Cosmos Books

Not only is the book stunning; so is the fact that only 2 other souls have been moved to submit reactions. Laszlo's effort to integrate what is known about the spectrum of existence ... from the subquantum to quantum to living systems to conscious levels ... is beyond expectation or even imagining! Unlike too many other authors these days, Laszlo doesn't blithely claim that "science" has "proved" his ideas or something on which his thesis depends, he admits it is, as yet, an untested hypothesis. But what an hypothesis! How thoroughly explicated! How thoroughly examined his building blocks! If I hadn't read this 2003 publication, I might have dusted off his 2005 publication, Science and the Akashic Field, as inadequately founded in fact. Happily, I had read it and I'm convinced that Laszlo has come closer than anyone else who has recently tried it to at least approach a "theory of everything." Right after finishing this one, I read John Lamb Lash's Not in HIS Image, which explains the folly of politically-motivated salvationist religion and how it has eventuated in the ecodisaster we see before us. Here's what I think we need to do. Lock these two geniuses in a room and tell them to figure out what's happening and tell us what to do to survive the mess we've made before we let them out. If some object to this idea as being somehow unethical, we could at least plead that they write a book together, pooling their incredible wisdom and intuition, because between the two of them, they just might be able to help us make the needed corrections in cultural behavior.

This book is mind-boggling in its scope and erudition. I can't speak to the eventual consensus validity of its proposals, but I can say it's a very pleasing tour of huge swathes of cutting edge science and beats me to the page on many big ideas connecting biology, physics, and consciousness research. If you're interested in the "new physics," evolutionary theory and or consciousness studies, or all three as I am, you'll love this book.

This short book outlines Ervin Laszlo's vision of an Integral universe. He draws together quantum mechanics, complexity and realtivity describing the underlying quantum coherence that links them all together through a psi field so we see sub atomic physics, living systems, human consciousness and the fartherest galaxy are all linked together to make a cohesive whole. I would recommend first reading "Science and the Re-enchantment of the Cosmos" unless you already have a good grounding in current scientific thought as it introduces the topic in less technical terms. Having said that it is still quite readable.

Interesting for those who already have done some reading about the Akashic Field or Zero Point Field.

The theme of Cosmos ... is that language is the ultimate reality of the universe. To that end it shows the fundamental physical nature of the universe can be viewed as a Quantum Computer with a Quantum Computer language. (Both Superstring Theory and the Standard Model are candidates for this language.) It also shows the human mind can be viewed as a type of classical probabilistic computer. Thus it shows a similarity in the laws of mind and matter. Many pieces are assembled to support this unified view. It is not surprising that some will not see how the pieces fit together although it is clearly and repeatedly stated. Since the book also contains original, new research results this author felt it was necessary to describe them in some detail as a matter of intellectual honesty. These technical parts should be of interest to the popular reader as well as the scientist since it shows how physics is done. I can understand how some might view this as less interesting. Yet I feel that a semi-popular book that is both for the popular audience and the scientist is more worthwhile then pabulum books that oversimplify and avoid equations at any cost to make sales at the expense of educating the reader.

I wanted to like this book - I really did. It brings up an ambitious thesis then barely pays it mind, opting instead to spend page after page on less interesting topics. Not internally coordinated at all, it seems more like a compilation of unrelated writings and less like a comprehensive approach to the subject. Back up Dr. Blaha, and try again!

Dr. Blaha's book, Cosmos and Consciousness, is the first philosophical writing I have seen that bases its arguments on modern physics. Dr. Blaha's understanding of quantum mechanics, general relativity theory, and linguistics from computer science provides an exciting framework on how to perceive the universe. He gives real meaning to how ancient beliefs came about, the relationship of observations to knowledge, and the expression of modern physics through language. He shows why the concepts of free will, a superstring quantum model of the cosmos, and a probabilistic computer model of consciousness are consistent with modern physics. Also, he presents this SuperString Quantum Computer Theory of the Cosmos and this Probabilistic Computer Theory of the Consciousness as what he refers to as "Personified Physics", or Physics as the embodiment of people.

I found Dr. Blaha's concept of the universe and man's place in the universe consistent with what we know today. It leaves one feeling that we are naturally part of the universe and that consciousness should be a common phenomenon throughout the universe (that is, that other conscious beings would exist).

I found this book hard to resist. The fundamental particles of matter are "letters" in a cosmic code or alphabet. The universe is a "word" extending from the Big Bang until the end of time. The fundamental theories of physics-the Standard Model and SuperStrings-can be viewed as a quantum computer language. The idea that the universe is a word resonates with philosophic and theological notions that God is the word-logos-that began in Ancient Egypt. Ankhs are symbols derived from an ancient comet over Egypt. Human consciousness can be viewed as a probabilistic computer. New types of quantum computers are explored.

The book overflows with exciting new ideas. The presentation is clear and easy to read. At times the book gets technically challenging-the author proves his points-not just vague verbal assertions without proof. This book is the only attempt that I am aware of that tries to present original new scientific ideas for the first tome together with a popular discussion of these ideas.

In addition to providing solid science, it is a significant contribution to the ongoing discussion of Science and Religion.

