Cosmos Books

For those who maintain a stubborn stance on either evolution or intelligent design, Cedric Michael Guss presents a compelling discussion. His new book, Yahweh of the Cosmos: Ultimate Symmetry in the Universe, takes readers on a journey through space and time to illustrate the surprising ways in which science and religion support each other.
As a scientist, Guss exhibits a thorough grasp of ideas and theories that surround this puzzling topic, from past to present, and he addresses the problems many analytical observations have contributed to humans' ability to understand. Throughout the book, he delves into the work of noted scientists, such as Galileo, Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking; religious leaders, such as Moses, Paul, Mohammed, Jesus and Pope John Paul II; and great philosophers, such as Giordano Bruno, Valentinus, Ptolemy and Plato. By examining the teachings of these historic figures, Guss effectively demonstrates the relationship that exists between seemingly contrasting beliefs. Present-day research in archeology, cosmology, biology and physics are also referenced where they are helpful in drawing postulates and conclusions about God and the universe from what is unknown to this day.
"Someday when church and science pull off the gloves, their followers may find they are speaking a common language more than they had ever wished or imagined," Guss writes. "Then Albert Einstein will have also been prophetic when he said, `Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.'"

Very interesting and pleasing. Some advise from age long philosophers who knew some secrets about life!

This is the first of Christian Larsons books that I have read, and I have to say it is rather superb. If you read alot of metaphysical books, this approaches things from a slightly different angle. A couple of occassions I really got the impression that what I was reading was important and should require my attention. Like all books of this nature though, unless you APPLY what you learn from it, it will do very little for anyone.

This is a fine book but the Real Universe is only HERE: Schroedinger's Universe and the Origin of the Natural Laws

Don't know much about new physics? This is stuff I didn't get the first time around--they weren't discussing it back then since all of us were running from the dinosaurs....

Anyway, Greene has a good descriptive edge that will keep you reading even if the subject of string theory and quantum physics gets a little too deep. Even if you've had physics 1 and 2 in college, I guarantee that those basic classes won't cover anything mentioned here, but you'll better have the mindset to take in this information.

Good luck! And remember that a college education is never a waste--if you really think how to use it well. A science background will certainly make you a better television series writer.

There were parts of this book that were difficult to grasp, but what I liked about it was it's explanation of quantum foam and hidden dimensions. Quantum foam is a general concept in physicis that I had heard of, but didn't really understand. The author explained the meaning of it in a clear and succinct way, and showed why it is such a stumbling block for a unified theory. Also, his description of hidden dimensions made that concept much clearer for me. A good book if you are interested in physics and cosmology.

...but this stuff is good. Greene goes a little overboard with the analogies, but it's almost necessary to do so with such technical material (at least when it's obvious his target reader is someone with little collegiate-level training in physics). I personally love anything that attempts to explain our physical world, and Greene does just that in a very original and sincere way. String theory is a hard concept to grasp -and quantum mechanics is even harder, but after reading this book two times through, the information really begins to sink in. Most people are simply unaware of the possibility of additional dimensions, or at least, are aware of them but believe they only exist in science fiction. I can't wait for technology to catch up to the claims these scientists are making. I advise anyone to read this book. Good intro to the subjects.

just read lee smolin's book.

The Trouble With Physics: The Rise of String Theory, The Fall of a Science, and What Comes Next (Paperback)

over 30 years,the gang of stringers have been trying to find any evidence even at atomic level for their theory , but they failed.

better to read science fiction novels..

The book is a good introduction to hypersapce,parallel universes, supergravity, string theory and every other physics theory difficult to understand for the lay person. Dr. Kaku interests the reader to a new world of possibilities.

Now almost 15 years old, this book is still an interesting read. An entertaining and well written introductory tour of superstrings and the quest for unification, with a little essential history of the evolution of physics and mathematics thrown in. (Mathematics is, after all, the language of physics, of which every modern student of physics is well aware.) It will take about the first 100 pages to get the experienced physics reader interested, and then it's a quick dash to the finish. Much of the text is on the speculative level, and there is a fair amount of redundancy. (Kaku repeats himself a lot, to the point of being periodically annoying.) One thing I found glaringly missing from the religious "logic" discussion was mention of either Rene Descartes or Blaise Pascal.

