Invaluable night sky reference, 13 Nov 2008
I read somewhere that all telescopes should come with this guide and once you start using it you'll realise why. As I have mostly a south-westerly view of the sky I like to make the most of what I have so I turn to 'Turn Left...' and follow the easy diagrams and text to pick out the best of the constellation I am interested in.
The book gives you diagrams of what you'll see in the viewfinder as well as the telescope and although it can be a bit confusing to the novice when you first start you soon get the hang of star hopping and be delighted when you discover the gems above.
In fact having used this book quite often I find myself hopping around without it on my favourite sights. For example the other night I found the ring nebula in Lyra by remembering the steps and estimating the distance between the stars in the constellation. Sure enough it popped into view.

get someone to buy it for you, 28 Apr 2008
if you are interested in imaging, forget it. there is no info on what the variouse targets can look like when photographed, only how to find them. a companion book on how too image and what to use is recomended.

The Novice Stargazer's Bible, 06 Mar 2008
Ask any amateur astronomer what the first book they would recommend to a novice, and the majority will tell you this very book.

Written in a style that is user friendly yet not patronising, it carefully details the highlights of the night sky (by season), giving ratings for each target. All the information on how to find that elusive nebula or galaxy etc is here, along with realistic sketched views through the scope (and finderscope) from a 'normal' viewing site.

Rather than showing each target as a HST or large observatory scope photograph, leading to frustration from the novice, this book is refreshingly honest at what the back garden stargazer will see.

Along with the catalogue of targets (with excellent descriptions of what you are looking at), there is plenty of information on how to set up scopes, what equipment to use and other general advice needed for the novice/amateur astronomer.

I've yet to see a book that covers amateur observations so well.



All that the novice needs, 22 Nov 2006
Put simply, if a novice astronomer with ANY size of telescope buys only one book to assist them, then this should be it (or at least the most recent version of it should be). I'm actually a fairly experienced amateur astronomer with an appalling inability to navigate my way round the skies - at least I did have until I had this book bought for me. Broken down into seasonal sections with indications of the right conditions to go looking for particular objects, I can't think of anything that could make the task easier (short of someone actually finding the objects for you!). It is such a good book I can forgive it a few typos and some lapses of English grammar.

My advice - buy this book!

Every bit as good as they all say !!, 24 Jul 2006
.
.

Well, what else is there to say about this book ?

In a nutshell, it transformed me from clueless beginner to starhopper & DSO finder in 2 hours flat. I have a 200mm Newtonian and I find the book perfect for this scope even though it is aimed primarily at users of small scopes. For a novice it beats a straightforward atlas hands down, giving clear step by step hops to each object. There's much more to this book than mere instructions as well. There's very good info on every single object too, so you find something, then read about it at the time you're observing it. Also, having found a number of the "summer" objects at the 1st attempt I'm very happy that I've failed to find some of the objects listed as these will become targets when I'm more practiced, so the book will remain useful for a long time, and probably forever, as the quickest way to re visit favourite objects.

Invaluable night sky reference, 13 Nov 2008
I read somewhere that all telescopes should come with this guide and once you start using it you'll realise why. As I have mostly a south-westerly view of the sky I like to make the most of what I have so I turn to 'Turn Left...' and follow the easy diagrams and text to pick out the best of the constellation I am interested in.
The book gives you diagrams of what you'll see in the viewfinder as well as the telescope and although it can be a bit confusing to the novice when you first start you soon get the hang of star hopping and be delighted when you discover the gems above.
In fact having used this book quite often I find myself hopping around without it on my favourite sights. For example the other night I found the ring nebula in Lyra by remembering the steps and estimating the distance between the stars in the constellation. Sure enough it popped into view.

get someone to buy it for you, 28 Apr 2008
if you are interested in imaging, forget it. there is no info on what the variouse targets can look like when photographed, only how to find them. a companion book on how too image and what to use is recomended.

The Novice Stargazer's Bible, 06 Mar 2008
Ask any amateur astronomer what the first book they would recommend to a novice, and the majority will tell you this very book.

Written in a style that is user friendly yet not patronising, it carefully details the highlights of the night sky (by season), giving ratings for each target. All the information on how to find that elusive nebula or galaxy etc is here, along with realistic sketched views through the scope (and finderscope) from a 'normal' viewing site.

Rather than showing each target as a HST or large observatory scope photograph, leading to frustration from the novice, this book is refreshingly honest at what the back garden stargazer will see.

Along with the catalogue of targets (with excellent descriptions of what you are looking at), there is plenty of information on how to set up scopes, what equipment to use and other general advice needed for the novice/amateur astronomer.

I've yet to see a book that covers amateur observations so well.



All that the novice needs, 22 Nov 2006
Put simply, if a novice astronomer with ANY size of telescope buys only one book to assist them, then this should be it (or at least the most recent version of it should be). I'm actually a fairly experienced amateur astronomer with an appalling inability to navigate my way round the skies - at least I did have until I had this book bought for me. Broken down into seasonal sections with indications of the right conditions to go looking for particular objects, I can't think of anything that could make the task easier (short of someone actually finding the objects for you!). It is such a good book I can forgive it a few typos and some lapses of English grammar.

My advice - buy this book!

Every bit as good as they all say !!, 24 Jul 2006
.
.

Well, what else is there to say about this book ?

In a nutshell, it transformed me from clueless beginner to starhopper & DSO finder in 2 hours flat. I have a 200mm Newtonian and I find the book perfect for this scope even though it is aimed primarily at users of small scopes. For a novice it beats a straightforward atlas hands down, giving clear step by step hops to each object. There's much more to this book than mere instructions as well. There's very good info on every single object too, so you find something, then read about it at the time you're observing it. Also, having found a number of the "summer" objects at the 1st attempt I'm very happy that I've failed to find some of the objects listed as these will become targets when I'm more practiced, so the book will remain useful for a long time, and probably forever, as the quickest way to re visit favourite objects.

Fascinating but heavy going, 05 Nov 2008
The topics covered are profound, mind bending and require a fundamental shift in thinking from what we are accustomed to regard as normal. Kaku has set himself a difficult task in attempting to explain them to a general readership. Some of his explanations are good, but I found parts of book heavy going, especially string theory which is his specialism.

The book falls between two stools, being too hard for the amateur but not a textbook for physics students.

KAKU IS GOD, 03 Nov 2008
If your already a physicist: buy this, but dont expect TOO much
if your not: expect TOO much


in terms of knowledge etc, kaku has the wisdom of a 16,000 year old tortoise. but this book focuses on the "fun" part of physics. its more of an introduction to everything.

it goes through the simpler side of black holes, higher dimentional space, wave functions etc. it also gives some backgrounds about himself and other physicists.

when i say it focuses on the fun part, i mean it explains in a casual sense, no equations, or anything like that.
so if you want to get into physics, or just wanna know everything, then deffinitely buy this book.
and if your going to read any more kaku books, get this one FIRST, because the others focus on a point in-depth, whereas this gives a simpler knowledge of EVERYTHING. so its good to use Parallel worlds as a "foundation" for future knowledge.

5 stars!

Life, the universe and everything, 14 Jul 2008
I love documentaries that start talking about the quantum world. Of course there is part of your mind that is shouting "this makes no sense" but instead I listen to the bit that says "I must know more". If you are turned off by phrases like M-theory or cosmological constant then this is obviously not the book for you.

If, like me, you love popular science and want to push things a little further without getting bogged down in mathematical formulae which mean NOTHING to me then this is the book for you. Kaku is a great guide through the physics of the very big like red dwarfs and black holes to the subatomic world of gluons and string theory. Whenever there's a danger of losing the reader he uses a simple analogy to help the information make sense. His style is light but serious and his ability to pack so much in without losing a layman like me is impressive.

This is a fabulous book about science for the casual adult reader which will get you to look at the world in a very different way. Enjoy the ride.


Beyond Worlds, 06 Jul 2008
Parallel Worlds is a highly readable account of some of the most advanced and exciting aspects of cosmology and its related disciplines today. Covering everything from Einsteinian relativity, through quantum mechanics and on to the most-favoured current "theories of everything" - string theory and its new variant M-theory - Kaku guides his readers through a potted history of the universe, from its fiery beginning to its cold dark end ... and possibly beyond.

The journey is an exciting one, full of sound and fury - from the pattering of quasars and cosmic background radiation to the roar of supernovae - signifying plenty.

There are one or two editing mishaps - "googol" becomes "google", Jodrell Bank becomes "Jordell Bank", "Brownian motion" becomes "Browning motion" (leading me to wonder what would have happened if Terrence Rattigan had written "The Brownian Version" - in which a retired schoolteacher must confront his failure as a continuous-time stochastic process relating to the movement of a particle in a gas or liquid) - and someone needs to explain to the prof that "enormity" is not the same as "enormousness" but, these very petty cavils aside, this is an entertaining and informative guide to the nature of our universe and the universes that may exist alongside it.

accessible, 10 Jan 2008
a GENUINELY accessible book, written in layman's (or layperson's as it must be these days) terms. the logic of the format flows easily and the topics covered are fascinating, highly speculative but also logically probable. a book to come back to again.