Two fleets of ships war through time. The Captain of one vessel falls prey to one of his staff, a member of a secret cult. They both survive, and the Captain, exposed to the timestream and amnesiac is convicted when court-martialled. A capital crime, he will be used as a time courier.

Exposure to the 'strat' twice affects him differently, and he discovers that the conflict is definitely not as it seems, and there is a much greater battle raging.

This is a very good book, with an interesting premise: An empire that exists in time, not just space. The empire is under attack, and the method of battle is to go back in time and outflank the opponent by changing what happened in the past, hence changing the present.

The book is not long, but really packs a lot of great sci-fi ideas regarding time travel and society. It is a nice combination of action and ideas, you won't be bored.

I read the book quite some years ago, but as I recollect, I really did care about the characters, otherwise I wouldn't give the book a good rating.

Definitely worth a read.

This is, in all probability, the best time travel-related book I have read - surpassing even Asimov's END OF TIME.

The Story:
Captain Aton of the 3rd Time Fleet of the Chronotic Empire is engaged in conflict with the Hegemony from the future. Betrayed and court-martialed, he is about to embark on an unexpected and arduous task.

Time is uncannily like an ocean. The Chronotic Empire controls one part of the surface while the Hegemony occupies another (the future). The surface of time is a wave-function with the crests, or nodes, separated by 170 years from those in front and behind. Only at these nodes can someone travel from the past or future and remain without any continuous expenditure of chronotic energy. The Chronotic Empire controls seven nodes and the non-nodal historical time that surrounds them. The Empire continues to stretch its control over more and more nodes and the Hegemony, in fear that it's time frame will be overwhelmed by the temporally expanding Empire gets control of a device, a time distorter, which completely removes any object, person or place from existence anywhere in time - so that it or he/she never existed!

In the meanwhile, Hulmu, Lord of the Depths, is stirring far below the surface in the Gulf of Lost Souls. Hulmu a potential creature of the depths, along with his Minion and the heretical sect of Traumatics want Hulmu to become real and they can only do so by making sure that the fabric of real time becomes so distorted that creatures such as himself could come into existence. To do that Mankind must be eliminated.

Aside from a great & original story, there are various metaphysical concepts running through the work. Brilliant and Original - and reading it is, indeed, time well spent.

It is Astounding! Amazing! Thrilling! But also Philosophical! Cosmological! Metaphysical!

THE FALL OF CHRONOPOLIS is possibly the most sustained single novel from Bayley's pen, juggling its numerous plots that thread through excitement and literariness with the assuredness of a zen master. The massive time-fleets, armadas of spaceships the size of cities patrol the universe and battle against their eternal enemy, The Hegemony, through the jungles of time and pastures of space. The novel is brief but packs a punch that makes you dizzy from invention. It rewards several reads for all the subtext hiding behind the obvious and exciting surface, dealing with issues like the cyclic nature of the universe, fascism and religion for the sake of high drama. It is a vivid, visceral ride through the universe that will knock your senses wide open if you're attuned to this brand of extravagance.

This is a cool book. I tutor middle school students in math and have used this to help them think outside the box. Math can be used to describe everything around us. This book has beautiful color photos of unique calculus graphs.The kids are amazed by the beauty of these designs.

Jeff, have you read of Dr. John Hubbard from Cornell and his analysis of the Mandelbrot Set? Your results and his analysis are so-ooo intriguing on what fractals promises for the future of mankind!!!! I have a video of his work and it is so fascinating.

A pictorial masterpiece by the best fractal artist of this generation. Your unique Associates ID is: thefractaltransl.

I'm really pleased with this book. To me, this is the IDEAL coffee table book on fractals.

Chapter one is the obligatory brief history of fractal image generation, including Mandelbrot, population growth, and citing quite a few popular books on the subject.

The heart of the book is the eye candy, presented in bright colors on high quality paper, with a bare minimum of mathematical labeling to maximize the "art appreciation" aspect of the viewing. This is divided into 5 chapters of somewhat like families of fractals, with brief but informative introductions. If you want a lot of beautiful fractal images that vary widely - you'll certainly get that here.

Chapter 2 gives many images of the Mandelbrot set. Chapter 3 explores various polynomials, powers, roots, and rational expressions. This clearly answered my early layman's question "What about other types of simple equations?" Chapter 4 then goes into exponentials, logarithms, trigonometrics, and various combinations. Chapter 5 then shows 3-d compositions, with many fractal skies, mountains, trees, and landscapes, plus the fractal spheres looking so much like moons or planets. Finally, chapter 6 does some interesting "studies" where you get treated to a page at a time of (6) images with very similar equations, where he alters some variable. Examples: the amount of zooming (up to 169 quintillion - with little loss in image detail), or iterating c by small amounts (like .005 to .01).

At this point I thought - very nice book, but I felt a little let down by so little INFORMATION passed along about WHAT these pictures were. The appendices changed all that!

Appendix A gives a nice explanation, complete with examples and graphs, of how to generate Julia Set fractal images. Appendix B is a 2 page selected bibliography, including both books and papers.

Appendix C lists and briefly explains 20 "Important Formulae for Complex Numbers". Having this would have saved me buying a book about complex numbers when I first discovered fractals, since it implies what the "rules" are.

