5 comments about West with the Night.

1. This forgotten volume is a beautifully written memoir of Markum's time in Africa in the early 1900s. The writing (some have questioned whether husband Raoul Schumacher was actually the author, or at least collaborator) is vividly descriptive and reads like lyric poetry. Hemingway wrote to a friend that "...she has written so well, and marvelously well, that I was completely ashamed of myself as a writer.....She can write rings around all of us who consider ourselves writers."
   Consider this passage from an eloquent retelling of a safari hunt that left one man dead when a fatally wounded lion turned on its hunters as they snapped photographs: "Cremation is a smooth word that seeks to conceal the indelicate reality of a human body being baked in fire.....In mid-afternoon on the African veldt under a harsh and revealing sun, it is at best a euphemism. Still, since men cherish the paradox requiring that to insure immortality they must preserve what is most mortal about them, wood was gathered and a fire was built." The whole account, in just four pages, captures the tragedy of it all--animal and human.
   Beryl Markum, the first person to fly solo across the Atlantic from east to west, was a contemporary (and perhaps romantic rival) of Karen Blixen (aka Isak Dinesen) author of the memoir Out of Africa.
   I highly recommend the audio read by the late Kate Fleming (audio pseudonym: Anna Fields, one of the best audio readers ever and greatly missed).



2. As a child growing up with her father in Africa, Beryl Markham faced down lions and wild boar. As an adult she trained race horses before learning to fly airplanes and becoming a bush pilot. Eventually she became the first pilot, female or male, to fly west with the night and cross the Atlantic ocean solo from Europe to North America. Markham brings the African bush to life with stories of boar hunts and elephant hunts. Of horse races and airplane flights over desert terrain. She lived a courageous life in a time when girls were only supposed to wear dresses and play with dolls and flying airplanes was a man's job. Highly inspirational to read!
   
   There's so much to talk about in mother-daughter book clubs or any book club. How was Markham's life different from so many of the girls in her time? How would her life have been different if her mother was also in Africa raising her?
   
   This book is beautifully written; I've read it three times and each reading I glean more and more from it. I highly recommend it for anyone in high school or older.



3. Absolutely captivating personal account of times and places long gone. As a fan of "Heat of the Sun," this book was a treasure.



4. I agree with Hemingway that this is a piece of high literature that reads like fiction and spreads itself before the reader like a well-produced film. It drove me to learn more about the author and her life.



5. I read this book because someone suggested my family might have been related to Beryl Markham, which is not the case, but...
   What a woman - this is a true account of one of the first bush pilots in Africa, Beryl Markham, who was the first pilot to fly westward across the Atlantic from England. Although there is some dispute whether she actually wrote this autobiographical account (some say that her paramour, who edited the book, actually wrote it - she never confirmed or denied it), the stories are true and fascinating, encouraging the reader to learn more about her. The writing style is wonderful and interesting - no wonder Hemingway loved it. You wouldn't know this book was first published so many years ago.

5 comments about The Gods of Eden.

1. William Bramley's The Gods of Eden, is an excellent overview of the manifestion of UFO's in the historical record. What makes it even more interesting is the correlation of events concurrent to those manifestations. They appear to be uniformly bad. So much for the benevolent space brothers.
   
   Bramley's introduction makes it clear that he did not set out to "write a UFO book". He wanted to research the history and causes of war in order to find some way to end it. That he ended up in this unexpected line of research is a testament to a dedicated historian following the data unearthed, no matter how strange the path. Highly recommended.



2. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in Ufos and the ancient astronaut theory. If you want to know the truth than the gods of eden is a good start.



3. I liked learning about how paper money was first used, about the Black Death throughout Europe and the whole ordeal of Mormanism's founder..only thing i wished was for The Brotherhood to be described a little better but for this book's time, it sufficed..go get her bought!



4. This book is one of the most compelling and well researched on the subject of ET-Human history ever written. A must read for anyone interested in the occult and its role in our history. It serves as a great introduction to the alien presence on earth dilemma. Despite the sci-fi looking cover, this book is a serious read for any history freak!



5. William Bramley's tome, Gods of Eden, is an excellent examination of our world, its hidden history, and the causes of today's tragic circumstance.
   
   Originally released in 1989, Gods of Eden is a critical look back at our history. It starts in in ancient times and gradually moves forward, giving us information and analysis that we never would have expected. Bramley examines ancient texts, reviewing the UFO phenomenon as it presented itself in pre-history. He interprets writings in a much more literal fashion then most historians and fails to excuse their words as metaphor, nonsense or hysterical babble. For example, he quotes the bible in several parts, and demonstrates that the appearance of 'God' in several passages is marked by thundering, smoke, or strange aerial phenomenon:
   
   ...there were thunders and lightenings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the sound of the trumphet was exceedingly loud; and all the people that were in the camp trembled.
   
   And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the lower part of the mountain.
   