One amusing consequence of the "beauty" and "no empirical evidence" discussion concerning higher dimensional superstring theory is that these are precisely the arguments used by many theologists and lay religious adherents alike to justify the existence of God, as well as their faith. This suggests that modern (quantum) physics is in danger of becoming more religion then science, and its practitioners of becoming more a priesthood than a scientific community. But then this has happened before in physics - at least until the "test of time" transfigures faith into fact.

I gave the book 4 stars instead of 5 because of the redundancies, typos or misspellings that seem to occur every 20 pages or so.

I truly enjoyed this book. Except for some off-topic ramblings in the middle about the relationship of art to modern science, and some of the author's conceptual aids to help explain or express complex physical theories, I was thoroughly engrossed and mentally stimulated. Kaku has a respectable command of his subject and prose, even if, at times, there was some repetition. (In this type of book, repetition is a given.)

The book is virtually free of mathematics. Consequently, there are places the reader has to take Kaku's explanations and descriptions at face value. Having no math to back up theory isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it leaves even the expert word smith (and I consider Kaku to be one) at a disadvantage. On more than a few occasions I was unable to rap my brain around literal or diagrammatical attempts to explain principles and theories of math and physics. Of course, this might be my failing as a reader instead of Kaku's. It's possible I just didn't get it for the simple reason I didn't want to take the extra time for conceptualizing. (I was more anxious to get to his discussion of multi-dimensional space.)

As opposed to some of the other reviewers, I found the last two sections most enjoyable and enlightening. In the final two sections 'Wormholes' and 'Masters of Hyperspace', Kaku skillfully addresses multi-versus, traveling through time, the death of the cosmos; he encompasses divergent opinions and arguments from various perspectives (math, physics, cosmology, religion), comments on the difference between a God of Order and a God of Miracles, and concludes with a reasoned and hopeful statement about man's ability to solve the mysteries of nature.

I plan on reading more from this author.

-seabgb

good book. explains details in a way that laymen can comprehend. i never took any physics- but i was capable of understaning dr. kakus book. he is well spoken and well versed in the modern beliefs of theoretical science.

I really enjoyed this book when I was fresh out of high school. However, reflecting back on this work, it really is nothing more than a delightfully written book on a large collection of theories that have not been and probably cannot be verified through empirical observation. Sure, it might be amusing to hypothesize about parallel universes, superstrings, time machines and the like. Nevertheless, I do not see the utility in doing so until we have a compelling reason to believe that these things might exist.

I am a layman who has been curious about the concept of Sting Theory for some time. I found Greene's book a window into the soul of the universe. He has helped me comprehend (to my limits) the fabric of the cosmos. I echo the other rave reviews and will go back to this book time and time again.

How awful. I wrote a long and interesting review of Greene's book. But then I had to go to another page to fill out your Tag idea, and when I came back the review had vanished. No, I'm not going to write it again; the designers of this web page ought to write it themselves if they can write.

I am not a physicist, though I can honestly say that physics is perhaps one of the most intriguing and exciting aspects of the human quest for knowledge. I have been an ardent amateur student of astrophysics and theoretical physics since high school and there is no better author on the subject than Brian Greene. He is one of those rare brilliant scientists that is also a natural born teacher and gifted writer. I have seen Brian Greene give presentations, lead specials on Nova and other science programs, and have read his spectacular book on string theory, The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory.

I believe that "The Fabric of the Cosmos" is currently the pinnacle of his work in enlightening the general public on the true nature of the universe. In this book, Greene takes us on a fascinating journey through the history of physics from Sir Isaac Newton to the very present. He confidently highlights the major breakthroughs in physics over the past several centuries, which lead up to our current understanding of how the universe works. That being said, Greene also shows that there are many unresolved issues and that while string theory looks extremely promising, it is as of yet an incomplete theory. Greene's explanations on the physics of time are both fascinating and startling and will challenge your conceptions of what the human experience truly is.

