrate the life and times and other general aspects of their work. All well and good, but I was disappointed with this book for several reasons, namely:

1) While Stephen Hawkins name is prominently displayed, it is clear that he had relatively little to do with this book. It is misleading to highlight his name in large type on the spine of the book and only state on the dust jacket that he was an editor and provided commentary. Other editors are mentioned, but not named. Undoubtedly, there were many who purchased the book because of his association with it, not realizing that his actual contributions were limited
2) While there are illustrations, they in no way support the text. This is especially true for the sections that came from Newton's Principia. The Principia is based completely on complex geometric proofs. The ABCs of the text are included, but not the copious diagrams of the original, making these sections virtually useless for someone who wishes to follow Newton's line of reasoning. The same is true for the other sections of the book. Instead of useful diagrams the editors have included things like: photographs of the University of Padua, murky drawings from period books that do not illustrate any of the text, paintings of the Hubble space telescope and the Mariner 10 spacecraft and paintings (photographs in the case of Einstein) of the scientists (which are at least relevant to the historical portions of the text). It is clear that these illustrations were chosen for their artistic appeal and were included to make an illustrated book. It would have been much better if these illustrations actually helped to explain the text. Better still would have been the inclusion of the original diagrams from the books and papers being abstracted.
3) The original, non-illustrated, version of this book is five times longer than this version. It is much longer because contains the complete translations of several of the most critical scientific works ever written. (Because of the numerous illustrations, many of which are half or full page, the text is actually considerably less than 1/5 that of the original version of the book.) Since the illustrations included in this version do nothing to support the clarity of the text, they are a poor tradeoff for the complete works that are provided in the original, non-illustrated, version of this book.
4) Because of the pictures, which are interspersed throughout the book, it was necessary to utilize high gloss paper throughout. This made it difficult for me to read. Since the illustrations are not supportive of the text, their inclusion and the resulting use of high gloss paper made the illustrations, in my opinion, somewhat of a detriment.
5) The original scientific texts are useful for someone who wants to get a flavor of the original, but it is not as illuminating as a good physics text, especially since the diagrams of the original publications are missing.

This book is best suited for someone who wants a coffee table book (albeit a thin one), with some pretty pictures, about 50 pages of historical information and a flavor of what the original texts contained. I am giving the book three stars because of its appeal to this audience. The texts of the excerpts from the original publications are useful, although its usefulness is diminished by lack of the diagrams that were in the original publications. The texts of the scientific works were not, however, completely useless. For instance, I did get a better appreciation of Copernicus's work from this book. He did more than just make a correct guess about the organization of the solar system. The excerpts from his book show that he was a great physicist for his time, and was fully cognizant of the reasons why it was previously assumed that the sun and other planets revolved around a stationary earth, and he made an attempt to logically refute this belief. Also, the complete works in question are very difficult to follow; so brief excerpts are all that many readers would want. This version is thus better suited for them than the much larger, but much more complex, original version of "On the Shoulders of Giants".

Scientists and those interested in the history of science will probably be disappointed because they have read this history in more detail elsewhere and they will find the lack of diagrams a severe deficiency. There are much better histories of science available (for instance, Gribbin's, The Scientists). Those who want the complete versions of the famous books that are included in the original version will also be disappointed in this version. Thus, if you want more of the original science, check out the original version of this book before you buy this one. You will probably find that it is better suited to your needs.

Physics! History! Math!.......2006-12-15

It does not get any better than this. Plus the images are stunning.

LOVELY PICTURES.......2005-01-20

As the historical development of gravitational theory is of interest to me, I bought this book impulsively from Barnes & Noble, while getting a cup of coffee. "Illustrated" it is, and beautifully so, and the concept is interesting. For five brilliant scientists each of whom has contributed to our understanding of celestial dynamics, Hawking provides a brief introduction before presenting translations of representative portions of their work. Although many of the illustrations are works of art, some are not very informative, chosen perhaps for visual appeal rather than pedagogical utility. Specific comments are as follows. Copernicus: excellent short bio and explanation of his contributions. Galileo, ditto. Kepler, ditto. Newton, ditto. Einstein: strangely, the biographical sketch here is thin, many of the figures seem irrelevant, and the technical translation is marred by typographical errors. This is strange, because much effort went into the production of this book, so it would seem appropriate to have had someone with scientific knowledge look over the proofs and mark obvious errors. It is also irritating that many different type styles are used for the equations, giving the impression that the production editor sloppily copied directly from the original papers.

Although I enjoyed reading this book and learned from it, the publishers should clean it up for a second printing.

Alwyn Scott
http://personal.riverusers.com/~rover/

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