Author: Piers Bizony
By Icon Books Ltd

Extremely interesting, 2007-09-06
I bought this book on a whim after a brief review in the BBC Focus magazine. I'm not much of a reader as I find my degree studies take my enthusiasm away from reading other material.

I have just finished it within 3 days and I was blown away. It is (in my opinion) very well written and gives an amazing insight into a fantastic age in space travel that is almost forgotten. It also helps the user understand the power stuggles in Washington when funding needed to secured.

Overall, this book does James Webb very proud - what an amazing man.

Author: Mike Mullane
By Simon & Schuster Ltd

Seat of the pants stuff, 2007-12-11
This is probably the best astronaut autobiography I have read with the possible exception of Michael Collin's book. Colonel Mike Mullane was the first generation of the space shuttle astronauts specifically selected to fly on the machine. His book is a no holds bared account of his time before and at NASA and the courage, terror and perhaps foolhardy nature it takes to ride into space on rocket which basically has no effective escape system. Personally I liked all the anecdotes that are scattered throughout the book, I particularly liked the way he described the meeting of two cultures, scientist astronaut and military astronaut. Having served in the infantry and being a scientist I can well appreciate the two would not initially get along. As Colonel Mullane describes he was a product of his environment, Vietnam veteran and survivor of a catholic school. However, the moral of his story and life education is the respect he developed for women who want a career and also people who are prepared to put their life on the line in pursuit of a common goal which is unobtainable to most. This is one of my selected `toilet' books and it is well thumbed companion. Friends who come to stay always get addicted when reading it and basically only emerge when nagged by their wives, who then get addicted to. Well worth the read.

Author: Sir Patrick Moore
By The History Press Ltd

A great and interesting read. , 2007-07-23
This book covers the life of a most highly regarded and fascinating man who speaks his mind. This is extremely refreshing, as I am altogether sick of listening to boring, PC authors who have nothing interesting to say and have never played a part in anything important or remotely hard work. This man is the complete opposite and he writes in such a witty and amusing way that I'm sure no-one can fail enjoy this book.

Author: Roger A. Freedman, William J. Kaufmann
By W.H.Freeman & Co Ltd

Wealth of accessible information, 2008-07-16
This is a great book. It has loads of really, really good information. It's very up to date and has great coverage of the subject matter.

It's not too in depth for the interested lay person, but it's not so high level as to be unengaging.

There are editions available that come with Starry Night planetarium software, or you can get this yourself quite cheap. There are loads of exercises that are well worth doing, many of which make use of this software.

I bought this book on recommendation, and I'm really glad I did.

Author: Lisa Randall
By Penguin Books Ltd

One of the most important nonfiction books of 2005, 2008-08-09
ne of the most important physicists of our time, Lisa Randall, Professor of Physics, Harvard University, has written a spellbinding account of contemporary physics in her first book "Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions". Hers is a saga that requires no great understanding of either mathematics or physics, though she does provide some equations at the end of her book in a terse appendix, along with a handy glossary of physics terminology. It is a fine popular introduction to modern physics which should appeal to those interested in recent advances in high energy physics, string theory and cosmology for which Randall has earned already much renown. Indeed, I will not be surprised if she is awarded a Nobel Prize in the future for her excellence in research in these aspects of physics.

"Warped Passages" is a big tome subdivided into six distinct parts, with individual chapters that start with brief, though often silly, fictional introductions, and conclude with briefer summaries emphasizing the main points of each chapter. Part I. Dimensions of Space (and Thought) covers the possibility of extra dimensions of space from both a Newtownian (Classical Mechanics) and Einsteinian (General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics) perspective. Furthermore, this chapter discusses the limitations of classical mechanics and its eventual replacement by two theories: General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics in the early 20th Century. She also introduces branes - distinct regions of spacetime that occupy slices of space - that have been important to string theory in the past decade. Part II. Early Twentieth-Century Advances is a splendid two-chapter historical review of the development of the theories of General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. Part III. The Physics of Elementary Particles is an extensive overview of quarks and the search for observable heavier high energy particles, as predicted by the Standard Model of particle physics.