Greene does an excellent job of using real world examples and clear metaphors to explain the tough mathematics in more simple terms. For those interested in the actual formulas, Greene provides ample notes and detailed explanations in the back quarter of the book. The pages are also peppered with graphics and diagrams that ease in visualizing the physics at work. Trust me when I say this book is accessible to anyone interested in the topic.

"The Fabric of the Cosmos" has challenged my perceptions of the universe and has inspired me to look at my life and my experiences in a new and unique way. It has also reaffirmed my belief that humanity has the intellectual capabilities to achieve its greatest dreams. I recommend this as a physics book of the highest order.

Not being a mathematical whiz, I found this book fairly easy to understand. Brian Greene did a wonderful job not only explaining modern physics, but also how science got to where it is. I really enjoyed the pop culture examples to explain concepts and he did a great job of not filling the book with technical jargon that can loose people quickly. I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a better understanding of physics and natural science.

The negative reviews say that there's not much that's new in this book (over and above what was in The Elegant Universe.) As I have not read The Elegant Universe, I find this book most wonderful: in the first 100 pages alone, you learn all you wanted to know about relativity and quantum theories, written lucidly.

If nothing else, this book shows an incredible amount of creativity. Colfer continues his wit from his "Artemis Fowl" series, and actually adds more blatant emotion--and I'm not complaining. Here we are introduced to the freaky future world we have seen so many times. But I still love it and Colfer does not ruin it.

Enter the fantasy fusion--strange creatures that seem to feed off human life. There is a small band of rebels who fight them, but what is the truth of these supernatural creatures?

I think the social message was a little heavy handed, but it's touching and exciting.

Most people know Colfer only for his Artemis Fowl books (which are amazing by the way) but he also as many other great novel for children and young teens

i was initially skeptical about whether to read this book or not read this book but i am ever so glad i did read it. wonderful characters in a exceptional story make for a very enjoyable read. at least for me, dystopian futures with children as the main protagonists are a new thing, however, i rather like such a thing.

Intro: This story takes place in the future. It is about a boy named Cosmo Hill, who escapes from an Orphanage and joins a group called the Supernaturalists. This group of four is made up of people who can see little blue creatures known as "parasites" and the Supernaturalists are dedicated to fighting them. The little parasites congregate around disasters where people are hurt, and the Supernaturalists rush to the scene to fight them off from sucking out life force from those who are injured. The parasite's numbers are increasing rather than decreasing; who's behind it?

I liked: The story was interesting, and I really liked the plot twists. Plus I thought the ending wrapped it well.

I disliked: There were a few gross parts, such as when someone gets sick in zero gravity. Also, Cosmo gets injured and has to be pieced back together with future-technology medicine. And he ends up bald.

Recommended for: people who like technology mixed with street life kinda stuff. I think this book is meant for boys more; I'm a 15 year old girl and I stilled liked it, but not as much.

Usually I don't enjoy science fiction novels yet this one caught my eye. The first chapter was a little boring, but the action quickly heated up. The characters have great personality's that fit in perfectly with the plot. All the character's past's get twisted in with why they do things in the story and it's as if the characters link together to form a chain that is the plot. The futuristic setting only adds to the fascination you will feel while reading this book. This action packed psychedelic novel is something you HAVE to read if you are a lover of science fiction or realistic fiction. The author is very intelligent in the things he makes his characters do and feel. He also lets the character's seem partly mysterious because you don't know everything about their life and how they feel which adds to the excitement. This book is filled with excellent characters and an intelligent story line that everyone can understand!

This audio CD based on the paperback by James Gleick is a very good source for people interested in obtaining a very detailed explanation of Sir Isaac Newton's life and works in the fields of Mathematics, Physics, Religion and Philosophy. If however, the reader wants to obtain just a summary of Newton's life and works, this CD is far too detailed for him / her.