Invaluable night sky reference, 13 Nov 2008
I read somewhere that all telescopes should come with this guide and once you start using it you'll realise why. As I have mostly a south-westerly view of the sky I like to make the most of what I have so I turn to 'Turn Left...' and follow the easy diagrams and text to pick out the best of the constellation I am interested in.
The book gives you diagrams of what you'll see in the viewfinder as well as the telescope and although it can be a bit confusing to the novice when you first start you soon get the hang of star hopping and be delighted when you discover the gems above.
In fact having used this book quite often I find myself hopping around without it on my favourite sights. For example the other night I found the ring nebula in Lyra by remembering the steps and estimating the distance between the stars in the constellation. Sure enough it popped into view.

get someone to buy it for you, 28 Apr 2008
if you are interested in imaging, forget it. there is no info on what the variouse targets can look like when photographed, only how to find them. a companion book on how too image and what to use is recomended.

The Novice Stargazer's Bible, 06 Mar 2008
Ask any amateur astronomer what the first book they would recommend to a novice, and the majority will tell you this very book.

Written in a style that is user friendly yet not patronising, it carefully details the highlights of the night sky (by season), giving ratings for each target. All the information on how to find that elusive nebula or galaxy etc is here, along with realistic sketched views through the scope (and finderscope) from a 'normal' viewing site.

Rather than showing each target as a HST or large observatory scope photograph, leading to frustration from the novice, this book is refreshingly honest at what the back garden stargazer will see.

Along with the catalogue of targets (with excellent descriptions of what you are looking at), there is plenty of information on how to set up scopes, what equipment to use and other general advice needed for the novice/amateur astronomer.

I've yet to see a book that covers amateur observations so well.



All that the novice needs, 22 Nov 2006
Put simply, if a novice astronomer with ANY size of telescope buys only one book to assist them, then this should be it (or at least the most recent version of it should be). I'm actually a fairly experienced amateur astronomer with an appalling inability to navigate my way round the skies - at least I did have until I had this book bought for me. Broken down into seasonal sections with indications of the right conditions to go looking for particular objects, I can't think of anything that could make the task easier (short of someone actually finding the objects for you!). It is such a good book I can forgive it a few typos and some lapses of English grammar.

My advice - buy this book!

Every bit as good as they all say !!, 24 Jul 2006
.
.

Well, what else is there to say about this book ?

In a nutshell, it transformed me from clueless beginner to starhopper & DSO finder in 2 hours flat. I have a 200mm Newtonian and I find the book perfect for this scope even though it is aimed primarily at users of small scopes. For a novice it beats a straightforward atlas hands down, giving clear step by step hops to each object. There's much more to this book than mere instructions as well. There's very good info on every single object too, so you find something, then read about it at the time you're observing it. Also, having found a number of the "summer" objects at the 1st attempt I'm very happy that I've failed to find some of the objects listed as these will become targets when I'm more practiced, so the book will remain useful for a long time, and probably forever, as the quickest way to re visit favourite objects.

Fascinating but heavy going, 05 Nov 2008
The topics covered are profound, mind bending and require a fundamental shift in thinking from what we are accustomed to regard as normal. Kaku has set himself a difficult task in attempting to explain them to a general readership. Some of his explanations are good, but I found parts of book heavy going, especially string theory which is his specialism.

The book falls between two stools, being too hard for the amateur but not a textbook for physics students.

KAKU IS GOD, 03 Nov 2008
If your already a physicist: buy this, but dont expect TOO much
if your not: expect TOO much


in terms of knowledge etc, kaku has the wisdom of a 16,000 year old tortoise. but this book focuses on the "fun" part of physics. its more of an introduction to everything.

it goes through the simpler side of black holes, higher dimentional space, wave functions etc. it also gives some backgrounds about himself and other physicists.

when i say it focuses on the fun part, i mean it explains in a casual sense, no equations, or anything like that.
so if you want to get into physics, or just wanna know everything, then deffinitely buy this book.
and if your going to read any more kaku books, get this one FIRST, because the others focus on a point in-depth, whereas this gives a simpler knowledge of EVERYTHING. so its good to use Parallel worlds as a "foundation" for future knowledge.

5 stars!

Life, the universe and everything, 14 Jul 2008
I love documentaries that start talking about the quantum world. Of course there is part of your mind that is shouting "this makes no sense" but instead I listen to the bit that says "I must know more". If you are turned off by phrases like M-theory or cosmological constant then this is obviously not the book for you.

If, like me, you love popular science and want to push things a little further without getting bogged down in mathematical formulae which mean NOTHING to me then this is the book for you. Kaku is a great guide through the physics of the very big like red dwarfs and black holes to the subatomic world of gluons and string theory. Whenever there's a danger of losing the reader he uses a simple analogy to help the information make sense. His style is light but serious and his ability to pack so much in without losing a layman like me is impressive.

This is a fabulous book about science for the casual adult reader which will get you to look at the world in a very different way. Enjoy the ride.


Beyond Worlds, 06 Jul 2008
Parallel Worlds is a highly readable account of some of the most advanced and exciting aspects of cosmology and its related disciplines today. Covering everything from Einsteinian relativity, through quantum mechanics and on to the most-favoured current "theories of everything" - string theory and its new variant M-theory - Kaku guides his readers through a potted history of the universe, from its fiery beginning to its cold dark end ... and possibly beyond.

The journey is an exciting one, full of sound and fury - from the pattering of quasars and cosmic background radiation to the roar of supernovae - signifying plenty.

There are one or two editing mishaps - "googol" becomes "google", Jodrell Bank becomes "Jordell Bank", "Brownian motion" becomes "Browning motion" (leading me to wonder what would have happened if Terrence Rattigan had written "The Brownian Version" - in which a retired schoolteacher must confront his failure as a continuous-time stochastic process relating to the movement of a particle in a gas or liquid) - and someone needs to explain to the prof that "enormity" is not the same as "enormousness" but, these very petty cavils aside, this is an entertaining and informative guide to the nature of our universe and the universes that may exist alongside it.

accessible, 10 Jan 2008
a GENUINELY accessible book, written in layman's (or layperson's as it must be these days) terms. the logic of the format flows easily and the topics covered are fascinating, highly speculative but also logically probable. a book to come back to again.

This book is great, 27 Mar 2006
It's great for budding astronomers, full of detail and easy to read!

Very US-centric, 21 Jan 2003
Good book, well written, well laid out, nice tone, pleasant to read.

Loses one star (scuse pun!) for the US-ness of the content. Bit more of a nod to the rest of the planet in the next edition puh-leese.

really simple, 08 Oct 2000
the book is written so that any beginner can understand what's going on in that galaxy of ours! nice & easy to understand, this make astronomy easy for the dimmest of the dim!

The Universe in a Nutshell attempts to address the relative difficulty of Hawking's first foray into popular science, A Brief History of Time. While this sold in its millions, few readers got past the first few chapters. Helpfully, this new work is full of beautifully prepared colour illustrations and decorations, and has a "tree-like" structure, so that readers can skip from chapter to chapter without losing the thread.

In 200 highly illustrated pages, Hawking is pushing the frontiers of popular physics beyond relativity and quantum theory, past superstring theory and imaginary time, into a dizzying new world of M-theory and branes. It's a colossal venture--one Hawking is uniquely qualified to undertake--but it is crammed into far too small a space. When you consider the other rather good tomes being written on the nature of consciousness these days, the decision to limit The Universe in a Nutshell to the dictates of publishing rather than to the natural parameters of the material is an unfortunate one.

Worse, Hawking tries to paper over the complexity of his field. He rushes over the very concepts he should be helping us understand, only to belabour simple ideas, often by means of flip Star Trek metaphors. Also unfortunately, the illustrations--by turns trivial and opaque--mirror the faults of the text. The author's name alone will guarantee sales, but the book we long for--the long, ruminative, poetic celebration of Hawking's world--seems as far away as ever. --Simon Ings

Invaluable night sky reference, 13 Nov 2008
I read somewhere that all telescopes should come with this guide and once you start using it you'll realise why. As I have mostly a south-westerly view of the sky I like to make the most of what I have so I turn to 'Turn Left...' and follow the easy diagrams and text to pick out the best of the constellation I am interested in.
The book gives you diagrams of what you'll see in the viewfinder as well as the telescope and although it can be a bit confusing to the novice when you first start you soon get the hang of star hopping and be delighted when you discover the gems above.
In fact having used this book quite often I find myself hopping around without it on my favourite sights. For example the other night I found the ring nebula in Lyra by remembering the steps and estimating the distance between the stars in the constellation. Sure enough it popped into view.

get someone to buy it for you, 28 Apr 2008
if you are interested in imaging, forget it. there is no info on what the variouse targets can look like when photographed, only how to find them. a companion book on how too image and what to use is recomended.

