Astronomy Books

The Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics

Leonard Susskind

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 9 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

What happens when something is sucked into a black hole? Does it disappear? Three decades ago, a young physicist named Stephen Hawking claimed it did-and in doing so put at risk everything we know about physics and the fundamental laws of the universe. Most scientists didn't recognize the import of Hawking's claims, but Leonard Susskind and Gerard t'Hooft realized the threat, and responded with a counterattack that changed the course of physics. THE BLACK HOLE WAR is the thrilling story of their united effort to reconcile Hawking's revolutionary theories of black holes with their own sense of reality-effort that would eventually result in Hawking admitting he was wrong, paying up, and Susskind and t'Hooft realizing that our world is a hologram projected from the outer boundaries of space.
A brilliant book about modern physics, quantum mechanics, the fate of stars and the deep mysteries of black holes, Leonard Susskind's account of the Black Hole War is mind-bending and exhilarating reading.

Dark Mission: The Secret History of NASA

Richard C. Hoagland, Mike Bara

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Total reviews: 98 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

For most Americans, the word NASA suggests a squeaky-clean image of technological infallibility.

Yet the truth is that NASA was born in a lie, and has concealed the truths about its occult origins. Dark Mission documents this seemingly wild assertion.

Why is the Bush administration intent on returning to the moon as quickly as possible? What are the reasons for the current “space race” with China, Russia, even India? Remarkable images reproduced within this book provided to author Richard C. Hoagland by disaffected NASA employees provide clues why, including information about suppressed lunar discoveries.

Mystical organizations quietly dominate NASA, carrying out their own secret agendas behind the scenes. This is the story of men at the very fringes of rational thought and conventional wisdom, operating at the highest levels of our country. Their policies are far more aligned with ancient religions and secret mystery schools than the facade of rational science NASA has successfully promoted to the world for almost fifty years.

Dark Mission is proof of the secret history of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the astonishing, seminal discoveries it has repeatedly suppressed for decades.

Richard C. Hoagland is the former science advisor to CBS News, author of The Monuments of Mars, and a frequent guest on the popular radio programs Coast To Coast and The Art Bell Show.

Mike Bara is a consulting engineer for Boeing aircraft. This is his first book.

The Universe in a Mirror: The Saga of the Hubble Space Telescope and the Visionaries Who Built It

Robert Zimmerman

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Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Hubble Space Telescope has produced the most stunning images of the cosmos humanity has ever seen. It has transformed our understanding of the universe around us, revealing new information about its age and evolution, the life cycle of stars, and the very existence of black holes, among other startling discoveries. The Universe in a Mirror tells the story of this telescope and the visionaries responsible for its extraordinary accomplishments.

Robert Zimmerman takes readers behind the scenes of one of the most ambitious scientific instruments ever sent into space. After World War II, astronomer Lyman Spitzer and a handful of scientists waged a fifty-year struggle to build the first space telescope capable of seeing beyond Earth's atmospheric veil. Zimmerman shows how many of the telescope's advocates sacrificed careers and family to get it launched, and how others devoted their lives to Hubble only to have their hopes and reputations shattered when its mirror was found to be flawed. This is the story of an idea that would not die--and of the dauntless human spirit. Illustrated with striking color images, The Universe in a Mirror describes the heated battles between scientists and bureaucrats, the perseverance of astronauts to repair and maintain the telescope, and much more. Hubble, and the men and women behind it, opened a rare window onto the universe, dazzling humanity with sights never before seen.

This book tells their remarkable story.

A Briefer History of Time

Stephen Hawking, Leonard Mlodinow

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Total reviews: 60 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Stephen Hawking’s worldwide bestseller, A Brief History of Time, has been a landmark volume in scientific writing. Its author’s engaging voice is one reason, and the compelling subjects he addresses is another: the nature of space and time, the role of God in creation, the history and future of the universe. But it is also true that in the years since its publication, readers have repeatedly told Professor Hawking of their great difficulty in understanding some of the book’s most important concepts.

This is the origin of and the reason for A Briefer History of Time: its author’s wish to make its content more accessible to readers—as well as to bring it up-to-date with the latest scientific observations and findings.