The CD explains the cooperation and / or rivalry between Newton and other famous scientists, mathematicians and philosophers of his era. So the listener also learns about how Descartes, Bacon, Huygens, Leibniz,Locke, Hook and many others approached the same issues. The conformity and discrepancies between Newton's and these other thinkers' opinions and methodologies about various physics and mathematics topics and their views of the universe are analyzed. Sometimes differences of opinion have led to personal rivalries between Newton and some of them.

Nevertheless, Newton is one of the greatest men whose works have shaped mankind's understanding of the universe. This audio CD clearly makes us understand his contributions. It is not an abstract explanation of Newton and other scientists' theories alone but a practical application of these theories in interpreting our universe. It is made clear that subsequent works by other scientists such as the General Theory of Relativity by Albert Einstein that challenged Newton's interpretation of the universe, absolute time and space have not belittled Newton's contributions. On the contrary, Newton's ideas developed more than 250 years ago were and still are a great stepping stone that led to the development of subsequent scientific theories like those of Einstein.

Newton the man was a classic, and this slim, readable biography is very good. Newton studied and wrote in secret, argued and lived in public, recreated the world we live in, and knew he stood next to God Himself in understanding the creation.

Interestingly, millions of words of his works were sold in small lots after his death and scattered about Europe; to date, much remains unpublished..

Gleick brought Newton's world to life in this tightly written biography. I felt, though, that it left a lot out. I am interested in reading other biographies of Newton because he seemed so fascinating. It is a glimpse at an amazing figure with some elucidation on science and the world of Newton's time.

I felt that Gleick took some liberties in saying that Newton presented a fork in the road as far as the divorce of philosophy from science. That had been going on since Descartes, even if Descartes' science was mistaken philosophy wouldn't know the difference. Also, left out, was mention of Ovid's Metamorphosis as an alchemist's cookbook.

Reading this I felt like I was reading a half hour summary of movie fragments of a 12 hour motion picture; but at least I still want to see the motion picture. I think there may be better biographies out there. I hope

Several versions of Isaac Newton's life have evolved in the three centuries since his death in 1727. They are the products of admirers, detractors, philosophers, scientist, and poets. Some have the virtue of being partially true. Indeed, Isaac Newton was brilliant, restless, creative, vindictive, and proud. That his image today is so disjointed comes as no surprise. James Gleick attempts to sort the wheat from the chaff, but his work goes far beyond that, to a splendid essay of Newton in his time.

The 17th century was a curious time to be alive in England. Diarmaid MacCulloch, in his brilliant study of the Reformation, identifies Newton as the pivotal character in the swing from theology to science as the defining key of existence. But the old cosmologies were dying slow, painful deaths, while the new ones were generally infantile, utopian, or speculative. Even Galileo hesitated at first to turn his telescope to the skies, for fear of offending the divine, and when he finally caught glimpse of Saturn, the imperfections of his optics led him to announce "a planet with handles." [Newton himself had to disguise his mathematics of infinity under the cloak of annuity interest projections to maintain proper theological etiquette at Cambridge.] The new science, such as it was, required as much faith as the old religion. A few souls like Kepler understood that there might be logic at the root, but his mathematics were daunting.

What makes Newton's life so interesting is the intellectual and philosophical journey that took him from the age of Galileo into the age of Einstein. He attended Cambridge in the aftermath of Oliver Cromwell but his Protestantism was not entirely appropriate as he harbored closet doubts about the Holy Trinity, finding no scriptural basis for it. His theology evolved from Aristotle as much as from anyone. He respected Aristotle's concept of First Cause, and he had enough innate oppositional defiance to approach his studies with a rigorous scientific method in the manner of The Philosopher, chips fall where they will.

Newton excelled in mathematics, physics, and mechanics, and his interests were broad enough that he brought a philosopher's eye to these various disciplines. In a sense he began his life's work while still a college student, looking for a unifying factor or factors to all the known sciences and disciplines of his day. This was a gargantuan task, and its audacity took Newton to the virtual doorstep of the best of medieval theology. His quest became an obsession, and for several solitary years it led him down the dark alley of alchemy. Alchemy was highly suspect; its practitioners were considered either heretics for seeking divine secrets, or outright charlatans looking to create gold. Newton, however, was attempting to find a bridge between the stasis of matter and the observable flux of actual life.