The Novice Stargazer's Bible, 06 Mar 2008
Ask any amateur astronomer what the first book they would recommend to a novice, and the majority will tell you this very book.

Written in a style that is user friendly yet not patronising, it carefully details the highlights of the night sky (by season), giving ratings for each target. All the information on how to find that elusive nebula or galaxy etc is here, along with realistic sketched views through the scope (and finderscope) from a 'normal' viewing site.

Rather than showing each target as a HST or large observatory scope photograph, leading to frustration from the novice, this book is refreshingly honest at what the back garden stargazer will see.

Along with the catalogue of targets (with excellent descriptions of what you are looking at), there is plenty of information on how to set up scopes, what equipment to use and other general advice needed for the novice/amateur astronomer.

I've yet to see a book that covers amateur observations so well.



All that the novice needs, 22 Nov 2006
Put simply, if a novice astronomer with ANY size of telescope buys only one book to assist them, then this should be it (or at least the most recent version of it should be). I'm actually a fairly experienced amateur astronomer with an appalling inability to navigate my way round the skies - at least I did have until I had this book bought for me. Broken down into seasonal sections with indications of the right conditions to go looking for particular objects, I can't think of anything that could make the task easier (short of someone actually finding the objects for you!). It is such a good book I can forgive it a few typos and some lapses of English grammar.

My advice - buy this book!

Every bit as good as they all say !!, 24 Jul 2006
.
.

Well, what else is there to say about this book ?

In a nutshell, it transformed me from clueless beginner to starhopper & DSO finder in 2 hours flat. I have a 200mm Newtonian and I find the book perfect for this scope even though it is aimed primarily at users of small scopes. For a novice it beats a straightforward atlas hands down, giving clear step by step hops to each object. There's much more to this book than mere instructions as well. There's very good info on every single object too, so you find something, then read about it at the time you're observing it. Also, having found a number of the "summer" objects at the 1st attempt I'm very happy that I've failed to find some of the objects listed as these will become targets when I'm more practiced, so the book will remain useful for a long time, and probably forever, as the quickest way to re visit favourite objects.

Fascinating but heavy going, 05 Nov 2008
The topics covered are profound, mind bending and require a fundamental shift in thinking from what we are accustomed to regard as normal. Kaku has set himself a difficult task in attempting to explain them to a general readership. Some of his explanations are good, but I found parts of book heavy going, especially string theory which is his specialism.

The book falls between two stools, being too hard for the amateur but not a textbook for physics students.

KAKU IS GOD, 03 Nov 2008
If your already a physicist: buy this, but dont expect TOO much
if your not: expect TOO much


in terms of knowledge etc, kaku has the wisdom of a 16,000 year old tortoise. but this book focuses on the "fun" part of physics. its more of an introduction to everything.

it goes through the simpler side of black holes, higher dimentional space, wave functions etc. it also gives some backgrounds about himself and other physicists.

when i say it focuses on the fun part, i mean it explains in a casual sense, no equations, or anything like that.
so if you want to get into physics, or just wanna know everything, then deffinitely buy this book.
and if your going to read any more kaku books, get this one FIRST, because the others focus on a point in-depth, whereas this gives a simpler knowledge of EVERYTHING. so its good to use Parallel worlds as a "foundation" for future knowledge.

5 stars!

Life, the universe and everything, 14 Jul 2008
I love documentaries that start talking about the quantum world. Of course there is part of your mind that is shouting "this makes no sense" but instead I listen to the bit that says "I must know more". If you are turned off by phrases like M-theory or cosmological constant then this is obviously not the book for you.

If, like me, you love popular science and want to push things a little further without getting bogged down in mathematical formulae which mean NOTHING to me then this is the book for you. Kaku is a great guide through the physics of the very big like red dwarfs and black holes to the subatomic world of gluons and string theory. Whenever there's a danger of losing the reader he uses a simple analogy to help the information make sense. His style is light but serious and his ability to pack so much in without losing a layman like me is impressive.

This is a fabulous book about science for the casual adult reader which will get you to look at the world in a very different way. Enjoy the ride.


Beyond Worlds, 06 Jul 2008
Parallel Worlds is a highly readable account of some of the most advanced and exciting aspects of cosmology and its related disciplines today. Covering everything from Einsteinian relativity, through quantum mechanics and on to the most-favoured current "theories of everything" - string theory and its new variant M-theory - Kaku guides his readers through a potted history of the universe, from its fiery beginning to its cold dark end ... and possibly beyond.

The journey is an exciting one, full of sound and fury - from the pattering of quasars and cosmic background radiation to the roar of supernovae - signifying plenty.

There are one or two editing mishaps - "googol" becomes "google", Jodrell Bank becomes "Jordell Bank", "Brownian motion" becomes "Browning motion" (leading me to wonder what would have happened if Terrence Rattigan had written "The Brownian Version" - in which a retired schoolteacher must confront his failure as a continuous-time stochastic process relating to the movement of a particle in a gas or liquid) - and someone needs to explain to the prof that "enormity" is not the same as "enormousness" but, these very petty cavils aside, this is an entertaining and informative guide to the nature of our universe and the universes that may exist alongside it.

accessible, 10 Jan 2008
a GENUINELY accessible book, written in layman's (or layperson's as it must be these days) terms. the logic of the format flows easily and the topics covered are fascinating, highly speculative but also logically probable. a book to come back to again.

This book is great, 27 Mar 2006
It's great for budding astronomers, full of detail and easy to read!

Very US-centric, 21 Jan 2003
Good book, well written, well laid out, nice tone, pleasant to read.

Loses one star (scuse pun!) for the US-ness of the content. Bit more of a nod to the rest of the planet in the next edition puh-leese.

really simple, 08 Oct 2000
the book is written so that any beginner can understand what's going on in that galaxy of ours! nice & easy to understand, this make astronomy easy for the dimmest of the dim!

Very good book, but a bit hard to understand, 24 Jul 2008
Before I read this book, I have finished A Briefer History of Time also by Stephen Hawking. Therefore, I have had a general idea of time and relativity already.

I found University in a Nutshell is much harder to understand comparing with the A Briefer History of Time. The knowledge introduced in the book is much deeper and I counldn't understand much of it. I have got a master degree in microelectronics, if I got problem to understand I think many other people will have the same problem.

Hawking is trying to introduce the knowledge using non-mathematical ways. It is well illustrated, however, I think it is a bit over illustrated. I found many of the illustrations are redundant such as Einstein's photos and some other diagram isn't really helpful for readers to understand the knowledge which is written by word.

Generally speaking, it is still a very good book. It covers quite a lot of knoledge points such as black hole and etc. And it is quite a fun to read.

Mostly understandable :), 14 Jun 2006
I am not much of a science / physics person (as in I don't really understand these matters but do find them fascinating) but I am very interested in astronomy, so I am always happy to read something about the universe in language which does not employ too much maths or excessive equations, as I simply get lost otherwise. I found Mr Hawking's explanations very accessible, apart from the discussion about time and the whole argument as to whether it has always been there, and sadly even the beautiful illustrations didn't help...but I'd put that down as my own fault rather than the author's! All in all, very well-written book, most concepts will be understood by ordinary people without prior knowledge of maths/physics, I am grateful to Mr Hawking for making this difficult subject seem much less daunting!

Only for people with science knowledge, 09 Jun 2005
A lovely book, lavishly illustrated and covering a huge swathe of scientific ground. The only problem is that despite being written for non-scientists, it doesn't really explain very much and the lavish illustrations sometimes don't really describe what's going on either. If you have read similar popular science books then you'll find this an interesting recap of a large field, but if you haven't you'll probably just end up feeling lost and confused.

Universe in a Nutshell review, 13 Jan 2005
I think this book has a broad appeal for all readers that have an interest in science. When I first bought the book I was worried thet it would be too complicated because my area of expertise is law not science, but it is explained in an interesting and simple way with illustrations and minimal use of maths! Not only will you get an idea of the science behind this book but it will also leave you with philisophical thoughts about the universe and the mysteries that are incomprehensable and yet to be solved.

Excellent but incomplete picture of the universe, 25 Nov 2004
This book is a must read for everyone who loves science. One has to feel some discomfort from the incompleteness of the big bang universe and its inefficiency to explain the growing number of observations. It is quite uncertain what existed before the big bang. That is why new theories like Eugene Savov's Theory of Interaction that cast light on the most recent mysteries from the near and distant space should be considered.