Although this book is literally somewhat “briefer,” it actually expands on the great subjects of the original. Purely technical concepts, such as the mathematics of chaotic boundary conditions, are gone. Conversely, subjects of wide interest that were difficult to follow because they were interspersed throughout the book have now been given entire chapters of their own, including relativity, curved space, and quantum theory.

This reorganization has allowed the authors to expand areas of special interest and recent progress, from the latest developments in string theory to exciting developments in the search for a complete unified theory of all the forces of physics. Like prior editions of the book—but even more so—A Briefer History of Time will guide nonscientists everywhere in the ongoing search for the tantalizing secrets at the heart of time and space.


From the Hardcover edition.

Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Statics w/CD-ROM

Ferdinand P. Beer, Jr., E. Russell Johnston, Elliot R. Eisenberg, David Mazurek

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 3 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Do we really need another edition one year after the last? 3 out of 5 stars.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful.

I used this book in my Statics class in 1977 when it was in its third edition, and now my stepson is using the eighth edition in his statics class. The book was excellent almost to the point of self-teaching the subject then, and it looks like little has changed. There are still plenty of example problems, plenty of end of chapter exercises, and solutions to the vast majority of problems are in the back of the book. In the case of computer exercises, the solutions are at a special website provided by the authors. The figures are very clear and well-labeled and help illustrate the points the author is trying to make in the book. You could probably teach yourself statics using this book if you had some prior exposure to mechanics in a first semester college Physics class and with a little help from a Schaum's outline on the subject, which is always a good idea.

So why am I only giving this book three stars? I give five stars for the quality of the text and I deliver one star for the unnecessary eighth edition, thus averaging to three stars. The seventh edition was only published less than two years ago, and the new price of this book, which all current students are going to have to pay, is outrageous. Of course, this is getting to be the same old song with all successful textbook series. Rearrange a few words here and a few problems there, issue a new edition, and take all the reasonably priced used books out of circulation. This might be warranted with books on computer technology where there is rapid constant change. However, ask yourself, how much has the physics of loads on physical systems in static equilibrium changed since 2005? If you want a good statics book for self-study, get an older edition of this same book and save yourself some money. If you are a student I guess you are stuck. By the way, my third edition (I still have it and use it) cost seventeen dollars in 1977. Compared to the new edition, which is no better and no worse, the price has gone up eight times. I'm no economist but my guess is this far outpaces the rate of inflation for the last thirty years.

Editorial Review:

The new Eighth Edition of Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Statics marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Beer/Johnston series. Continuing in the spirit of its successful previous editions, the Eighth Edition provides conceptually accurate and thorough coverage together with a significant addition of new problems, including biomechanics problems, and the most extensive media resources available. Text comes with an outstanding media package which includes, Hands on Mechanics, ARIS Homework Management System and YourOtherTeacher.Com

A Brief History of Time

Stephen Hawking

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Total reviews: 346 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

Stephen Hawking, one of the most brilliant theoretical physicists in history, wrote the modern classic A Brief History of Time to help nonscientists understand the questions being asked by scientists today: Where did the universe come from? How and why did it begin? Will it come to an end, and if so, how? Hawking attempts to reveal these questions (and where we're looking for answers) using a minimum of technical jargon. Among the topics gracefully covered are gravity, black holes, the Big Bang, the nature of time, and physicists' search for a grand unifying theory. This is deep science; these concepts are so vast (or so tiny) as to cause vertigo while reading, and one can't help but marvel at Hawking's ability to synthesize this difficult subject for people not used to thinking about things like alternate dimensions. The journey is certainly worth taking, for, as Hawking says, the reward of understanding the universe may be a glimpse of "the mind of God." --Therese Littleton

Astronomy: A Beginner's Guide to the Universe (5th Edition)

Eric Chaisson, Steve McMillan

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Total reviews: 2 Average rating: 3.0 of 5

Publisher Fails! 1 out of 5 stars.
33 of 37 people found this review helpful.

