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List Price: £11.50
Our Price: £7.51
Author:
Peter D. Ward, Donald Brownlee
By Springer
"Do you feel lucky? Well do ya?" asked Dirty Harry. Palaeontologist Peter Ward and astronomer Donald Brownlee think all of us should feel lucky. Their rare Earth hypothesis predicts that while simple, microbial life will be very widespread in the universe, complex animal or plant life will be extremely rare. Ward and Brownlee admit that "it is very difficult to do statistics with an N of 1. But in our defence, we have staked out a position rarely articulated but increasingly accepted by many astrobiologists." Their new science is the field of biology ratcheted up to encompass not just life on earth but also life beyond earth. It forces us to reconsider the life of our planet as a single example of how life might work, rather than as the only example. The revolution in astrobiology during the 1990s was twofold. First, scientists grew to appreciate how incredibly robust microbial life can be, found in the superheated water of deep-sea vents, pools of acid, or even within the crust of the Earth itself. The chance of finding such simple life on other bodies in our solar system has never seemed more realistic. But second, scientists have begun to appreciate how many unusual ...
 Convincing, 2008-10-09
I don't think I can really add much to the excellent review given here by Stephen A. Haines. Despite the attacks on this book (see for example Life Everywhere: The Maverick Science of Astrobiology, written as a direct response), Ward and Brownlee's argument remains convincing.
When you've finished, follow on with the same authors' The Life and Death of Planet Earth: How the New Science of Astrobiology Charts the Ultimate Fate of Our World.
List Price: £10.99
Our Price: £6.48
Author:
Ian Ridpath
By Cambridge University Press
Well written and very clear, 2003-02-09
This is an excellently laid out book. It's clearly written and if you use it on a month by month basis you'll know what to nip outside and look out for in the night sky, while learning something to boot.Combine this with A Walk Through The Heavens, Collins Wild Guide Night Sky, and the Kingfisher Pocket Guide Astronomy and that ought to keep you going for quite a wee while. All of these are fine for use with your own eyes too so you don't need expensive kit to enjoy the view.
List Price: £23.00
Our Price: £15.05
Author:
Wil Tirion
By Cambridge University Press
Excellent, 5 stars, but not the right atlas for me, 2006-07-24
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Ok. Let's get the negative stuff out of the way first. For me, this atlas does not offer sufficient detail as it goes down to mag 6.5 only. Of course, I knew this before I bought it but as a novice I didn't know what "mag 6.5" meant in real terms having not even looked through a scope at the time of purchase.
The above is obviously my fault and I should have bought the correct atlas in the first place.
Despite all this it's a very well drawn and very clear atlas and very useable as a general guide, containing plenty of other good stuff apart from the charts. When I buy a more detailed atlas it will definitely be a Wil Tirion one
List Price: £9.99
Our Price: £2.15
Author:
Felix Pirani
By Icon Books Ltd
 A definate buy by Gareth Birchley, 2001-10-14
A book with two clear objectives, to teach, and to make learning fun. This book is bursting at the seams with information relevent to all ages of physicists and astronomers alike. It contains detailed facts which are useful from pre-GCSE to degree level. This book, a frequent topic of conversation in my A-Level physics lessons, makes complex concepts simple by use of frequent pictures and drawings. It contains a wide range of topics from the big bang, to Plato. If you require a specific topic there is an index at the back to pick out your topic of interest. For a book which is a cross between a text book and a 'factual-fun' book this is an absolute must for all who want to discover whats out there. For me, in short, a constant source information come exam time.
List Price: £19.50
Our Price: £15.03
Author:
Nick Kanas
By Praxis
The history of astronomical art at its best., 2008-02-19
Nick Kanas's Star Maps has to be one of the most comprehensively researched and most expertly written descriptions of astronomical cartography published in the past century. Physically, his book is an inch-thick block of detailed information, superbly illustrating the history and explaining the philosophy of astronomical cartography from its beginnings in ancient eastern cultures down to the 21st Century western star mappers.