Appendix D is REALLY KEY - for chapters 1-4, it lists nice mathematical data, and in almost all cases this includes: the image type, the equation, the complex constant, the screen parms, the blowup parms, and the maximum number of iterations. Here then, is HOW these beauties were created. For chapter 5, he doesn't list this, and for chapter 6, since they're studies, the detail varies, but is pretty good overall. To me, this takes the book from "very nice" to "awesome" because the layman can now get a better grasp on things and pursue what interests him/her.

Finally, unlabeled, but apparently Appendix E in my mind, he provides and index to the images BY EQUATION. A very nice cross reference to those thinking of exploring further in the literature or on their PC's.

So the "heavy math" type likely won't find much new here. For the rest of us, who just want some art, some (layman's)meaning/education, or both, aside from parts of "The Beauty of Fractals" this was without peer.

"Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler." When she wrote these pieces, Cole clearly wasn't following Einstein's adage.

Back during the brief period when the Los Angeles Times pretended to care about science it ran a weekly column by K. C. Cole. The Times, unfortunately, has reverted to viewing science as something to egregiously misrepresent in its daily reporting. But Cole's columns live on, and are now available to a larger audience. A physicist by training, I am often disappointed by science books because they achieve understandability by subtly misrepresenting the essence of difficult concepts. Cole, on the other hand, has a knack for explaining difficult concepts in simple terms without sacrificing veracity. This book is both a pleasurable and accurate read on topics of current interest in science. I highly recommend it to people wanting to better understand modern science.

In this collection of mostly columns that she wrote for the Los Angeles Times, science writer K.C. Cole relies on her wide reading in science, and on her interviews and friendships with scientists as a basis for appreciations, observations, interpretations, reports, and just plain musings on science and how science is transforming the planet. Employing a style that ranges from gossip column cute to poetic, Cole (who teaches at my alma mater UCLA) works hard to make science as relevant to the general public as the personalities in, say, People magazine, and just as accessible.

The task in writing about science is making it intelligible without dumbing it down or making simplistic statements that are not accurate. Cole recognizes this problem; indeed in reading these small essays (almost all are under a thousand words) I can feel her struggling mightily to get it just right: to make her expression as accurate as possible and as readable. She muses on these problems in the final essay, entitled, "Oops!" in which she confesses to some slips including confabulating Caltech physicist Robert Millikan with junk bond king Michael Milken. Ah, yes, I know well that sort of error, having stumbled thereabouts myself a time or two!

But it is not her ability to popularize science (by the way, she is now doing pieces for National Public Radio) that impresses me about Cole. It's her ability to understand science and its place in society that sets her apart from other writers. She is especially good are relating science to the social, political and personal worlds in which we live. Indeed, Part IV of this book is entitled "Political" Science with just the "Political" in quotes emphasizing that Cole is talking about both the internal political affairs of science and how the political world in general affects science and how science affects the political world. Some of the best essays in the book are from this section.

In "Dreamers," beginning on page 269, for example, Cole laments the loss of funding for some science projects (e.g., particle physics, the mission to Europa) as money is being redirected toward the wars on terror, drugs, and cancer--"missiles and medicine." She understands the pragmatic view of politicians who want tangible results from grants and under writings, but makes the powerful point that it is the "dreamers in the hinterlands who often come up with the most practical inventions." She directs our attention to PET scans, magnetic imaging, and laser surgery, all products of dreamers. But most saliently she recalls the physicists behind the development of the atom bomb, "dreamers" like Einstein and Oppenheimer. She notes that Germany might have won that war had Hitler been able to keep most of the German and Austrian scientists from fleeing to the United States. It is one of the great and most delicious ironies of history that so-called "Jewish" science helped to defeat the Nazis.

In "Unnatural" (p. 291) she addresses the controversy about genetically modified foods, noting first that seemingly unnatural plastic is mostly made from petroleum products, natural "plant matter that brewed for millions of years in the bowels of the earth"; and second that we have been modifying foods since the pre-history. ("You could even say that falling in love is nature's way of genetically modifying the species.") In conclusion she makes one of my favorite arguments: "We evolve...There's nothing special about this particular point in the history of any species--corn, humans or dogs. We're all on our way from someplace, going somewhere."

I've read this argument elsewhere and indeed have presented it myself, but nowhere have I read it put so succinctly well. We are NOT an unchanging construction (as from a creator God); instead we are a perpetually evolving entity, immersed in, and part of, an ever changing cosmos.

Some things learned: why Brazil nuts rise to the top in cans of mixed nuts (p. 117); there is a human wave of wake-up calls constantly going around the earth as we travel in our mind's eye with the sunlight though the time zones (p. 204); a comet or meteorite impact on the scale of the one that hit Siberia in 1908 happens about once every hundred years (p. 295); you can't get a suntan indoors because glass is opaque to ultraviolet light.

And much more.

I have read three of Cole's previous books and reviewed two of them (First You Build a Cloud: And Other Reflections on Physics as a Way of Life 1999 and The Hole in the Universe: How Scientists Peered over the Edge of Emptiness and Found Everything 2001) and I read every essay in this book and can say this is her best work. I found almost all of her arguments agreeable and informed, very well and gently expressed. I was fascinated at how her distinctive style--sometimes cute (sometimes too cute!) but often understated--partially obscures her nimble and trenchant intellect. Cole knows science and she knows why science matters, why it matters more than we can know, and she works hard at getting that message across to a sometimes reluctant public.