This textbook is an adequate basic astronomy text that covers all of the bases and as might be expected has many updates reflecting recent research in the field. However, much of the really cool photography, demonstrations, animations, and illustrations are not in the book but are supposed to be on the web-site to which purchasers are given free access for more than an academic year. Although the book was released months ago, the web-site will not be available before the end of May 2006. The Prentice Hall Product Support people took over three weeks to find this out and were unable to offer any other solution to the problem which was shared by half of my class section. Do not purchase this book; it is a ripoff. If you must buy it, buy an older edition that comes with the CD (which the rest of my section purchased.) You won't have to deal with Prentice-Hall. Even better, try "Discovering the Universe" which is better written and comes with a CD.

Awesome 5 out of 5 stars.
0 of 18 people found this review helpful.

The book was just as i expected!!! it was new, no marks, and no bent pages! it was a great price and it looks like i just bought it from a book store!! shipped really fast! THANKS

Behold a Pale Horse

William Cooper, Milton William Cooper

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Total reviews: 200 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

A Partial Understanding of Who Rules 3 out of 5 stars.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful.

The author of this book, William Cooper, is so outraged at the subversion of the US governmment that he gets a little rough, approaching the boundaries of extremism.

The more valuable treasure to be mined from this study is the information on the secret societies. I doubt not a word of it and he is right on the money with his assertion that the CFR runs the US government.

If you can read this book and focus only on the chapters dealing with the secret societies, the population control techniques, the continuity of government plans in the Reagan administration, George H.W. Bush, and the mindless masses, you will have recieved your money's worth.

Stay away from the UFO chapters. They are obviously misinformation that Cooper inadvertantly picked up in his source documents, meant to discredit anyone who lifts the secret docs. (The reason why we discount the UFO stories is simply because, unlike the above topics, there just isn't enough corroborating evidence friendly to common sense.)

All of us should be outraged at this subversion of our democracy. Your best recourse is to get informed. Read other books about the secret/invisible government, CFR, and related elitist-type books. You may even find that 9/11 had nothing to do with...Arabs...

Editorial Review:

The author, former U.S. Naval Intelligence Briefing Team Member, reveals information kept secret by our government since the 1940s. UFOs, the J.F.K.. assassination, the Secret Government, the war on drugs and more by the world's leading expert on UFOs.

The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory

Brian Greene

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Total reviews: 501 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

There is an ill-concealed skeleton in the closet of physics: "As they are currently formulated, general relativity and quantum mechanics cannot both be right." Each is exceedingly accurate in its field: general relativity explains the behavior of the universe at large scales, while quantum mechanics describes the behavior of subatomic particles. Yet the theories collide horribly under extreme conditions such as black holes or times close to the big bang. Brian Greene, a specialist in quantum field theory, believes that the two pillars of physics can be reconciled in superstring theory, a theory of everything.

Superstring theory has been called "a part of 21st-century physics that fell by chance into the 20th century." In other words, it isn't all worked out yet. Despite the uncertainties--"string theorists work to find approximate solutions to approximate equations"--Greene gives a tour of string theory solid enough to satisfy the scientifically literate.

Though Ed Witten of the Institute for Advanced Study is in many ways the human hero of The Elegant Universe, it is not a human-side-of-physics story. Greene's focus throughout is the science, and he gives the nonspecialist at least an illusion of understanding--or the sense of knowing what it is that you don't know. And that is traditionally the first step on the road to knowledge. --Mary Ellen Curtin

NightWatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe

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Total reviews: 87 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The third edition of Nightwatch continues its tradition of being the best handbook for the beginning astronomer. Terence Dickinson covers all the problems beginners face, starting with the fact that the night sky does not look the way a modern city-dweller expects. He discusses light pollution, how to choose binoculars and telescopes, how to pronounce the names of stars and constellations, telescope mounts, averted vision, and why the harvest moon looks especially bright. Most of the lovely photographs in the book were taken by amateurs, which gives the section on astrophotography a particularly inspirational gleam.

Dickinson's star charts are very handy, each covering a reasonable field of view and mapping the most interesting amateur objects. He gives good advice for planet watching, which he notes "is one of the few astronomical activities that can be conducted almost as well from the city as from dark rural locations."

Altogether, the watchword for Nightwatch is indeed "practical"--this is a book to be used, not just read. Spiral-bound to lie flat or to fold back undamaged, it's a field guide that pulls its own weight in the field. Author Timothy Ferris says, "Like a good night sky, Nightwatch is clear and wind-free. Try it and see for yourself." --Mary Ellen Curtin