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The Universe: A Biography (Hardcover)

by John Gribbin (Author)

3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

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Product details

Hardcover: 256 pages
Publisher: Allen Lane (25 Jan 2007)
Language English
ISBN-10: 0713998571
ISBN-13: 978-0713998573
Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 15.8 x 2.8 cm

Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 387,726 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

"The Universe: A Biography" makes cosmology accessible to everyone. John Gribbin navigates the latest frontiers of scientific discovery to tell us what we really know about the history of the universe. Along the way, he describes how the universe began; what the early universe looked like; how its structure developed; and what emerged to hold it all together. He describes where the elements came from; how stars and galaxies formed; and the story of how life emerged. He even looks to the future: is the history of the universe going to end with a Big Crunch or a Big Rip?

About the Author

John Gribbin is the author of bestselling books including In Search of Schrodinger's Cat, Stardust, Science: A History and Deep Simplicity. He is famous to his many fans for making complex ideas simple, and says that his aim in his writing is to share his sense of wonder at the strangeness of the universe. He trained as an astrophysicist at Cambridge University and is currently Visiting Fellow in Astronomy at the University of Sussex.

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	77% buy the item featured on this page: The Universe: A Biography 3.8 out of 5 stars (12) �17.00
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Customer Reviews

12 Reviews

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

3.8 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing space, 23 Jan 2007

By	Nostromo (Tunbridge Wells) - See all my reviews

A biography of the Universe? well, if your definition of a biography is that it describes its subject's birth, life and death then this is certainly a biography, and the title makes a lot more sense than "A Brief History of Time." One of Gribbin's main themes is, indeed, life -- he explains with great clarity how the outburst of energy from the hot fireball of the Big Bang got turned into stars, galaxies, planets and especially living things, which he says are not only ubiquitous across the Universe but most likely based everywhere on the same kind of chemistry (DNA and so on) that we are. As if this were not enough to blow your mind, he also goes into the latest ideas on string theory, membranes, and the idea that the Big Bang was actually a "Big Splat" caused when two membranes, like adjacent pages in a book, bounced off each other. Some of these ideas are more speculative than others, but one really excellent feature of the book is the way Gribbin distinguishes between "things we think we KNOW" like the general theory of relativity, and "things we THINK we know," like the Big Splat idea.
This is indeed the best plain-language guide to what scientists know about the Universe and everything in it that I have ever seen, and fully lives up to its billing. If you only buy one book by John Gribbin (and everyone should have at least one) then this is it.

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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The eye of the Beholder, 5 April 2007

By	Dave55 - See all my reviews

I'm fascinated by the way this book provokes either a 5 star response or a 1 star response, with nothing in between. I''m a five-star fan myself, and I think the reason for the dichotomy (hem hem, as Molesworth would say) is that John Gribbin is so careful to get his facts right and to spell out what he means by words like "model." If you don't care and just want an easy but sloppy read, this might annoy you. But if you want the real stuff and proper science, there is nothing better. For as big a subject as the universe, of course it makes sense to start by spelling things out. And why shouldn't red shift come in where it does, if that's the proper place? I'm sure my views wont win any converts, and no doubt John Gribbin would aggree that any publicity is good publicity, but I just wanted to get this off my chest.

Dave

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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfectly pitched guide to a mind blowing subject, 12 Aug 2007

By	Holf - See all my reviews

I am also surprised at the negative reviews of this book.

For me, the literary approach could not have been better. The subject matter in itself is so far reaching and mind blowing that I don't need it to be dressed up with unnecessarily flowery language. I don't want to be told to think 'Wow!'; I want to read the facts and feel the 'Wow!' for myself. And, did I ever feel it having read this.

Often, the only cutting edge astronomy which filters down to the lay person is in the form of shock news headlines like 'Scientists say life came from Comets!', and you are left with little appreciation of how or why anyone came to such conclusions; or indeed if it is even a prevailing opinion in the scientific community at large or rather a piece of crank research pounced upon by a desperate hack.

This book addresses many such remarkable conclusions and explains, in terms most of us can appreciate, where such ideas come from. The clear explanation early in the book of what a good scientist means by a 'model' is crucial to this understanding. It is because astonishing predictions made by such models have come to be observably true again and again that we can have some faith in further predictions that have yet to be conclusively observed.

To return briefly to the writing style: I found it to be clear and straightforward and the book was a real page-turner because of, rather than in spite of this. As with any good guide, there was nothing to get in the way of understanding and appreciating the subject, which is quite amazing enough in itself. But if I did detect any hint of John Gribbin coming through, it was his pleasure in being able to share his own sense of wonderment on themes he obviously loves and understands so well.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Headache Inducing
The best thing about this book is that Gribbin takes pain to explain that when scientists (sometimes) say they "know" they mean that this is what they believe to be given very... Read more

Published 3 months ago by demola

3.0 out of 5 stars Text, text and more text.
Some tables, diagrams and the odd formula would have improved this book immeasurably. Even Newton's law of gravity was written as continuous prose.

Published 7 months ago by Mrs. P. J. Nicholas

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting variety of ideas
Gribbin updates his previous similar books ( In the Begining & The Case of the missing neutrinos ) with quite a diverse book. Read more

Published 18 months ago by J. Taylor

5.0 out of 5 stars Big ideas in a small book
John Gribbin's deserved reputation is well endorsed by this book. His ability to make the arcane or obscure clear and understandable is brought to bear on some of the most... Read more

Published 20 months ago by Stephen A. Haines

4.0 out of 5 stars A great book if you are
Curious in a scientific sense. I was not looking for literary genius - I was looking to information and answers to questions that I have had for ages. Read more

Published 22 months ago by A. Ray

1.0 out of 5 stars Dull, indulgent.
I didn't get on with this book because it is written in what can be described as blank verse - that is no style or literary panache. Read more

Published on 2 April 2007 by Keithp

5.0 out of 5 stars Life, the Universe and Everything
I have never read a book before which explains so clearly how all the different parts of science hang together. Read more

Published on 3 Mar 2007 by Helen of Troy

5.0 out of 5 stars More a gallop than a plod
Wow! Somebody got out of bed the wrong side. I was so surprised by the description of this book as plodding that I got it down off the shelf and took another look. Read more

Published on 26 Feb 2007 by Charlie T.

1.0 out of 5 stars Dull plodding
No no no this will not do. You would think that after more than 30 years writing and over 100 book that Gribbin would have some literary style. Not a bit of it. Read more

Published on 19 Feb 2007 by Guy Pierce

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