Kanas's Star Maps will rapidly become a standard reference for astronomical historians, and also for fine art dealers and collectors.
Kevin J Kilburn FRAS
Secretary, the Society for the History of Astronomy
List Price: £24.99
Our Price: £21.69
Author:
Eugene Cernan
By Saint Martin's Press Inc.
This book answers the question: What did it feel like? , 2008-07-31
When I started to read The Last Man on the Moon I wondered: What did it feel like to walk in space and on the moon? I got more than I bargained for. I enjoyed one of the greatest true adventures of all times when Cernan removed the shackles of the earth and took me to places where few have gone.
Cernan's book is exceptional at describing what it felt like to be an astronaut in the 1960s and what it was like to walk in space and on the moon.
One of the parts I could relate to best was his descriptions of a space walk during a Gemini mission and his moon walks. His descriptions of a pressurized suit that was tough to move and navigate in were amazing. As a diver who has been to places such as the Galapagos islands (with cold waters) I know what its like to have a life support system and bulky suit. Cernan's descriptions helped me understand (just a little) what it is like to walk in space and on the moon.
There were many close calls in the space programs that were truly nail biters. For example, during the Apollo 10 mission Gene Cernan discusses Tom Stafford and himself spinning out of control while just above the moon. The countless hours of training and razor sharp skills of the astronauts saved them. Stafford pulled them out at the last couple of seconds just before they would have crashed into the moon.
There were also stories of tragedies such as the loss of the three men in the fire of Apollo 1. Everyone on the space program was deeply saddened. Afterwards everyone's resolve to go to the moon safely reached a new level of commitment.
The book is definitely a page turner with many amusing antidotes. One story that sticks out in my mind is when Cernan explains that the early astronauts were like rock stars (they could do almost anything they wanted to). For example, they would let there wives know they were coming home in the evening by flying right over their homes with their jets before landing at a local base (a true flyby). Then they would jump into their Corvettes and drive like a bats out of h**l to their homes screeching into the driveways. This is stuff that legends are made of.
Cernan writing style is engaging and fascinating. He is both a strong Critical Thinker and philosopher rolled into one.
For example, in one telling excerpt he discusses the importance of going to the moon as a commander, not just walking on it. His thoughts are summed up when he says: "I have always believed that destiny is a matter of personal choice, where you carefully think out your decision, consider the downside, accept the risk of being wrong, and press on."
Cernan eloquently writes about his passion for space travel when he says: "Our legacy is that humans are no longer shackled to the Earth. We opened the door to tomorrow, and our trips to another celestial body will rank as the ultimate triumph in the Age of Achievement. And for the price, it was the biggest bargain in history."
He goes on to say: "Sometimes it seems that Apollo came before its time. President Kennedy reached far into the twenty-first century, grabbed a decade of time and slipped it neatly into the 1960's and 1970s."
I have been fortunate to meet Gene Cernan on a few occasions at Astronaut gatherings in the past couple of years. He is one of the greatest advocates for the space program and is a gentleman and a scholar. He still has a bounce in his step and a twinkle in his eye...and I wouldn't be surprised if he has a little mischief in him as well.
Once at a dinner I was sitting at Cernan's table and someone asked him whether seeing the moon was different from earth orbit or from the moon.
Gene Cernan got very quiet and thoughtful and said that it was entirely different. He went on to say that from orbit the earth is beautiful with its blue oceans, majestic large land masses and more. Then he paused and got very serious. He said from the moon the view of the earth was unbelievable. He went on to say that seeing this little blue ball that hung in black space by an invisible string (axis) that it turned on was unbelievable. You could see in his eyes that he had a life changing experience when he saw it from the front porch of the moon many years ago.
There are several excellent books on the early space program. The Last Man on the Moon is one of the best of the best.
The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking
List Price: £10.99
Our Price: £7.25
By Philip's
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