Invaluable night sky reference, 13 Nov 2008
I read somewhere that all telescopes should come with this guide and once you start using it you'll realise why. As I have mostly a south-westerly view of the sky I like to make the most of what I have so I turn to 'Turn Left...' and follow the easy diagrams and text to pick out the best of the constellation I am interested in.
The book gives you diagrams of what you'll see in the viewfinder as well as the telescope and although it can be a bit confusing to the novice when you first start you soon get the hang of star hopping and be delighted when you discover the gems above.
In fact having used this book quite often I find myself hopping around without it on my favourite sights. For example the other night I found the ring nebula in Lyra by remembering the steps and estimating the distance between the stars in the constellation. Sure enough it popped into view.

get someone to buy it for you, 28 Apr 2008
if you are interested in imaging, forget it. there is no info on what the variouse targets can look like when photographed, only how to find them. a companion book on how too image and what to use is recomended.

The Novice Stargazer's Bible, 06 Mar 2008
Ask any amateur astronomer what the first book they would recommend to a novice, and the majority will tell you this very book.

Written in a style that is user friendly yet not patronising, it carefully details the highlights of the night sky (by season), giving ratings for each target. All the information on how to find that elusive nebula or galaxy etc is here, along with realistic sketched views through the scope (and finderscope) from a 'normal' viewing site.

Rather than showing each target as a HST or large observatory scope photograph, leading to frustration from the novice, this book is refreshingly honest at what the back garden stargazer will see.

Along with the catalogue of targets (with excellent descriptions of what you are looking at), there is plenty of information on how to set up scopes, what equipment to use and other general advice needed for the novice/amateur astronomer.

I've yet to see a book that covers amateur observations so well.



All that the novice needs, 22 Nov 2006
Put simply, if a novice astronomer with ANY size of telescope buys only one book to assist them, then this should be it (or at least the most recent version of it should be). I'm actually a fairly experienced amateur astronomer with an appalling inability to navigate my way round the skies - at least I did have until I had this book bought for me. Broken down into seasonal sections with indications of the right conditions to go looking for particular objects, I can't think of anything that could make the task easier (short of someone actually finding the objects for you!). It is such a good book I can forgive it a few typos and some lapses of English grammar.

My advice - buy this book!

Every bit as good as they all say !!, 24 Jul 2006
.
.

Well, what else is there to say about this book ?

In a nutshell, it transformed me from clueless beginner to starhopper & DSO finder in 2 hours flat. I have a 200mm Newtonian and I find the book perfect for this scope even though it is aimed primarily at users of small scopes. For a novice it beats a straightforward atlas hands down, giving clear step by step hops to each object. There's much more to this book than mere instructions as well. There's very good info on every single object too, so you find something, then read about it at the time you're observing it. Also, having found a number of the "summer" objects at the 1st attempt I'm very happy that I've failed to find some of the objects listed as these will become targets when I'm more practiced, so the book will remain useful for a long time, and probably forever, as the quickest way to re visit favourite objects.

Fascinating but heavy going, 05 Nov 2008
The topics covered are profound, mind bending and require a fundamental shift in thinking from what we are accustomed to regard as normal. Kaku has set himself a difficult task in attempting to explain them to a general readership. Some of his explanations are good, but I found parts of book heavy going, especially string theory which is his specialism.

The book falls between two stools, being too hard for the amateur but not a textbook for physics students.

KAKU IS GOD, 03 Nov 2008
If your already a physicist: buy this, but dont expect TOO much
if your not: expect TOO much


in terms of knowledge etc, kaku has the wisdom of a 16,000 year old tortoise. but this book focuses on the "fun" part of physics. its more of an introduction to everything.

it goes through the simpler side of black holes, higher dimentional space, wave functions etc. it also gives some backgrounds about himself and other physicists.

when i say it focuses on the fun part, i mean it explains in a casual sense, no equations, or anything like that.
so if you want to get into physics, or just wanna know everything, then deffinitely buy this book.
and if your going to read any more kaku books, get this one FIRST, because the others focus on a point in-depth, whereas this gives a simpler knowledge of EVERYTHING. so its good to use Parallel worlds as a "foundation" for future knowledge.

5 stars!

Life, the universe and everything, 14 Jul 2008
I love documentaries that start talking about the quantum world. Of course there is part of your mind that is shouting "this makes no sense" but instead I listen to the bit that says "I must know more". If you are turned off by phrases like M-theory or cosmological constant then this is obviously not the book for you.

If, like me, you love popular science and want to push things a little further without getting bogged down in mathematical formulae which mean NOTHING to me then this is the book for you. Kaku is a great guide through the physics of the very big like red dwarfs and black holes to the subatomic world of gluons and string theory. Whenever there's a danger of losing the reader he uses a simple analogy to help the information make sense. His style is light but serious and his ability to pack so much in without losing a layman like me is impressive.

This is a fabulous book about science for the casual adult reader which will get you to look at the world in a very different way. Enjoy the ride.


Beyond Worlds, 06 Jul 2008
Parallel Worlds is a highly readable account of some of the most advanced and exciting aspects of cosmology and its related disciplines today. Covering everything from Einsteinian relativity, through quantum mechanics and on to the most-favoured current "theories of everything" - string theory and its new variant M-theory - Kaku guides his readers through a potted history of the universe, from its fiery beginning to its cold dark end ... and possibly beyond.

The journey is an exciting one, full of sound and fury - from the pattering of quasars and cosmic background radiation to the roar of supernovae - signifying plenty.

There are one or two editing mishaps - "googol" becomes "google", Jodrell Bank becomes "Jordell Bank", "Brownian motion" becomes "Browning motion" (leading me to wonder what would have happened if Terrence Rattigan had written "The Brownian Version" - in which a retired schoolteacher must confront his failure as a continuous-time stochastic process relating to the movement of a particle in a gas or liquid) - and someone needs to explain to the prof that "enormity" is not the same as "enormousness" but, these very petty cavils aside, this is an entertaining and informative guide to the nature of our universe and the universes that may exist alongside it.

accessible, 10 Jan 2008
a GENUINELY accessible book, written in layman's (or layperson's as it must be these days) terms. the logic of the format flows easily and the topics covered are fascinating, highly speculative but also logically probable. a book to come back to again.

This book is great, 27 Mar 2006
It's great for budding astronomers, full of detail and easy to read!

Very US-centric, 21 Jan 2003
Good book, well written, well laid out, nice tone, pleasant to read.

Loses one star (scuse pun!) for the US-ness of the content. Bit more of a nod to the rest of the planet in the next edition puh-leese.

really simple, 08 Oct 2000
the book is written so that any beginner can understand what's going on in that galaxy of ours! nice & easy to understand, this make astronomy easy for the dimmest of the dim!

Very good book, but a bit hard to understand, 24 Jul 2008
Before I read this book, I have finished A Briefer History of Time also by Stephen Hawking. Therefore, I have had a general idea of time and relativity already.

I found University in a Nutshell is much harder to understand comparing with the A Briefer History of Time. The knowledge introduced in the book is much deeper and I counldn't understand much of it. I have got a master degree in microelectronics, if I got problem to understand I think many other people will have the same problem.

Hawking is trying to introduce the knowledge using non-mathematical ways. It is well illustrated, however, I think it is a bit over illustrated. I found many of the illustrations are redundant such as Einstein's photos and some other diagram isn't really helpful for readers to understand the knowledge which is written by word.

Generally speaking, it is still a very good book. It covers quite a lot of knoledge points such as black hole and etc. And it is quite a fun to read.

Mostly understandable :), 14 Jun 2006
I am not much of a science / physics person (as in I don't really understand these matters but do find them fascinating) but I am very interested in astronomy, so I am always happy to read something about the universe in language which does not employ too much maths or excessive equations, as I simply get lost otherwise. I found Mr Hawking's explanations very accessible, apart from the discussion about time and the whole argument as to whether it has always been there, and sadly even the beautiful illustrations didn't help...but I'd put that down as my own fault rather than the author's! All in all, very well-written book, most concepts will be understood by ordinary people without prior knowledge of maths/physics, I am grateful to Mr Hawking for making this difficult subject seem much less daunting!

Only for people with science knowledge, 09 Jun 2005
A lovely book, lavishly illustrated and covering a huge swathe of scientific ground. The only problem is that despite being written for non-scientists, it doesn't really explain very much and the lavish illustrations sometimes don't really describe what's going on either. If you have read similar popular science books then you'll find this an interesting recap of a large field, but if you haven't you'll probably just end up feeling lost and confused.

Universe in a Nutshell review, 13 Jan 2005
I think this book has a broad appeal for all readers that have an interest in science. When I first bought the book I was worried thet it would be too complicated because my area of expertise is law not science, but it is explained in an interesting and simple way with illustrations and minimal use of maths! Not only will you get an idea of the science behind this book but it will also leave you with philisophical thoughts about the universe and the mysteries that are incomprehensable and yet to be solved.

Excellent but incomplete picture of the universe, 25 Nov 2004
This book is a must read for everyone who loves science. One has to feel some discomfort from the incompleteness of the big bang universe and its inefficiency to explain the growing number of observations. It is quite uncertain what existed before the big bang. That is why new theories like Eugene Savov's Theory of Interaction that cast light on the most recent mysteries from the near and distant space should be considered.