Science writers are as necessary to the modern world as electricity is to our homes. In some places in the world there is neither. We are lucky to be able to turn on the lights and to read someone as lucid and pertinent as K.C. Cole.

K.C. Cole has the rare ability to make the physical world both comprehensible and entertaining. I never thought I'd curl up with a good physics book but I found her brief commentaries obliterate the usual arbitrary separation between science and the humanities. In fact, it is by making physics so humanistic that she makes it clear to those of us who have difficulties understanding numerical concepts or apparently obscure ideas like space-time, quarks, and black holes. "Physics is simple," she writes, ". . . .consider the harmonics of a bottle of beer. Blow over the top, and you can make a series of different sounds, depending on how hard you blow and how much beer is left in the bottle. And lo and behold, it is by analyzing a very similar set of harmonics set up by the sloshing of gas and light in the early universe that astronomers have been able to put their ears to the cosmos, listening in on its babblings from the first moment of time. And here's what Cole, the mistress of metaphor, has to say about how Einstein's theory of relativity explains gravity as a curvature of space-time: "It's like an elephant sitting on a waterbed. Heavy objects bend space-time into "gravity wells" that pull other object in." If Einstein had put it that way in the first place, I wouldn't have had to wait this long to get it. Thanks, K. C. Cole.

Robert E. Howard (1906-1936) was and is still the best story teller wordsmith of action, adventure, horror, and more of all time! The Weird Works is some of REH's best stuff! My favorite in this book is Queen of the Black Coast that has Belit who is Conan's true love. Belit is the first woman Conan stayed faithful with up until her ____. The poem To A Woman ("Though fathoms...") Moder American Poetry Galleon Press, 1933 is really creepy. Just the way I like um! REH was a genius. Must reads of his:
The Last of the Trunk by Paul Herman, Blood & Thunder by Mark Finn, One Who Walked Alone by Novalyne Ellis REH's girlfriend, The Black Stranger, Lord Samarcand, Solomon Kane, Kull, All Conans, Bran Mak Morn, Cormac Mac Art, etc. My favorite is The Beast from the Abyss about cats. You can find this on REH websites. It's a real treat. Tell others about REH and keep visiting your local bookstores. I found some really inexpensive and out of print books of REH at some local Used Book Stores. MUST READ - Two Gun Bob! Most current one I read and Superb insight into REH's mind and stories. Neat factoid, REH had only visit the sea shore once in his life! Get Two Gun Bob before it's gone!

This collection of stories by the illustrious author of Conan and Brak Mak Morn, Solomon Kane, and legendary others, takes readers into the golden age of sword & sorcery that was written better back in the day.

Written grammatically correct in Old English that past authors like Edgar Rice Buroughs and Howard made this a refreshing reading experience that takes one back to yesteryear of high end adventure fantasy.

A must read for Conan fans.

More Cthulhu work, and a Bran Mak Morn/Kull crossover, and one Solomon Kane story.

Weird Works 3 : The Black Stone - Robert E. Howard
Weird Works 3 : The Children of the Night - Robert E. Howard
Weird Works 3 : The Dark Man - Robert E. Howard
Weird Works 3 : The Footfalls Within - Robert E. Howard
Weird Works 3 : The Gods of Bal-Sagoth - Robert E. Howard
Weird Works 3 : The Horror from the Mound - Robert E. Howard
Weird Works 3 : Kings of the Night - Robert E. Howard
Weird Works 3 : People of the Dark - Robert E. Howard
Weird Works 3 : The Thing on the Roof - Robert E. Howard


A Cthulhoid type venture. Not somewhere you want to be. Fairly proficiently done.

3.5 out of 5


Anthropological arguments and reminiscences over Cthulhu cults.

3 out of 5


Turlogh Dubh O'Brien gets some inspiration from Bran Mak Morn in beach side battle.

3.5 out of 5


Kane is following a band of slavers, and is unable to help himself when he sees them stop and start to whip a girl to death. Despatching many, he is overcome by the dozens of others, and forced to march as a slave.

A nasty supernatural end awaits his captors, where his possession of the Bast-headed staff of N'Longa in the past is no bad thing.

3.5 out of 5


Swords in the storm, serpent ships, swimming with sharks, and a sheila scheming with religion.

3.5 out of 5


If an old priest tells you that the body in the tomb is an undead Spanish nobleman, and you happen to be a credulous cowboy, next time, believe him!

3.5 out of 5


Bran Mak Morn has leadership problems. Wulfhere's Northerners will not follow him, or Cormac, prince of Erin, they demand a King. Consulting with Gonar, who talks to his ancestor in Kull's time, and summons Kull, King of Valusia! Kull likes Bran, as he reminds him of Brule, and agrees to lead the Northerners. Wulfhere challenges him to combat. Big mistake for Wulfhere.

With Kull's help, Bran manages to hold the Romans for now, at some significant cost.

4 out of 5


"I came to Dagon's Cave to kill Richard Brent." 10 out of 10 for courage, minus several million for common sense. Luckily, there is a bit of reincarnated presence ancient barbarian named Conan and other action here so not everybody dies.