"Warped Passages" becomes less of a standard popular textbook on modern physics and more a personal odyssey of scientific discovery in its concluding sections. Part IV. String Theory and Branes not only is an intriguing overview of the importance of branes to String Theory, but is too a succinct overview of string theory research in the past twenty years. Part V. Proposals of Extra-Dimensional Universes describes the important mathematical breakthrough made by Randall and her collaborator Raman Sundrum, during the summer of 1998, whereby they introduced a hierarchical solution to string theory via warped geometry, and places it into context with other current research on extra-dimensional theories. In Part VI. Closing Thoughts, Randall waxes eloquently about how extra-dimensional theories will influence the future of research in physics, with major implications for both high energy physics and cosmology.

"Warped Passages" is the best book I have read in recent years by anyone formerly associated with Stuyvesant High School (Speaking of which, it is a sad commentary on the state of intellectual discourse in current American cultural life when our high school is best remembered as the former abode of a best selling memoirist who was once a popular teacher of creative writing there instead of - and I think, much more accurately - as a preeminent American intellectual birthplace for brilliant scientists such as Professor Randall; I also strongly criticize the judgement of the National Public Radio commentator who thought that Professor Randall resembles actress Jodie Foster; not only do I don't see any actual resemblance at all, but if there is indeed a comparison, then without question, Professor Randall is a lot brighter than Ms. Foster. At Stuyvesant High School Professor Randall was the first female captain of the school's internationally acclaimed math team and won first prize in the Westinghouse Science Talent Search for her mathematics research.). Her book is unquestionably one of the most important nonfiction books of 2005. This splendid huge tome may also be remembered as one of the classic works of popular science, with Lisa Randall's prose rising amazingly close to the literary eloquence attained by the likes of Stephen Jay Gould and Carl Sagan. Anyone interested in embracing some of the sense of wonder experienced by Randall in her research will share her infectious enthusiasm for her work by the very end of "Warped Passages".

By OUP Oxford

Author: Francis French; Colin Burgess
By University of Nebraska Press

enjoyable, flowing, well-paced, accessible, exciting, 2007-12-21
There are many reasons why I regard this book so highly.

The writing style and narrative is enjoyable, flowing, well-paced, accessible, exciting. The book is superbly researched. The events and human subjects covered in the book are interesting, anything but dull, the authors uncovered uncommon stories about them.

Most of all, I felt like I had walked away after reading this book seeing these spacefarers and astronauts as humans, real people, not celebrities. The authors managed to show us their humanity without losing respect for their accomplishments. In fact, in spite of their humanity, their weaknesses, their environment, I have even more respect for so many of these spacefarers now that I can appreciate what they went through and had to overcome to achieve what they were able to.

I even came away with a much deeper appreciation and understanding of people I've often considered enemies at worst (i.e., Russian spacefarers), and objects of derision at best.

The stories in this book touch the human spirit in a way that is universal, beyond politics, beyond creed, beyond country. That's because the authors were able to capture an underlying essence most humans on our planet share: the curiosity and wonder to explore and give one's life to a cause greater than one's own agenda or paradigm.

Author: John Gribbin
By OUP Oxford

The Universe in a nutshell, 2008-04-12
This is much more than a book about galaxies. Within the small space of a Very Short Introduction John Gribbin manages to pack in as great deal about the history of astronomy, cosmology, and the fate of the Universe. Although it is in a (sort of) academic series, it's as readable as his less academic books, and bang up to date. Explains how our Milky Way is just an average galaxy, one of hundreds of billions of galaxies in the expanding Universe. Great value!

Author: Stuart Clark
By Quercus

loose pages, 2008-08-05
I agree with the first review a great book with mind blowing images.After four months some of the pages came adrift of the binding.I am awaiting a replacement from amazon.

Author: Tony Hallam
By OUP Oxford