What seemed to bring Newton out of his cave was the appearance of a spectacular comet in 1681. A young astronomer named Halley, an early admirer of Newton's work, postulated that comets might be cyclic objects with elliptic trajectories. Halley's thesis on the trajectory of comets--rather easily substantiated even in his day by visual observation and Kepler's foundational math--was a physical puzzlement in an age when behavior of heavenly bodies was something of a psychological/religious given. Not even the telescope had shaken that. Why, then, would a comet make what amounts to a 270 degree change in trajectory as it passed the sun?

Gleick traces with broad sweeps Newton's intense pursuit of an answer, which led to the basic laws of physics we call Newtonian. Gleick's economy is appreciated: Newton's paper trail is extensive and exhaustive; one key to his success was exactitude. [The economist John Maynard Keynes led an extensive recent effort to recover and catalogue Newton's body of work.] Although his publications in his day had modest circulation due to the highly technical nature--Halley, in fact, funded some of the publishing--there were two polarities permeating his theories that captured public attention and attracted considerable criticism in his time: his dependence upon the invisible, and the extensiveness of his claims.

There is irony in the fact that Newton's passion for scientific verifiable method allowed room for what his enemies would deride as invisible forces. Gravity is the most obvious example, though here the difficulty was mathematical semantics: just as most of us labor with the material reality of e=mc(2), so too in Newton's day the mathematics and physics underlying gravitational force escaped even many professionals of his time. But in other areas of his work Newton claimed a certainty that was at best hypothetical and at times almost magical. So confident was he in the power of computation and observation that he promoted his ideas about atoms and light transmission, for example, as Gospel. The debate over the nature and transmission of light was an intense one during Newton's working years. Newton himself made major contributions in his work with prisms and improvements on reflecting telescopes. But his hubris and scientific acclaim led him into an alchemy of speculation which later scientists corrected.

On the other hand, Newton was attacked by poets and artists for redefining the world in the cold jargon of scientific certitude. He was accused of stripping the human experience of mystery. Even some scientists worried that Newton had left nothing for them to do. In some cases these criticisms are the fruit of Newton's own exhaustive claims, and like many famous men, he did suffer in translation and adulation. Newton's personality--including his lifelong love of declarative sentences--did not facilitate clarification or negotiation. Having solved to his own satisfaction the mysteries of the universe, Newton turned to an even greater challenge: the English economy. In 1696 he was appointed Warden and eventually Master of the Mint where he essentially restored credibility to the coin of the realm. Little wonder Keynes would protect his memory.

James Gleick has written some excellent books -- Chaos and Genius, but this book fails to clear that bar.

Inside the front flap of the dust cover it reads "In this original, sweeping, and intimate biography, Gleick moves between a comprehensive historical portrait and a dramatic focus on Newton's significant letters and unpublished notebooks to illiminate the real importance of his work in physics, in optics, and in calculus." In my opinion, the book fails to meet this objective. The biography and other information is superficial and far from initimate -- the book is a good introduction to basic facts but no more than that. His biography of Richard Feynman in Genius comes much closer to the goal of an intimate biography.

In general, speeches are boring and usually put me to sleep. The 1980's were sooooo long ago, anything new or revolutionary discussed in the 80's should be totally obsolete by now. Somehow, Carl Sagan made this series of speeches back in the 80's that are interesting enough to be purchased, read (and re-read) and still be relevant today. I'm a science girl and although I am not particularly religious I have questions about God, heaven, life and afterlife, etc. This book really struck a chord with me, it made me think about why "we" think the way "we" think, or hold certain beliefs. It's a must read for those into astronomy, or science, or religion.

Although I am the first to acknowledge I could not write a book of the quality of any (or almost any) I review, I usually do not feel so much in the presence of a great thinker as I did when reading this book. Perhaps the last time I felt it was when reading Darwin's
The Origin Of Species
I can say this after just having read and been so impressed by Dawkins
The God Delusion
but it was in a different way. This book may have often gone over my head, both in the science presented and the caliber of Sagan's thought. Dawkins at least gave me the illusion I might be able to carry on a conversation with him without feeling completely tongue-tied. Not the Dawkins' couldn't go over my head and I suspect in his scientific works he would, however much he addressed them to a popular audience, but reading Sagan is something else indeed. Like a visit to some distant galaxy.