Fasinating, absorbing, 31 Jul 2008
This is a super book. Paul Davies explains a lot of complex physics as well as anyone could. He then goes on to explain what the physics may or may not mean. The fact I didn't understand the physics fully is probably my own lack of attention and knowledge.

His depth of understanding, and his ability to appreciate many different possible interpretations of certain facts makes for enjoyable reading.I had the feeling he had a Feynmann spirit about right and wrong- "It's not whether I'm right or wrong...but whether I'm right or wrong for an interesting reason." Davies is on the search for reasons, and from this book it's clear the search is worthwhile, and not absurd.

This is a well written book about a fascinating topic. Recommended

Not 'Just right', 03 Feb 2008
This book left me with mixed feelings. Maybe I can start with what I found positive about it? The early sections of the book were quite exhilarating. Paul Davies skilfully communicates some complex ideas about the origin of the universe. However by the middle of the book, he (or I?) was losing touch with the material and it seemed to become an exploration of various, highly speculative positions.

As he says at the end of the book, many scientists are going to view his stance as crypto-religious. There is probably some truth in this but, in his defence, it is worth pointing out that the early part of chapter 9 contains an excellent critique of Intelligent Design.

My concerns about the book also started at an early stage. It seemed very strange to encounter, on the third page of the preface, a reference to 'atheists' and their interest in the idea of a multiverse. Having picked up this book expecting a consideration of the science involved, I didn't really anticipate that atheism or theism would enter the picture at all. However, it does make it much easier for me to recommend that anyone interested in the fine-tuning arguments should read something by the physicist Victor Stenger who, very elegantly, disposes with the fine-tuning arguments - and without the need to posit multiverses.

Towards the end of the book Paul Davies says, 'At the end of the day, all the approaches I have discussed are likely to prove unsatisfactory. In fact, in reviewing them they all seem to me to be either ridiculous or hopelessly inadequate...' Having waded through the tour of 'fake' universes etc., I agree. Ultimately the book seemed unsatisfying and I would recommend trying 'The Fabric of the Cosmos' by Brian Greene in preference to this book.

Popular science books can open up very esoteric areas to the layperson. Paul Davies does this well. Popular science books can also be quite inspiring and leave one with a feeling for the tremendous progress which has been made in our understanding. This book did not fall into this category for me.

THE GOD HYPOTHESIS explained the "Goldilocks Effect" First!, 30 Dec 2007
My name is Dr. Michael A Corey, and I have been a huge fan of Paul Davies' work for many years. He has influenced my various books more than any other single individual, so I find it very interesting that he has adopted the "Goldilocks Principle" that I first used in my earlier book THE GOD HYPOTHESIS: DISCOVERING DESIGN IN OUR "JUST RIGHT" GOLDILOCKS UNIVERSE. I actually saw him briefly at a conference at Harvard back in 2001 and I gave him a copy of THE GOD HYPOTHESIS, which has Goldilocks on the cover eating her porridge. So in one sense I am quite flattered that he liked my analogy enough to use it in his own book. I also find it remarkable that Amazon is bundling my book with his, because they both use the Goldilocks Principle to make their respective cases. However, Davies comes to a decidedly different conclusion that I do. He prefers to explain why the many foundational parameters of our universe are "just right" by resorting to a large (or perhaps infinite) number of other alternative universes that we cannot see or otherwise scientifically detect with our best cosmological instruments. This isn't science at all, unfortunately, because these other universes cannot ever be seen or measured in any way. They are just the only way that a non-theistic explanation can be devised for our "just right" universe, because if there are a huge number of other universes, then it might be possible that we just happened to evolve in the one universe that just accidentally happened to be supportive of carbon based life. But this just seems a little too "ad hoc" for me, because massive physical coincidences like this, where tens of thousands of blind physical forces nevertheless all work together cooperatively like an orchestra to make life possible on this planet. The odds of this happening by chance have been calculated by Roger Penrose to be astronomically remote, which in fact makes it statistically impossible. THE GOD HYPOTHESIS is inherently far superior to the many universes approach, not just because it is far simpler overall, but also because it makes the most sense from an abductive point of view, since it truly seems to be the best and most appropriate explanation for the known facts. What's more, ALL of history's greatest thinkers on this topic, from Aristotle to Plato to ALL of the founding fathers of modern science, ALL believed that God created the universe deliberately so that intelligent life could arise here. Who in the world wants to go against Plato, Aristotle, Newton, Boyle, the Providential Evolutionists of the 18th century, and even Charles Darwin, who based his entire theory of evolution on the prior existence of God? Indeed, the Templeton Prize-winning astronomer John Barrow has repeatedly pointed out that science was only able to flourish in those societies that believed in a single divine Law-Giver, because this belief gave them the necessary reason to believe in the independent existence of natural laws that could be discovered and understood by human beings. In conclusion, then, while I love all of Paul Davies' works on the topic of cosmology, I think that "The Goldilocks Enigma" comes to the wrong conclusion, and a simple reading of THE GOD HYPOTHESIS will explain how and why the most rational and logical explanation for our "just right" universe is theistic in nature.
Dr. Michael A. Corey

Less accessible than it looks, 17 Oct 2007
Few people outside the scientific discipline will "get" this book. This has nothing to do with the writing style, which is easy on the brain, and more to do with the sheer complexity of the philosophy of science.

My review is a bit ranty, but here goes. Lesser mortals (anyone not doing post-Doctoral research in Physics, including me) are not allowed to do what cosmologists and particle physicists do with gay abandon. When we get our sums wrong, we are told "it's wrong"

However, for those that can:

Universe not flying apart as fast as our calculations predict? Must be something wrong with the universe, hmm, "dark matter" will fit the bill. Can't find it but our calculations suggest 90% of universe made up of it. Darn, sums still not right. Got it! "Dark energy" will make up the balance.

Physical Laws are "universal", except where they aren't.

(The importance of the assumption of universality of Physical Laws was well made by Feynmann, a now dead genius, whom I beleive, would have been able to ask questions of cosmologists and have a right to expect an answer).

I could go on, however, from over here in the slow class, could cosmologists solve for me one issue: we use universality of physical law to "look" into the past and to make assumptions about "over there" in the universe and then based on the system created from those assumptions we decide to abandon those assumptions and postulate that perhaps physical laws might be local and they differ elsewhere. Hmm.... I smell a tautology.



Mind bending, 16 Oct 2007
An excellent introduction to cosmology and fundamental physics, but for my taste the 'dumbing' switch could have been turned a bit lower - some of the material is quite tough. Also, towards the end you got the feeling that all sorts of stuff was being thrown in just to cover all the bases. I enjoyed it though, and will probably read it again in another six months or so.

Invaluable night sky reference, 13 Nov 2008
I read somewhere that all telescopes should come with this guide and once you start using it you'll realise why. As I have mostly a south-westerly view of the sky I like to make the most of what I have so I turn to 'Turn Left...' and follow the easy diagrams and text to pick out the best of the constellation I am interested in.
The book gives you diagrams of what you'll see in the viewfinder as well as the telescope and although it can be a bit confusing to the novice when you first start you soon get the hang of star hopping and be delighted when you discover the gems above.
In fact having used this book quite often I find myself hopping around without it on my favourite sights. For example the other night I found the ring nebula in Lyra by remembering the steps and estimating the distance between the stars in the constellation. Sure enough it popped into view.

get someone to buy it for you, 28 Apr 2008
if you are interested in imaging, forget it. there is no info on what the variouse targets can look like when photographed, only how to find them. a companion book on how too image and what to use is recomended.

The Novice Stargazer's Bible, 06 Mar 2008
Ask any amateur astronomer what the first book they would recommend to a novice, and the majority will tell you this very book.

Written in a style that is user friendly yet not patronising, it carefully details the highlights of the night sky (by season), giving ratings for each target. All the information on how to find that elusive nebula or galaxy etc is here, along with realistic sketched views through the scope (and finderscope) from a 'normal' viewing site.

Rather than showing each target as a HST or large observatory scope photograph, leading to frustration from the novice, this book is refreshingly honest at what the back garden stargazer will see.

Along with the catalogue of targets (with excellent descriptions of what you are looking at), there is plenty of information on how to set up scopes, what equipment to use and other general advice needed for the novice/amateur astronomer.

I've yet to see a book that covers amateur observations so well.



All that the novice needs, 22 Nov 2006
Put simply, if a novice astronomer with ANY size of telescope buys only one book to assist them, then this should be it (or at least the most recent version of it should be). I'm actually a fairly experienced amateur astronomer with an appalling inability to navigate my way round the skies - at least I did have until I had this book bought for me. Broken down into seasonal sections with indications of the right conditions to go looking for particular objects, I can't think of anything that could make the task easier (short of someone actually finding the objects for you!). It is such a good book I can forgive it a few typos and some lapses of English grammar.

My advice - buy this book!