   And Mount Sinai was altogether covered with smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke from the fire billowed upwards like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. - Genesis 19:16-19
   
   If an ancient Hebrew were to observe the rumbling, smoke and flame of a modern rocketship, the description would not have been much different than this Biblical narrative of Jehovah. A later visit by Jehovah contained the same phenomena:
   
   And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightenings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they moved away and stood far off. Genesis 20:18
   
   Lest it be assumed that these descriptions might be of a volcano, further sightings reveal that Jehovah was a moving object:
   
   And the Lord travelled before them [the Hebrew tribes] by day in a pillar of cloud, to lead them the way; by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
   
   He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, or the pillar of fire by night, from in front of the people. Exodus 13:21-22
   
   
   
   Thus Bramley argues it was a custodial race (extra-terrestrials, higher life forms, or perhaps humans with advanced technology left over from prior great civilizations) that formed the basis of the ancient Hebrew religion. He gives bits from the Sumerians as well as ancient Mayans and Aztecs which demonstrate similar phenomenon took place and again, the instigators labeled themselves gods.
   
   We're shown how they perverted Christs teachings merely a few centuries after his death, and how they were perverted to give us such dark tidings as the Crusades and the Inquisition. Islam was also manufactured by these same Custodians, and thus the three major religions of our world likely not come from God, but from a ruling class that maintains its power by keep us ignorant, servile and ensnared in constant war.
   
   He also gives us vivid descriptions how these custodial rulers fostered and controlled different secret societies, and in a very Machiavellian fashion, pitted them against one another in various wars and conflicts in order to keep humanity embroiled in violence.
   
   We're also shown how eschatology, or the concept of an apocalypse was given to us by the same custodial sources. The modern financial system, the concept of paper money, also came out of the very same houses that were profiting from war. Without paper money, debt and the modern banking system it was very difficult to keep a war running, and thus the custodians manufactured an artificial system of economics that allowed unlimited spending as long as it was violence and destruction being sown, not peace nor prosperity.
   
   Moving forward through time he demonstrates again, and again their connection to revolution and any new philosophy that gains a foothold in our global culture: Protestantism, Calvinism, Marxism and Fascism. Even the American and French revolutions, as well as the Bolshevik revolution in Russia were are produced specifically to create sides that would be pitted against each other in violent conflict!
   
   We're also given an examination of what true human spirituality can look like in its unfettered form, and how humans (when not manipulated or controlled) inherently seek amicable and peaceful relations with their fellow man.
   
   Overall the book is incredible, it contains facts and research I haven't seen anywhere else except for a few other incredible books. Namely, Secret History of the World (Jadczyk-Knight), The High Strangeness (Jadczyk-Knight), and UFOs & The National Security State (Dolan).
   
   Were given a clear look at our history, with facts and information you don't get in high school or college, and a hypothesis that is mind-blowing as well as critical if we are to understand the current plight of humanity. If you're looking for answers to how and why our society is the way it is you definitely want to check out this book.

5 comments about The Universe in a Nutshell.

1. Dr. Hawking begins every chapter in this book with an intriguing question such as "Is time travel possible?" Instead of providing a response and proceeding to explain, prove or disprove his assertions, he delves into the detail of the theoretical physics aspect of time travel, and then somewhere in the middle of the chapter the following appears: "It seems, therefore, that quantum theory allows time travel on a microscopic scale." Hooray! It's fine and dandy that microscopic particles can travel through time. Please tell us about spaceships, humans, aliens, ANYTHING larger than a microscopic particle traveling to the past or the future. Here's what Hawking divulges two sentences later: "Can the probability in the sum over histories be peaked around spacetimes with macroscopic time loops?" This sentence alone mentions three complicated concepts covered in other chapters, albeit not in sufficient detail. And therein lies my biggest criticism of this book:
   
   The uninitiated reader can easily lose her comprehension because of the layout and depth or lack thereof of material suited more to readers who have a physics background.
   
   As was the case with his previous bestselling book , Mr. Hawking provides neither the technical detail to satisfy the knowledgeable, nor the simplified information for the lay person.
   
   Nevertheless, Dr. Hawking deserves recognition for using his celebrity status in the world of theoretical physics combined with his remarkable effort to simplify and bring to the masses difficult concepts that only a handful of people in the world can fully grasp, especially given his dire physical condition afflicted by his decades old fight with Lou Gehrig's.



2. This book is more of a companion to, rather than a sequel to Hawking's "A Brief History of Time". It covers much of the same ground, but is illustrated, whereas the original version of "Time" is not. (There is also an illustrated version of "A Brief History of Time" that is far better than the original non-illustrated version.). I think that the first two chapters of "Nutshell" give a better overview of relativity theory and quantum mechanics than the corresponding chapters in "Time". These chapters and the illustrations are reason enough to read this book. The other chapters stand-alone and represent areas that Hawking has worked on or thought about since he wrote "Time". Some are a bit out there, especially the one on time travel, but are none the less very interesting and entertaining, even if they are very hard to follow (at least I found them so). A better alternative to this book is to get, if you can find it, Hawking's illustrated A Brief History of Time and Universe in a Nutshell, which is published in a single volume. It is available in hard and soft cover, but appears to be hard to find, even though it was published in 2007. (I have seen copies in the bargain sections at Borders and Barnes and Noble.)