4 out of 5


A book collector acquires a copy of Nameless Cults. It motivates the man he got it for to go back to th temple of the Toad God.

The amulet he acquires there has very unfortunate consequences.

3 out of 5

This third volume in the series comes with beautiful cover art by Stephen Fabian and nine superb short stories (plus two poems) by the master of heroic fantasy. Every tale in the book is a great read, several of these being Lovecraft inspired, and there are fascinating characters: Cormac of Connacht, Solomon Kane, Black Turlogh, and Athelstane. I highly recommend it, and expect this series to only get better.

Let's face it: Sanskrit is just not the kind of language for which it makes any sense to learn cute dialogues and touristy phrases like "Where is the train station?" or "I need an eye doctor." The latter may, in fact, come in handy when you first learn the Devanagari script, but what motivates you to learn Sanskrit anyway? There is a very good reason to become familiar with the language, namely the fact that many contemporary translations of Sanskrit writings, most notably of the Bhagavad Gita, take incredible liberties in passing off as translations wordings that hardly even qualify as paraphrases, and often just plain misrepresent the text. To get to the actual meaning, you need to learn the language, but there is no shortcut to doing so.
Sanskrit often uses cases, such as the instrumental case or the locative, in order to express something that in other languages would be done with prepositions. There is not just a singular and plural; there is also a "dual" form for both nouns and verbs. In the Devanagari script, combinations of letters form new symbols; when words follow each other in certain sequences, the vowels change: e.g. the stem "bhu" ("to exist"), yields the noun "bhavas" ("existence"), which, however, if followed by a word such as "vidyate" ("it is found"), switches to "bhavo."
I am mentioning all of this simply to make the case that, yes, Perry's Sanskrit Primer is a hard book to work through. But that's only because Sanskrit, if treated seriously, is a hard language. It takes work to get through it, and if you're not even used to simple ancient Indo-European languages, such as Greek or Latin, it's going to be twice as hard. But I don't see how you can really do an adequate job of it without committing yourself to good old-fashioned memorization.
Perry's Primer asks a lot of you. It treats you with an expectation of maturity. But, forgive me for stating this so bluntly, if you're not ready to live up to Perry's expectations, I'm not sure you're ready to study Sanskrit seriously.

While it is true that there is a shortage of introductory Sanskrit textbooks, one could possibly do better than Perry's book. The language is archaic and the explanations often unclear. Frequently, his attempts to help the student become instead a handicap. The exercises are useful, though, and sometimes amusing (as when, in one lesson, you learn words such as kill, poison, beat, hit, maim....). My suggestion would be to use the first few chapters of the Teach Yourself Sanskrit book and then to go straight into Nala (the Lanman Sanskrit Reader is useful) with Whitney's Sanskrit Grammar as aid.

For any serious student of Sanskrit Perry's Sanskrit Primer is indispensable. Admittedly, the language is a bit dated, and you have to be willing to learn the argot of classical philology, but the effort is well worth it. Perry dissects the language and reveals all its glorious complexity. Moreover, it was written to accompany Whitney's grammar and is an excellent preparation for Lanman's reader. More "modern" approaches to Sanskrit (e.g. Teach Yourself Sanskrit) miss there mark by dumbing down the grammar of the language, something you'll regret as you go along. Perry's is the real deal.

For experienced students of classical languages, Perry's Primer is the only way to learn Sanskrit. The language is presented in an orderly and exhaustive way. Each lesson is arranged as a series of numbered paragraphs covering different aspects of the grammar in thorough detail; at the end of the lesson is a vocabulary list and then two sets of translation exercises, one from Sanskrit to English and one from English to Sanskrit. There is no baby talk, no dumbing down of the grammar. For this reason, the book may be considered the best on the subject, and students with a background in Latin and/or classical Greek will find it stimulating. For anyone without these linguistic attainments, however, the book's greatest virtue -- its concision -- is likely to seem a fault and a hindrance to learning.

For example, the declension of nouns is introduced in Lesson II in the following manner: an example noun is presented in a table with three columns labeled "singular", "dual", and "plural", and three rows labeled "N.", "Acc.", and "Voc." By way of explanation, Perry tacks on the following paragraph: "Force of cases. 1. The nominative is casus subjectivus. 2. The accusative is casus objectivus, denoting chiefly the nearer or direct, sometimes however the more remote, object; sometimes also the terminus ad quem, and extent of time and space." -- and not a word more. Depending on the student's background, the conciseness of this explanation will be greeted either with appreciation, or with resentment.

If you have no problem with "casus subjectivus", "casus objectivus" and "terminus ad quem", this book is for you. (Of course, if you are the kind of person picking up a 19th-century primer to study an ancient Indo-European language, you very likely WILL have no problem with these terms.) You will also enjoy this book, even if the terms give you pause, as long as on reflection you can figure out what they mean and require no further explanation. But if, on the other hand, you need a refresher on such questions as the difference between a subject and an object, or do not care to have your grammar given to you in Latin guise, then you will find this book too difficult.