Every bit as good as they all say !!, 24 Jul 2006
.
.

Well, what else is there to say about this book ?

In a nutshell, it transformed me from clueless beginner to starhopper & DSO finder in 2 hours flat. I have a 200mm Newtonian and I find the book perfect for this scope even though it is aimed primarily at users of small scopes. For a novice it beats a straightforward atlas hands down, giving clear step by step hops to each object. There's much more to this book than mere instructions as well. There's very good info on every single object too, so you find something, then read about it at the time you're observing it. Also, having found a number of the "summer" objects at the 1st attempt I'm very happy that I've failed to find some of the objects listed as these will become targets when I'm more practiced, so the book will remain useful for a long time, and probably forever, as the quickest way to re visit favourite objects.

Fascinating but heavy going, 05 Nov 2008
The topics covered are profound, mind bending and require a fundamental shift in thinking from what we are accustomed to regard as normal. Kaku has set himself a difficult task in attempting to explain them to a general readership. Some of his explanations are good, but I found parts of book heavy going, especially string theory which is his specialism.

The book falls between two stools, being too hard for the amateur but not a textbook for physics students.

KAKU IS GOD, 03 Nov 2008
If your already a physicist: buy this, but dont expect TOO much
if your not: expect TOO much


in terms of knowledge etc, kaku has the wisdom of a 16,000 year old tortoise. but this book focuses on the "fun" part of physics. its more of an introduction to everything.

it goes through the simpler side of black holes, higher dimentional space, wave functions etc. it also gives some backgrounds about himself and other physicists.

when i say it focuses on the fun part, i mean it explains in a casual sense, no equations, or anything like that.
so if you want to get into physics, or just wanna know everything, then deffinitely buy this book.
and if your going to read any more kaku books, get this one FIRST, because the others focus on a point in-depth, whereas this gives a simpler knowledge of EVERYTHING. so its good to use Parallel worlds as a "foundation" for future knowledge.

5 stars!

Life, the universe and everything, 14 Jul 2008
I love documentaries that start talking about the quantum world. Of course there is part of your mind that is shouting "this makes no sense" but instead I listen to the bit that says "I must know more". If you are turned off by phrases like M-theory or cosmological constant then this is obviously not the book for you.

If, like me, you love popular science and want to push things a little further without getting bogged down in mathematical formulae which mean NOTHING to me then this is the book for you. Kaku is a great guide through the physics of the very big like red dwarfs and black holes to the subatomic world of gluons and string theory. Whenever there's a danger of losing the reader he uses a simple analogy to help the information make sense. His style is light but serious and his ability to pack so much in without losing a layman like me is impressive.

This is a fabulous book about science for the casual adult reader which will get you to look at the world in a very different way. Enjoy the ride.


Beyond Worlds, 06 Jul 2008
Parallel Worlds is a highly readable account of some of the most advanced and exciting aspects of cosmology and its related disciplines today. Covering everything from Einsteinian relativity, through quantum mechanics and on to the most-favoured current "theories of everything" - string theory and its new variant M-theory - Kaku guides his readers through a potted history of the universe, from its fiery beginning to its cold dark end ... and possibly beyond.

The journey is an exciting one, full of sound and fury - from the pattering of quasars and cosmic background radiation to the roar of supernovae - signifying plenty.

There are one or two editing mishaps - "googol" becomes "google", Jodrell Bank becomes "Jordell Bank", "Brownian motion" becomes "Browning motion" (leading me to wonder what would have happened if Terrence Rattigan had written "The Brownian Version" - in which a retired schoolteacher must confront his failure as a continuous-time stochastic process relating to the movement of a particle in a gas or liquid) - and someone needs to explain to the prof that "enormity" is not the same as "enormousness" but, these very petty cavils aside, this is an entertaining and informative guide to the nature of our universe and the universes that may exist alongside it.

accessible, 10 Jan 2008
a GENUINELY accessible book, written in layman's (or layperson's as it must be these days) terms. the logic of the format flows easily and the topics covered are fascinating, highly speculative but also logically probable. a book to come back to again.

This book is great, 27 Mar 2006
It's great for budding astronomers, full of detail and easy to read!

Very US-centric, 21 Jan 2003
Good book, well written, well laid out, nice tone, pleasant to read.

Loses one star (scuse pun!) for the US-ness of the content. Bit more of a nod to the rest of the planet in the next edition puh-leese.

really simple, 08 Oct 2000
the book is written so that any beginner can understand what's going on in that galaxy of ours! nice & easy to understand, this make astronomy easy for the dimmest of the dim!

Very good book, but a bit hard to understand, 24 Jul 2008
Before I read this book, I have finished A Briefer History of Time also by Stephen Hawking. Therefore, I have had a general idea of time and relativity already.

I found University in a Nutshell is much harder to understand comparing with the A Briefer History of Time. The knowledge introduced in the book is much deeper and I counldn't understand much of it. I have got a master degree in microelectronics, if I got problem to understand I think many other people will have the same problem.

Hawking is trying to introduce the knowledge using non-mathematical ways. It is well illustrated, however, I think it is a bit over illustrated. I found many of the illustrations are redundant such as Einstein's photos and some other diagram isn't really helpful for readers to understand the knowledge which is written by word.

Generally speaking, it is still a very good book. It covers quite a lot of knoledge points such as black hole and etc. And it is quite a fun to read.

Mostly understandable :), 14 Jun 2006
I am not much of a science / physics person (as in I don't really understand these matters but do find them fascinating) but I am very interested in astronomy, so I am always happy to read something about the universe in language which does not employ too much maths or excessive equations, as I simply get lost otherwise. I found Mr Hawking's explanations very accessible, apart from the discussion about time and the whole argument as to whether it has always been there, and sadly even the beautiful illustrations didn't help...but I'd put that down as my own fault rather than the author's! All in all, very well-written book, most concepts will be understood by ordinary people without prior knowledge of maths/physics, I am grateful to Mr Hawking for making this difficult subject seem much less daunting!

Only for people with science knowledge, 09 Jun 2005
A lovely book, lavishly illustrated and covering a huge swathe of scientific ground. The only problem is that despite being written for non-scientists, it doesn't really explain very much and the lavish illustrations sometimes don't really describe what's going on either. If you have read similar popular science books then you'll find this an interesting recap of a large field, but if you haven't you'll probably just end up feeling lost and confused.

Universe in a Nutshell review, 13 Jan 2005
I think this book has a broad appeal for all readers that have an interest in science. When I first bought the book I was worried thet it would be too complicated because my area of expertise is law not science, but it is explained in an interesting and simple way with illustrations and minimal use of maths! Not only will you get an idea of the science behind this book but it will also leave you with philisophical thoughts about the universe and the mysteries that are incomprehensable and yet to be solved.

Excellent but incomplete picture of the universe, 25 Nov 2004
This book is a must read for everyone who loves science. One has to feel some discomfort from the incompleteness of the big bang universe and its inefficiency to explain the growing number of observations. It is quite uncertain what existed before the big bang. That is why new theories like Eugene Savov's Theory of Interaction that cast light on the most recent mysteries from the near and distant space should be considered.

Fasinating, absorbing, 31 Jul 2008
This is a super book. Paul Davies explains a lot of complex physics as well as anyone could. He then goes on to explain what the physics may or may not mean. The fact I didn't understand the physics fully is probably my own lack of attention and knowledge.

His depth of understanding, and his ability to appreciate many different possible interpretations of certain facts makes for enjoyable reading.I had the feeling he had a Feynmann spirit about right and wrong- "It's not whether I'm right or wrong...but whether I'm right or wrong for an interesting reason." Davies is on the search for reasons, and from this book it's clear the search is worthwhile, and not absurd.

This is a well written book about a fascinating topic. Recommended

Not 'Just right', 03 Feb 2008
This book left me with mixed feelings. Maybe I can start with what I found positive about it? The early sections of the book were quite exhilarating. Paul Davies skilfully communicates some complex ideas about the origin of the universe. However by the middle of the book, he (or I?) was losing touch with the material and it seemed to become an exploration of various, highly speculative positions.

As he says at the end of the book, many scientists are going to view his stance as crypto-religious. There is probably some truth in this but, in his defence, it is worth pointing out that the early part of chapter 9 contains an excellent critique of Intelligent Design.

My concerns about the book also started at an early stage. It seemed very strange to encounter, on the third page of the preface, a reference to 'atheists' and their interest in the idea of a multiverse. Having picked up this book expecting a consideration of the science involved, I didn't really anticipate that atheism or theism would enter the picture at all. However, it does make it much easier for me to recommend that anyone interested in the fine-tuning arguments should read something by the physicist Victor Stenger who, very elegantly, disposes with the fine-tuning arguments - and without the need to posit multiverses.