The Selected Q&A that appear at the end of this book may give one a feeling of just how sharp Sagan was: one thing to compose lectures such as comprise this book, quite another to field such a variety of questions.

Just for the lessons in astronomy alone as well as what is known that may suggest life elsewhere (which as a good scientist Sagan was quick to acknowledge he knew no evidence of), this book was worthwhile reading. That Sagan seems to have been as widely read in world religion was impressive. His concerns about nuclear winter were ... alarming. As he observed, how many of us seem to be "in denial" about this danger. And it is with that concern that these lectures end, not in some far off galaxy that have a planet that has life but with Sagan's grave concern about, as he said, "the tragic reluctance to come to grips with the bankruptcy of the nuclear arms race". Reminded here by Sagan of the extreme dangers of nuclear winter to many forms of life on Earth (Sagan suspects "roaches and grass and sulfur-metabolizing worms ..." may survive), what to make of political leaders who consider any limited proactive nuclear strike?

Purchased - March 08 Kindle

Positives: Clear, concise writing. I am an atheist but with no malice against believers. This book does a much better job than either Dawkins or Hitchens (sp.)in explaining the rationale of atheism. Though I am 3/4 of the way through the book - there are no slams or bitterness against believers.

Deltas - The price was high for an electronic edition.

Overall: 5 star recommendation.

The subtitle of this book is " A personal view of the search for God". This is a collection of the lectures presented by Sagan in Scotland on varied topics mostly connected with God and religion , but you also get a bit about the search for extra terrestrial life, nuclear weapons, creationism and other views. As always Sagan is very lucid in his writings , and it is hard not be impressed by him , not only for his ability to think clearly, but also for his ability to put across his point clearly. Sagan also is very polite and at least to me fairly balanced in his views when it comes to the evidence of 'God'. If you define God as the sum of laws of nature then he exists, If you define God as love then God exists, If you define God as a bearded white man in the heavens watching your every move then we need more evidence. I cannot easily summarise any of the material here , because Sagan's work is always so easy to understand that the only thing I can do is copy his words. So instead I will quote some of his beliefs from the introduction by Ann Druyan.
"What is wanted is not the will to believe , but the desire to find out" (Bertrand Russel)
"Every one of us is, in the cosmic perspective, precious. If a human disagrees with you let him live. in a hundred billion galaxies you will not find another"
"His argument was not with God but with those who believed our understanding of the sacred had been completed"
"He never understood why anyone would want to separate science which is a way of searching what is true from what we hold sacred, which are those truths that inspire love and awe"
There is also a question and answer with the attendees of his lecture which is very interesting and informative.
There is something in this book for you, no matter which side of the argument you stand on.
It goes without saying read this book.

Enjoyed the perspective. Very revealing. The belief in science and the belief in God are usually mutually exclusive beliefs. Interesting to know Carl shattered the mold.

I don't have much physics backgroud but found this book very easy to comprehend and easy to read also. The information is astonishing.

Ranges further and is more accessible than Brian Greene's "Elegant Universe." A must read for anyone who is interested in the _very big questions_.

this book is very good view of the physics of the new millenium..michio kaku really knows what he's talking about and im sure this isn't his last book on this topic

hello . this book is so facanating it is hard to belive. literly after you read about the quantum paralel worlds part you never ever look at the world in the same way.also i was ten when i read this book and still found it facanating and 100% comprehend able. because of this book and many others by michio ka ku i want to be a theoretical phisisist. i hope you buy this book. happy reading^_^

Michio has done an excellent job at describing the current understanding of the Universe, based on the latest proven theories. He has the ability to reach out to all skill levels. This is simply the best book I have ever read regarding the Universe. Thanks to my good friend and colleague, Neal Bailey, for recommending this book.