A previous reviewer said that Perry's explanations are "unclear". I suppose he was referring to passages such as the one quoted above. In reality, the difficulty posed by such explanations is not their clarity, but their accessibility. They are not unclear: they are merely arcane. In other words, if you are familiar with the terms used, you will understand right away what is meant, and will breathe a sigh of relief at not having to slog through some silly stuff about "the dog bites the man" and "the man bites the dog". But if you are not familiar with the terms, or are not in a position to figure out what they mean, you are likely to find yourself perplexed.

Another case in point is the presentation of the alphabet. Perry gives only a table of the letters and then an explanation of the way they are combined in writing, and of the sounds they represent. There are no drills to help you learn it. To some people, this no-nonsense approach will be exciting. To others, it may be forbidding.

I came to this book with a good grounding in Latin and ancient Greek, and found it stimulating and challenging. Language nerds (you know who you are): this book is for you. Others: I would recommend Egenes' book.

I'm not going to be as wordy as the other reviews. I picked this up as I have a deep interest in astronomy. I learned some things, especially about the concept of quantum mechanics. I find it interesting that after having read his book, that I come to a completely different conclusion than the other, that being that there is a Creator somewhere who has set it all in motion. There are just too many coincidences for me to think otherwise.

The author was able to express himself in a manner that was understandable, even when discussing difficult concepts. He didn't "write down" to the audience though, just put his words in such a way that a person could understand what he thought.

Greenstein has a welcome counterpoint to the pelthora of rather pessimistic tomes that have appeared recently. These speak of the chaos, randomness and pointlessness of the Universe, implying that we can never know nor understand the whys of existence. This book is a poetical reverie on the wonder of existence. The so-called Anthropic Principle - the idea that any feature needed for life must exist because we exist - is used as a foundation for the book.

From this principle one can study the requirements of life and begin to ask why. Although A.N. Wilson has stated that we get in trouble the moment we ask "Why" that is the fate of mankind. These requirements are marvelous, sometimes incomprehensible. For example, the universe as we know it has three dimension because (hearkening back to our principle) it must in order for us to exist. The placement of our planet in the Solar System, the existence of a large moon, the tilt of the axis, the presence of water...all of these are required for the evolution of intelligent life and all must exist because sentient creatures developed on Earth.

The author states that "Creation was Perfect" or otherwise we would not be here. The forces between atomic parts must be as perfect as those between galaxies. For this reason, some have opted for "Intelligent Design" as an alternative to the Big Bang and its sheer randomeness. This book is even cited as a proponent of that view despite the author's belief that life originated from non-life and his clear pronouncement on the matter: "Science expands - rather than shrink - the mysteries. A religious account...has the opposite effect." What is true is that the CONDITIONS for life exist in the universe only because that was how things turned out. This could be Universe 143,000 and the only one that established the conditions for life. Great book.

As a reader of a great many books about the universe I find that much of the time I am re-reading what I have read before, with a few new nuggets of insight added toward the end. In this case, however, I was almost constantly learning something new. Greenstein is an artist with the information available to him. He uses scienfic fact and well established theory to lead us towards a conclusion that is both remarkable and heartwarming. It seems, paradoxically enough, that the universe did not create life, but rather life created the universe. How can this be? Well, quantum physics is based on the constantly confirmed observation that the act of observation itself gives reality to what otherwise remains ephemeral. This is a proven reality that contradicts almost all of our assumptions about the world. It is maddening and inescapable. As a result, it is almost like looking into a mirror to observe an electron. We see there not what is, but what results from our act of observation. One of the problems of physics that has not been much dewelt upon is that at the speed of light time stops. This means that for light there is no time. In other words, energy exists in one kind of unierse, and matter in a different one. This dichotomy between matter and energy is so strange that it has not been the subject of much discussion among scientists, and it is not dealt with in this book either. But if you think of all the light in the universe as existing simultaneously throughout space and time, you begin to get a sense of how it might be that life could be creating the universe rather than the other way around. That doesn't tell us how life came to be, but neither does Darwin. This book makes a good prelude to reading AT HOME IN THE UNIVERSE by Stuart Kauffman. Without interacting in their arguments much, these two books seem to illuminate one another. We are left in a kind of Socratic position of realizing that we are wise only to the extent that we know we can't really understand all this.

The top of the metaphorical mountain is in sight, watch for theologians. What I found most enlightening and refreshing about this book is the open way Greenstein discusses his own and other scientists' innate prejudice to the data scientific inquiry is providing. There is a crisis amongst the atheist intelligentsia. Evolution cannot have happened as it is taught in public schools (slime to man). They all know it, as clearly described by Greenstein, but as someone said, "We have to believe in evolution, even though it is impossible, because the only alternative is creation, which is unthinkable." The problem is how to avoid the dreaded "God Hypothesis" when every field of science confirms Intelligent Design. Greenstein's thesis is, essentially, that the universe evolved Man so that Man could become the observer, required by quantum theory, to create the universe. This is the very definition of a circular argument. Greenstein wrote"The more I read (about the Anthropic conditions of the universe) the more I became convinced that such 'coincidences' could hardly have happened by chance. But as this conviction grew, something else grew as well...It was intense revulsion, and at times it was almost physicial in nature." He says that "in my own experience whenever the problem of the fitness of the environment is broached, most scientists respond neither with interest nor with opposition. They respond with a smile. They respond with a shrug. That is the most damning response of all. The problem has been rejected, and the rejection is instinctive, It is gut-level, unmediated by rational thought, and it takes place prior to the point at which any serious consideration is possible. Before anyone has had time to think, the subject has been dismissed." [p. 24 &25] What is this? These are "rational" scientists dispassionately evaluating the evidence? Since the 1800's the Biblical claims have been considered an absurdity in a rational world. Mankind's attention has been diverted from the real conflict for a couple hundred years. Greenstein acknowledges that the Biblical claims are no longer irrational. The fact of the existence of God is no longer really an issue, even if just subconsciously for most of the scientists. We are back in the Garden of Eden, at that point where Eve chose to eat the apple because she was seduced by the thought that she could be "as God". It was a very clear, and entertaining read. It displays the inner workings of the heart of science to day.

