Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store for more details. |
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
Have you ever wondered where we came from? Or what the reality is of the world beyond our perception? In this fascinating book of scientific exploration, Stephen Welch aims to provide answer to these questions and more in his overview of the most recent scientific thinking. Subjects such as mythology, space, physics, extraterrestrials, culture, evolution, and what the future holds are all here to stimulate your imagination in a world that is far more amazing and awe inspiring than any fiction.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Star quality,
This review is from: Stardust Our Cosmic Origins (Paperback)
Stardust Our Cosmic Origins
Stardust:Our Cosmic Origins In an easy and entertaining way, this book gives you an insight into the strange world in which we live. Strange because, in the world beyond of our normal senses, scientific observations show just how bizarre that world really is. The book discusses in the widest terms who we are and how we got here, using scientific evidence but keeping the presentation non-technical. It prompts the scientist and non-scientist alike into thinking about aspects of space, time, evolution, myths and other matters. This book is a must for people interested in the world in which we live and an eye-opener for those who prefer the fictional world.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A useful introduction to the scientific world-view,
By
This review is from: Stardust Our Cosmic Origins (Paperback)
As the previous reviewers have made clear, this is a highly readable account of our place in the Universe as revealed by scientific discoveries of the last two centuries. I would recommend it as a good introduction to this vitally important subject, a brief, easily read and digested gallop through the revolutions in cosmology, physics, biology and computational science that have transformed how we- or, at least, the minority of us who are scientifically literate- have come to understand our world and ourselves.
My main criticism of the book is that it is somewhat lightweight, necessarily so in a shortish book covering so much ground. Its saving grace in this regard is that the author seems to recognise this and encourages his readers to explore many more specialised works in a thorough and descriptive 'Further Reading' section. Also, though, the book is not without a number of minor factual errors, mostly when dealing with historical claims (Karl Marx did NOT "plan the Russian Revolution"- he was long dead by then!) or the history of science (Darwin is here, as so often, credited with the phrase "the survival of the fittest"- in fact this was coined by the Victorian philosopher Herbert Spencer). There's the occasional scientific slip-up too- mitochondria do NOT "create" energy- that would contravene the Laws of Thermodynamics! There are a lot of typos too, which is endemic in small-press books like this, unfortunately, where manuscripts are not professionally proof-read. Overall, though, this is a worthy effort.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Food for thought,
By
This review is from: Stardust Our Cosmic Origins (Paperback)
I enjoy reading books which make the latest scientific thoughts in diverse topics such as astronomy, particle physics, computers and artificial intelligence, biological evolution etc. accessible to non-specialists in the relevant fields.
Having read several books by Dawkins, Gould, Penrose, Barbour, Hawkins and others on these subjects, I approached reading Stephen Welch's book with some trepidation, wandering how it would compare with these `heavyweights'. I need not have worried - in less than 200 pages Stephen covers an incredible variety of subjects. Whilst not as rigorous and detailed in the treatment of its subject matter as some of the other authors, it is very readable and accessible for everybody. Whether you are 16 or 86, you are likely to enjoy this book if you have an open and enquiring mind, as it takes you on a whirlwind tour of the universe, from its farthest reaches to its basic building blocks of matter. There are fascinating chapters on Evolution and Evolutionary Psychology that I found particularly informative and enjoyable. Whether you are an atheist or a religious believer, you will find a lot of interesting thoughts to ponder. If you are a believer it may not convince you to change your mind, but at the very least it will make you question those beliefs. The author has clearly spent a lot of time researching the material for the book and has successfully pulled together a wide range of topics into a coherent whole. I would thoroughly recommend it!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
