Reviews for One universe : at home in the cosmos

Library Journal
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This is a popular account of our current understanding of the universe's structure, origin, and ultimate future. Tyson and Charles Liu, two astrophysicists at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and science writer Robert Irion (Astronomy and Science magazines) employ good, plain prose and avoid statements in mathematical language (though they occasionally express quantitative relationships in verbal terms). Large, bright illustrations take up roughly half the book; well chosen to enhance the text, they are appropriately located near the relevant written material. The information is up to date, including the latest observational findings and theoretical proposals. Overall, this is a very attractive, accessible introduction to modern astrophysics for lay readers, including advanced high school students as well as adults. It is strongly recommended for all public libraries and would also be an appropriate acquisition for undergraduate college libraries.--Jack W. Weigel, Ann Arbor, MI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.


School Library Journal
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

YA-This neatly organized oversized book packs information on the three fundamental aspects of nature: motion (everything moves); matter (the stuff of the universe); and energy (the power of cosmic phenomena). The volume represents an impressive melding of well-written, graphically pleasing text and awe-inspiring illustrations and photographs. Most YAs don't give much thought to their personal connection to the cosmos; however, these reputable scientists use the basic principles of astronomy and physics to guide them through a journey of reflection. The illustrations and analogies help make complicated concepts seem simple. For example, the use of basketball analogies helps readers visualize the "scale of our solar system" and how impossible it would be for Star Trek's Enterprise to pass by stars so rapidly unless it were traveling "500 million times faster than the speed of light." Scholarly and fun, this title will infect readers with the authors' joy and mastery of their subject.-Bobbi Thomas Skaggs, Cedar Lane High School, Fairfax County, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.


Publishers Weekly
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Startling, sparkling color photos and very accessible explanations of the laws and history of physics make this book a treat. Its pictures, clean diagrams, spiffy typography and bite-size takes on mass and energy--from quarks to Coriolis effects to quasars--mark its origins in a celebration: the volume coincides with the reopening of the Hayden Planetarium at Manhattan's American Museum of Natural History. Tyson (who runs the planetarium), Liu (a physicist at the museum) and Irion (a contributing editor at Science) make the science they explain sound both awesome and painless. The authors begin and end at the cosmological level, with the Big Bang and the expanding universe; in between, they cover black holes, meteor strikes, spectral lines, particle accelerators, "gravity waves" (which astronomers might find soon), extraterrestrial life (we're still looking) and the elusive particle called the Higgs boson (ditto). The expanding universe (in which galaxies constantly move apart from one another) gets illustrated with ladybugs on the surface of a balloon. Zippy orange computer-enhanced photos show how a solar system can coalesce from "a disk of leftover material swirling around a new star." A "hyperkinetic unicyclist" helps explain Einstein's special relativity. And sandy beachside toes, shown next to a potholder and an iron pan, illustrate how nonconducting materials prevent, while conducting materials facilitate, the transmission of heat. This is a book seemingly designed more to be browsed than to be read straight through, and it might not mind just being admired (especially if it sends readers to the planetarium). A glossary and timeline can help readers learn, look up and remember the info so many physicists worked hard to discover. 30,000 first printing. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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