Universal Foam blends science with a cultural overview and history of the physical world, from the simple soap bubble to the history of foam science. It's unusual to find a book devoted to foam science alone: this has a surprising amount of facts packed into a review of how foam operates.

This book is both less and more than I expected.

It will disappoint the sophisticated science-literate reader who is seeking details about the physics, chemistry, and geometry of foams. It is tantalizingly sketchy in this regard and fails to probe its titular topic at the level of, say, an article in Scientific American magazine. For example, Perkowitz extols the wonders of the shaving cream nozzle without actually describing how it works. The author takes us on a whirlwind grand tour of modern science, with a few short detours into history, glimpsing the facades of many areas of science but never setting foot within the edifices. Depending on your pre-existing familiarity with general science, you might find it totally fascinating or merely a tedious rehash of familiar topics.

The purported common thread--foamy structure in all physical domains--is a little disingenuous, often serving as a far-fetched excuse to introduce a seemingly irrelevant topic. For example Perkowitz touches on the subject of black holes by describing them as space-time "bubbles," in reality having nothing to do with foam per se.

It is sparsely illustrated with just a handful of photos and only a couple of diagrams. The hundred or so bibliographic references are likewise a mixed bag of old and new, general and technical.

Still, all readers are bound to learn something useful, even if parceled out as small nuggets of science trivia. Competently written and a commendable achievement in scope if not detail.

This book was delightful, I learned so much from it. Sidney Perkowitz took a subject a seemingly laughable subject and made it fascinating.

The first section lays down the basics of foam. There is far more than just three states of matter - solid, liquid, and gas - and foam is a important type of "soft matter," a substance that is neither rigid like a solid nor completely free flowing like a liquid, and generally contains large amounts of a gas. Perkowitz points out simple observable facts about foams, that in their simplest definitions they are generally bubbles of gas distributed throughout a liquid or a solid; that liquid foams tend to be white, are usually short-lived, and move differently than either a pure gas or a pure liquid; and that foams within solids usually start out as liquid foams. The geometry of the bubbles within foam is discussed as well, with reference to a set of universal laws, Plateau's rules, devised by the 19th-century Belgian physicist Joseph Antoine Ferdinand Plateau. Vital to an understanding of the physics and geometry of foam are knowledge of surface tension, the minimumizing principle, and surfactants (an acronym for surface-active agent), all of which Perkowitz discusses with clarity and precision.

Chapter two goes into the tools used to examine foams. Over the years the methods of studying foam have ranged from cells made from transparent glass half an inch wide to much more complex methods such as diffusing-wave spectroscopy and magnetic resonance imaging with computer simulations playing a role of increasing importance.

Next we get to examine edible foam, my favorite. Foam is found in a variety of foods, from mousse (French for "foam") to meringue (which we learn was invented by the Swiss chef Gasparini in 1720 and named after his hometown of Meringen) to bread and beer, all of which are highly reliant upon foam in their formation. We find that the study of foam in a head of beer is a much a science as it is an art, which the brewing industry has done research into, determining what type of glass is the best and on the importance of the foam to beer drinkers. Even more research goes into the foam in crema, important to lovers of espresso. Perkowitz analyses the art and science of foam in cappuccino (where the type, brand, and temperature of the milk are critical), whipped cream (we learn that aerosol whipped creams are propelled by nitrous oxide or laughing gas), carbonated soft drinks (arising originally from drinks believed to have medicinal value), champagne, and that ultimate expression of edible foam, the soufflé (from the French verb souffler, which translates into "to blow or to puff").

The fourth chapter looks at practical foam, from cork to aerogel to shaving cream. We first look at natural foams that have daily value, such as pumice (foamy volcanic rock), sponges, and cork (where we learn why cork is both a great insulator against heat, why it is great in sound proofing, and why it has been used by wine producers for so long). Plastics, particularly foamed plastics, are analyzed in great detail, from their formation and chemistry to their many uses (and disposal of in landfills as well). Perkowitz looks at foamed plastic in everything from packing peanuts to Styrofoam cups to insulation for the space shuttle to bizarre furniture. Fascinating was his description of aerogel, so-called "frozen smoke," a ghostly substance as much as 98 percent or more air, an ounce of which contains the area of several football fields. Difficult to manufacture, we learn about its uses particularly in the space program. Liquid foams are also discussed, from shaving cream (which shares some similarities to whipped cream) to foam used in fire-fighting or in oil drilling. Foamed metal, another high-tech product, is also looked at.

