oceanwader's review against another edition
4.0
For non-scientists and the philosophically-inclined, this book provides a great overview of the history and current (2012) state of cosmological science.
In a sense the message is similar to Thomas Kuhn's (The Structure of Scientific Revolution) in that scientific pursuit and possibility is always constrained by the current worldview. Adam Frank adds to it that, with respect to cosmology, the advancement of science and its surrounding culture evolve in lockstep.
In a sense the message is similar to Thomas Kuhn's (The Structure of Scientific Revolution) in that scientific pursuit and possibility is always constrained by the current worldview. Adam Frank adds to it that, with respect to cosmology, the advancement of science and its surrounding culture evolve in lockstep.
alexdisney's review against another edition
4.0
The writing is rather repetitive and boring at times but, all in all, this is a very thought provoking book. It's worth reading simply because it gives you fuel for thinking about time and space and how they've affected human culture throughout its existence. The last chapter or so gets into modern cosmological theories, which I think is fascinating.
annafranklin04's review against another edition
challenging
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
tlockney's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting book that covers a lot of the basics of cosmology. It uses an approach I liked, but that I'm not sure others will appreciate as much. Each chapter is introduced with a (mostly fictional, but not entirely) vignette describing some characters point of view and how it is influenced by the then predominant view of time. Most of what I read (heard, really, as I listened to this in audiobook form) was familiar material. One additional comment I will make is that this book could very easily fit into a big history style approach to viewing our cosmos. For the most part I suspect it would be approachable by any sufficiently interested high school students, so I hope it has been considered for such an endeavor.
elibrooke's review against another edition
5.0
Fascinating and engagingly written, perhaps the most personally interesting popular science book I've ever read.
More...