Towards the end of the book Paul Davies says, 'At the end of the day, all the approaches I have discussed are likely to prove unsatisfactory. In fact, in reviewing them they all seem to me to be either ridiculous or hopelessly inadequate...' Having waded through the tour of 'fake' universes etc., I agree. Ultimately the book seemed unsatisfying and I would recommend trying 'The Fabric of the Cosmos' by Brian Greene in preference to this book.

Popular science books can open up very esoteric areas to the layperson. Paul Davies does this well. Popular science books can also be quite inspiring and leave one with a feeling for the tremendous progress which has been made in our understanding. This book did not fall into this category for me.

THE GOD HYPOTHESIS explained the "Goldilocks Effect" First!, 30 Dec 2007
My name is Dr. Michael A Corey, and I have been a huge fan of Paul Davies' work for many years. He has influenced my various books more than any other single individual, so I find it very interesting that he has adopted the "Goldilocks Principle" that I first used in my earlier book THE GOD HYPOTHESIS: DISCOVERING DESIGN IN OUR "JUST RIGHT" GOLDILOCKS UNIVERSE. I actually saw him briefly at a conference at Harvard back in 2001 and I gave him a copy of THE GOD HYPOTHESIS, which has Goldilocks on the cover eating her porridge. So in one sense I am quite flattered that he liked my analogy enough to use it in his own book. I also find it remarkable that Amazon is bundling my book with his, because they both use the Goldilocks Principle to make their respective cases. However, Davies comes to a decidedly different conclusion that I do. He prefers to explain why the many foundational parameters of our universe are "just right" by resorting to a large (or perhaps infinite) number of other alternative universes that we cannot see or otherwise scientifically detect with our best cosmological instruments. This isn't science at all, unfortunately, because these other universes cannot ever be seen or measured in any way. They are just the only way that a non-theistic explanation can be devised for our "just right" universe, because if there are a huge number of other universes, then it might be possible that we just happened to evolve in the one universe that just accidentally happened to be supportive of carbon based life. But this just seems a little too "ad hoc" for me, because massive physical coincidences like this, where tens of thousands of blind physical forces nevertheless all work together cooperatively like an orchestra to make life possible on this planet. The odds of this happening by chance have been calculated by Roger Penrose to be astronomically remote, which in fact makes it statistically impossible. THE GOD HYPOTHESIS is inherently far superior to the many universes approach, not just because it is far simpler overall, but also because it makes the most sense from an abductive point of view, since it truly seems to be the best and most appropriate explanation for the known facts. What's more, ALL of history's greatest thinkers on this topic, from Aristotle to Plato to ALL of the founding fathers of modern science, ALL believed that God created the universe deliberately so that intelligent life could arise here. Who in the world wants to go against Plato, Aristotle, Newton, Boyle, the Providential Evolutionists of the 18th century, and even Charles Darwin, who based his entire theory of evolution on the prior existence of God? Indeed, the Templeton Prize-winning astronomer John Barrow has repeatedly pointed out that science was only able to flourish in those societies that believed in a single divine Law-Giver, because this belief gave them the necessary reason to believe in the independent existence of natural laws that could be discovered and understood by human beings. In conclusion, then, while I love all of Paul Davies' works on the topic of cosmology, I think that "The Goldilocks Enigma" comes to the wrong conclusion, and a simple reading of THE GOD HYPOTHESIS will explain how and why the most rational and logical explanation for our "just right" universe is theistic in nature.
Dr. Michael A. Corey

Less accessible than it looks, 17 Oct 2007
Few people outside the scientific discipline will "get" this book. This has nothing to do with the writing style, which is easy on the brain, and more to do with the sheer complexity of the philosophy of science.

My review is a bit ranty, but here goes. Lesser mortals (anyone not doing post-Doctoral research in Physics, including me) are not allowed to do what cosmologists and particle physicists do with gay abandon. When we get our sums wrong, we are told "it's wrong"

However, for those that can:

Universe not flying apart as fast as our calculations predict? Must be something wrong with the universe, hmm, "dark matter" will fit the bill. Can't find it but our calculations suggest 90% of universe made up of it. Darn, sums still not right. Got it! "Dark energy" will make up the balance.

Physical Laws are "universal", except where they aren't.

(The importance of the assumption of universality of Physical Laws was well made by Feynmann, a now dead genius, whom I beleive, would have been able to ask questions of cosmologists and have a right to expect an answer).

I could go on, however, from over here in the slow class, could cosmologists solve for me one issue: we use universality of physical law to "look" into the past and to make assumptions about "over there" in the universe and then based on the system created from those assumptions we decide to abandon those assumptions and postulate that perhaps physical laws might be local and they differ elsewhere. Hmm.... I smell a tautology.



Mind bending, 16 Oct 2007
An excellent introduction to cosmology and fundamental physics, but for my taste the 'dumbing' switch could have been turned a bit lower - some of the material is quite tough. Also, towards the end you got the feeling that all sorts of stuff was being thrown in just to cover all the bases. I enjoyed it though, and will probably read it again in another six months or so.

Brilliant. Could not put it down., 01 Sep 2008
I was 20 years old when Neil Armstrong stepped on to the Lunar susface.
I have been interested in NASA and the space program ever since.
I always wanted a single book or film that would cover the whole Apollo program from 1 to 17.This is it.You dont have to be technically minded to be captivated by this book, it is very easily readable, I was unable to put it down and I will surely read it again in the future it is that type of book.
I can not recommend it highly enough for anybody even remotely interested in the space program.
10 out of 10 Super

These Men dared to sit on top of Rockets!, 27 Aug 2008
This is a comprehensive book about the Apollo space program that does an exceptional job of capturing one of the most incredible times in human history. It was a time when the belief was that we could do just about anything we set our minds to.

Andrew Chaikin does an amazing job of capturing the courage, the commitment, the sacrifices, the driving motives and vision of the astronauts, supporting crews, wives and more. This 600+ page book hardly wastes a word. The book was so good it was turned into a mini series by HBO.

It is clear that Chaikin has a deep passion and respect for the space program and the people in it. He brings the truth to this writing without much dirty laundry being exposed.

This book deserves a place on any space buff's book shelf. It is also a great read for anyone interested in true life adventure of men who dared to sit on the top of rockets and go where no one had gone before. Highly recommended!

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking

Failure is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond (Thorndike Paperback Bestsellers)

The Last Man on the Moon: Astronaut Eugene Cernan and America's Race in Space


Too good for words, 26 Jul 2008
I must have read this about seven or eight times now, and I just know I will again in the future. The author took on a real challenge when it comes to the chronological events of Project Apollo, and was able to condense it perfectly into an easy narrative, thankfully dodging the absolute minefield of unnecessary technical details. This is still the one I recommend to the conspiracy theorists as well...!

Beautiful,Stunning,enthraling., 15 Apr 2008
Only read 31 pages so far but I know that this book is just a classic,so descriptive that you feel as if you are there during all of the events,it enhances my feelings about those pioneering,heroic supermen of my youth.I have also ordered the updated version which is the 5oth anniversary edition, it is so good.

Simply the best book I've ever read, 30 Dec 2007
Which includes a lot of books about the Apollo program. It really is that good.

Invaluable night sky reference, 13 Nov 2008
I read somewhere that all telescopes should come with this guide and once you start using it you'll realise why. As I have mostly a south-westerly view of the sky I like to make the most of what I have so I turn to 'Turn Left...' and follow the easy diagrams and text to pick out the best of the constellation I am interested in.
The book gives you diagrams of what you'll see in the viewfinder as well as the telescope and although it can be a bit confusing to the novice when you first start you soon get the hang of star hopping and be delighted when you discover the gems above.
In fact having used this book quite often I find myself hopping around without it on my favourite sights. For example the other night I found the ring nebula in Lyra by remembering the steps and estimating the distance between the stars in the constellation. Sure enough it popped into view.

get someone to buy it for you, 28 Apr 2008
if you are interested in imaging, forget it. there is no info on what the variouse targets can look like when photographed, only how to find them. a companion book on how too image and what to use is recomended.

The Novice Stargazer's Bible, 06 Mar 2008
Ask any amateur astronomer what the first book they would recommend to a novice, and the majority will tell you this very book.

Written in a style that is user friendly yet not patronising, it carefully details the highlights of the night sky (by season), giving ratings for each target. All the information on how to find that elusive nebula or galaxy etc is here, along with realistic sketched views through the scope (and finderscope) from a 'normal' viewing site.

Rather than showing each target as a HST or large observatory scope photograph, leading to frustration from the novice, this book is refreshingly honest at what the back garden stargazer will see.

Along with the catalogue of targets (with excellent descriptions of what you are looking at), there is plenty of information on how to set up scopes, what equipment to use and other general advice needed for the novice/amateur astronomer.

I've yet to see a book that covers amateur observations so well.