Chapter five looks at "living foam," foam that is found in the world of nature. He describes a single cell as resembling a fluid-filled bubble, which crowd together like foam to form the parts of complex organisms. An understanding of foam has been crucial in the study of cells, body tissues, cell division, and reproduction. Foam, in solid form, gives many bones both strength and light weight. Foams are quite common in animal reproduction and in parental behavior, from frogs to insects to fish to even quail. Foams are also important in medicine, from the days when carbonated water was thought to have value to today when they are important in ultrasound therapy, in birth control, and - negatively - in some ailments such as the bends and altitude sickness, which he writes "has been called a disease of bubbles," as well as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and transmissible spongiform encephalopathy.

Chapter six looks at foam in meteorology and geology, from pumice, which reveals important information on the subsurface geologic actions of the earth, to sea foam, an understanding of which is important in climatology and an accurate understanding of storms and waves.

The book closes with a look at "cosmic" foam, which exists as part of the very bedrock of the universe in which we live, both at the level of the incredibly small and the incredibly huge. At the smallest possible level of analyses, at the quantum level of subatomic particles, the very space-time continuum is possibly made up of something known as quantum foam. Perkowitz brings into the discussion the research of Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and Max Planck among others. On the larger side of the equation foam describes in a startling way the distribution of galaxies throughout the universe. The very galaxies themselves appear to be distributed in a foam-like pattern, the universe a vast series of cosmic bubbles, the film of which is made up of galaxies which enclose a volume of space up to 200 million light-years that is virtually void of galaxies. This finding has profound implications for the origin of the universe and for the Big Bang.

I highly recommend this book.

In his newest book, "Universal Foam: From Cappuccino to the Cosmos", Dr. Sidney Perkowitz has, simply and personally, uncovered mysteries that permeate our universe, most of which we were subliminally aware, but always took for granted. Now, he has opened the door for us to seek additional uses for these ever present phenomena. Perkowitz shows us, all ages included, how these simple, usual things, such as foam, can be put to many extraordinary uses. We need more observant science writers to jump start our young people into thinking about their everyday surroundings in greater depth. His present writing is on par with his exciting 1998 paperback, "Empire of Light". Perkowitz presents his ideas in such a clear manner that you can see simple substances materialize into the most intricate technological advances. It is awe inspiring to see the world of physics unfolding before your eyes.

Well-known for his artwork, non-fiction space and art related books, Dave has achieved another long-standing ambition with the publication of Aurora from Cosmos Books.

It starts in the Blitz one night over London or maybe not... depending on how you look at it. The main story is written in three sections: 1940, 1970's and and the near-future of 2018 with another underlying story thread.

It deals with the attempt of a doomed civilisation to save humanity from its own mistakes as well as the uncontrollable external forces of a careless universe. If the attempts are successful then those who initiate the rescue will never know of the success for it will either change history so they never existed or cause a new branch of the timeline and possibly bring a happier, parallel Earth into existence. Dave neatly sidesteps the how and why of time travel by the simple expedient of pointing out that it makes absolutely no difference to the originators of the attempt to change history... they either continue as they are if time branches or they never exist if history changes.

In the Blitz, a few lives change to no effect but a new life is started to great effect while the 70's will bring fond memories to those of us who were old enough to appreciate the times. The near future brings hope for the space exploration aficionado with a real Martian exploration attempt... and some amazing discoveries.

Dave has produced an entertaining first novel with an interesting slant on a traditional SF theme combined with some serious ethical and moral views and questions together with some well-rounded characters that involve the reader in their lives. If it has any flaw then maybe he is a little too expositional in a couple of places.

I just finished reading AURORA, & I must say I am pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I have been a science fiction fan for over 50 years, but recently have found very little science fiction I thought was worth reading. AURORA is the first Sci-fi novel I have read in a very long time that I thought had an original plot - and one that I did not guess the outcome by the end of the first chapter.

This book is also relatively "hard" science fiction, meaning it obeys the basic laws of science (with one possible exception), & the author does not cheat in his plotline by using magic or some other nonsense to get his characters out of their problems. I was especially impressed with the vivid descriptions at the beginning of the book, of London during the Blitz, as the author's word-pictures reminded me of the master of all word-pictures - Ray Bradbury. His main character, Aurora, also comes truly to life as he paints her image & character in words. The author, David A. Hardy, is a highly-respected long time British space artist, with the book's cover being a piece of his own artwork. In fact, the cover was one factor that convinced me to buy his book.

Aurora is just a good old-fashioned story; not one loaded down with political-correctness as seems to plague much of today's Sci-Fi novels. The characters are interesting, with straight-forward personalities, & the book is an easy-read, meaning not full of convoluted plot-twists & secondary characters that are incidental to the story. I will give no summary of the story, which would certainly spoil the ending, so you will just have to read it on your own.

This is a wonderful book that just wouldn't let me put it down. Beautiful imagery, a great story well told. As with all good stories the characters came vividly to life particularly Aurora herself who is portrayed with a deep sensitivity.Mr Hardy obviously has a deep insight into the science and apperarance of our universe and I have no reservations about recomending this novel to anyone.