All that the novice needs, 22 Nov 2006
Put simply, if a novice astronomer with ANY size of telescope buys only one book to assist them, then this should be it (or at least the most recent version of it should be). I'm actually a fairly experienced amateur astronomer with an appalling inability to navigate my way round the skies - at least I did have until I had this book bought for me. Broken down into seasonal sections with indications of the right conditions to go looking for particular objects, I can't think of anything that could make the task easier (short of someone actually finding the objects for you!). It is such a good book I can forgive it a few typos and some lapses of English grammar.

My advice - buy this book!

Every bit as good as they all say !!, 24 Jul 2006
.
.

Well, what else is there to say about this book ?

In a nutshell, it transformed me from clueless beginner to starhopper & DSO finder in 2 hours flat. I have a 200mm Newtonian and I find the book perfect for this scope even though it is aimed primarily at users of small scopes. For a novice it beats a straightforward atlas hands down, giving clear step by step hops to each object. There's much more to this book than mere instructions as well. There's very good info on every single object too, so you find something, then read about it at the time you're observing it. Also, having found a number of the "summer" objects at the 1st attempt I'm very happy that I've failed to find some of the objects listed as these will become targets when I'm more practiced, so the book will remain useful for a long time, and probably forever, as the quickest way to re visit favourite objects.

Fascinating but heavy going, 05 Nov 2008
The topics covered are profound, mind bending and require a fundamental shift in thinking from what we are accustomed to regard as normal. Kaku has set himself a difficult task in attempting to explain them to a general readership. Some of his explanations are good, but I found parts of book heavy going, especially string theory which is his specialism.

The book falls between two stools, being too hard for the amateur but not a textbook for physics students.

KAKU IS GOD, 03 Nov 2008
If your already a physicist: buy this, but dont expect TOO much
if your not: expect TOO much


in terms of knowledge etc, kaku has the wisdom of a 16,000 year old tortoise. but this book focuses on the "fun" part of physics. its more of an introduction to everything.

it goes through the simpler side of black holes, higher dimentional space, wave functions etc. it also gives some backgrounds about himself and other physicists.

when i say it focuses on the fun part, i mean it explains in a casual sense, no equations, or anything like that.
so if you want to get into physics, or just wanna know everything, then deffinitely buy this book.
and if your going to read any more kaku books, get this one FIRST, because the others focus on a point in-depth, whereas this gives a simpler knowledge of EVERYTHING. so its good to use Parallel worlds as a "foundation" for future knowledge.

5 stars!

Life, the universe and everything, 14 Jul 2008
I love documentaries that start talking about the quantum world. Of course there is part of your mind that is shouting "this makes no sense" but instead I listen to the bit that says "I must know more". If you are turned off by phrases like M-theory or cosmological constant then this is obviously not the book for you.

If, like me, you love popular science and want to push things a little further without getting bogged down in mathematical formulae which mean NOTHING to me then this is the book for you. Kaku is a great guide through the physics of the very big like red dwarfs and black holes to the subatomic world of gluons and string theory. Whenever there's a danger of losing the reader he uses a simple analogy to help the information make sense. His style is light but serious and his ability to pack so much in without losing a layman like me is impressive.

This is a fabulous book about science for the casual adult reader which will get you to look at the world in a very different way. Enjoy the ride.


Beyond Worlds, 06 Jul 2008
Parallel Worlds is a highly readable account of some of the most advanced and exciting aspects of cosmology and its related disciplines today. Covering everything from Einsteinian relativity, through quantum mechanics and on to the most-favoured current "theories of everything" - string theory and its new variant M-theory - Kaku guides his readers through a potted history of the universe, from its fiery beginning to its cold dark end ... and possibly beyond.

The journey is an exciting one, full of sound and fury - from the pattering of quasars and cosmic background radiation to the roar of supernovae - signifying plenty.

There are one or two editing mishaps - "googol" becomes "google", Jodrell Bank becomes "Jordell Bank", "Brownian motion" becomes "Browning motion" (leading me to wonder what would have happened if Terrence Rattigan had written "The Brownian Version" - in which a retired schoolteacher must confront his failure as a continuous-time stochastic process relating to the movement of a particle in a gas or liquid) - and someone needs to explain to the prof that "enormity" is not the same as "enormousness" but, these very petty cavils aside, this is an entertaining and informative guide to the nature of our universe and the universes that may exist alongside it.

accessible, 10 Jan 2008
a GENUINELY accessible book, written in layman's (or layperson's as it must be these days) terms. the logic of the format flows easily and the topics covered are fascinating, highly speculative but also logically probable. a book to come back to again.

This book is great, 27 Mar 2006
It's great for budding astronomers, full of detail and easy to read!

Very US-centric, 21 Jan 2003
Good book, well written, well laid out, nice tone, pleasant to read.

Loses one star (scuse pun!) for the US-ness of the content. Bit more of a nod to the rest of the planet in the next edition puh-leese.

really simple, 08 Oct 2000
the book is written so that any beginner can understand what's going on in that galaxy of ours! nice & easy to understand, this make astronomy easy for the dimmest of the dim!

Very good book, but a bit hard to understand, 24 Jul 2008
Before I read this book, I have finished A Briefer History of Time also by Stephen Hawking. Therefore, I have had a general idea of time and relativity already.

I found University in a Nutshell is much harder to understand comparing with the A Briefer History of Time. The knowledge introduced in the book is much deeper and I counldn't understand much of it. I have got a master degree in microelectronics, if I got problem to understand I think many other people will have the same problem.

Hawking is trying to introduce the knowledge using non-mathematical ways. It is well illustrated, however, I think it is a bit over illustrated. I found many of the illustrations are redundant such as Einstein's photos and some other diagram isn't really helpful for readers to understand the knowledge which is written by word.

Generally speaking, it is still a very good book. It covers quite a lot of knoledge points such as black hole and etc. And it is quite a fun to read.

Mostly understandable :), 14 Jun 2006
I am not much of a science / physics person (as in I don't really understand these matters but do find them fascinating) but I am very interested in astronomy, so I am always happy to read something about the universe in language which does not employ too much maths or excessive equations, as I simply get lost otherwise. I found Mr Hawking's explanations very accessible, apart from the discussion about time and the whole argument as to whether it has always been there, and sadly even the beautiful illustrations didn't help...but I'd put that down as my own fault rather than the author's! All in all, very well-written book, most concepts will be understood by ordinary people without prior knowledge of maths/physics, I am grateful to Mr Hawking for making this difficult subject seem much less daunting!

Only for people with science knowledge, 09 Jun 2005
A lovely book, lavishly illustrated and covering a huge swathe of scientific ground. The only problem is that despite being written for non-scientists, it doesn't really explain very much and the lavish illustrations sometimes don't really describe what's going on either. If you have read similar popular science books then you'll find this an interesting recap of a large field, but if you haven't you'll probably just end up feeling lost and confused.

Universe in a Nutshell review, 13 Jan 2005
I think this book has a broad appeal for all readers that have an interest in science. When I first bought the book I was worried thet it would be too complicated because my area of expertise is law not science, but it is explained in an interesting and simple way with illustrations and minimal use of maths! Not only will you get an idea of the science behind this book but it will also leave you with philisophical thoughts about the universe and the mysteries that are incomprehensable and yet to be solved.

Excellent but incomplete picture of the universe, 25 Nov 2004
This book is a must read for everyone who loves science. One has to feel some discomfort from the incompleteness of the big bang universe and its inefficiency to explain the growing number of observations. It is quite uncertain what existed before the big bang. That is why new theories like Eugene Savov's Theory of Interaction that cast light on the most recent mysteries from the near and distant space should be considered.

Fasinating, absorbing, 31 Jul 2008
This is a super book. Paul Davies explains a lot of complex physics as well as anyone could. He then goes on to explain what the physics may or may not mean. The fact I didn't understand the physics fully is probably my own lack of attention and knowledge.

His depth of understanding, and his ability to appreciate many different possible interpretations of certain facts makes for enjoyable reading.I had the feeling he had a Feynmann spirit about right and wrong- "It's not whether I'm right or wrong...but whether I'm right or wrong for an interesting reason." Davies is on the search for reasons, and from this book it's clear the search is worthwhile, and not absurd.

This is a well written book about a fascinating topic. Recommended

Not 'Just right', 03 Feb 2008
This book left me with mixed feelings. Maybe I can start with what I found positive about it? The early sections of the book were quite exhilarating. Paul Davies skilfully communicates some complex ideas about the origin of the universe. However by the middle of the book, he (or I?) was losing touch with the material and it seemed to become an exploration of various, highly speculative positions.

As he says at the end of the book, many scientists are going to view his stance as crypto-religious. There is probably some truth in this but, in his defence, it is worth pointing out that the early part of chapter 9 contains an excellent critique of Intelligent Design.

My concerns about the book also started at an early stage. It seemed very strange to encounter, on the third page of the preface, a reference to 'atheists' and their interest in the idea of a multiverse. Having picked up this book expecting a consideration of the science involved, I didn't really anticipate that atheism or theism would enter the picture at all. However, it does make it much easier for me to recommend that anyone interested in the fine-tuning arguments should read something b