3. On the cover of Stephen Hawking's The Universe in a Nutshell you can find, surprise, a picture of the universe in a nutshell. This cover illustration is typical of both the sense of humor Hawking employs and the helpful illustrations found in his work. Hawking's book is written for the average person who is interested in the science that has today's most educated and intelligent minds talking. Theoretical physics from M-theory to duality are all examined and explained in terms that the average reader with basic scientific understanding can comprehend and apply. Throughout his writing, however, Hawking intersperses his own, unique, geeky science humor and also diagrams and pictures coordinating with his discussion to keep the reader interested and engaged. Through his ability to mix illustrations with humorous and yet highly informative and accessible reading, Hawking has created the most successful volume of its kind in years and educated millions of average readers on the most complex science to date.
   
   Highly Informative yet Accessible
   
   To begin the book Hawking first introduces Albert Einstein and his theory of relativity. He begins with Einstein because his ideas have had perhaps the strongest influence on the science that Hawking discusses. In explaining Einstein's theory of relativity, Hawking does not use mathematical equations or field-specific terms. Instead he uses everyday language with examples and analogies that almost anyone can relate to. For instance,, in explaining how time is relative to each individual in the universe rather than being the same for everyone everywhere, Hawking presents the experiment that was done in which two extremely accurate clocks were flown in opposite directions around the world, one to the East and one to the West. When the planes returned, the clocks read slightly different times. The result of this experiment supported Einstein's theory and its use is an effective way to teach an average reader about Einstein's theory of relativity. This accomplishment, teaching a reader the basics of Einstein's theory of relativity, is brought into context by a quote found in another of Hawking's books, A Brief History of Time. In the early 1920's, a journalist told Sir Arthur Eddington, a British astronomer, that he had heard there only three people in the world who understood general relativity. Eddington supposedly paused for a moment and replied, "I am trying to think who the third person is" (Hawking 108).
   
   Engaging through Humor and Illustration
   
   While presenting a barrage of information that would be difficult indeed to wade through on its own, Hawking throws his reader flotation devices in the form of illustrations and comic relief that make the seemingly overwhelming amount of information much more manageable. When discussing a complicated experiment designed by Albert Michelson and Edward Morley to measure the speed of light, Hawking provides two diagrams of the experiment that make it much easier to comprehend (Hawking 6). Because of the diagrams, the reader can better understand how the light was split into two beams which were made to travel at right angles to each other, and how by observing the behavior of the light in the experiment one can support the general theory of relativity. Because Hawking includes helpful diagrams such as these, his readers become less mired in the bog of information and are more capable of sifting through it. Hawking's use of humor is another device that makes reading his book easier. On page nine, after discussing the aforementioned clocks on airplanes which are flown in opposite directions, Hawking writes "This might suggest that if one wanted to live longer, one should keep flying to the east... However, the tiny fraction of a second one would gain would be more than canceled by eating airline meal.s." If an author can make a reader laugh as this comment made me, then the reader will be encouraged to keep reading. By engaging the reader through humor, Hawking keeps the reader interested despite the amount of difficulty the reader may have in understanding wormholes or string theory.
   
   Stephen Hawking's book The Universe in a Nutshell has taught me more about physics than any textbook that I have ever used. Because of Hawking's work I have a greater understanding not only of the phenomena that occur around me but of the theoretical physics that are being discussed right now among the leading minds in the fields of astronomy and physics. While there is a vast amount of information covered in his book, because of Hawking's accessible style I was able to comprehend many more of the concepts he discusses than I would be able to on my own. His use of diagrams and humor kept me engaged and helped me to keep on reading right to the end, even when there were concepts that I had trouble grasping. For the average reader interested in learning more about the events that occur around them and what is going on in the universe that has the brightest scientists in the world talking, The Universe in a Nutshell is an extremely helpful tool.



4. A Startrek to Eternity
   After having read, and thoroughly enjoyed, Stephen Hawking's previous book (A Brief History of Time) I was a little disappointed in this one. Not that it isn't entertaining or that Professor Hawking isn't presenting it as well as he did in 'History,' it's just that the subject material is so much more difficult to comprehend that I'm sure the casual reader (such as myself) would have trouble getting through it. The theories presented are so 'off the wall' and are such a long way from being verified that it appears to be nothing more than wild guesses - but I suppose that's the world of a theoretical physicist.



5. 
   If I had to sum up Stephen Hawking's The Universe In A Nutshell in one word, it would be brilliant. In this masterpiece Hawking somehow takes the most, in my opinion, complicated and confusing science topics and breaks them down into a reader-friendly showcase of knowledge and love of science. Upon first opening the book and skimming the topics and detailed illustrations I almost didn't even bother to start the adventure into Hawking's world, however upon reading the first few pages I quickly learned that such topics could be understood by even the most severely scientifically challenged. Granted comprehension of such daunting topics does not come instantaneously, but if slowly taken in you can easily come to understand the science of every bit of matter around you and begin to see the world through Hawking's eyes.
   Normally I am the last one to pick up a non-fiction book such as this one for a pleasure reading book, but on my friends persistence I bought it. After reading the first couple of pages I could not stop reading. I would read a couple of pages, give myself time to wrap my mind around what I had just read, and then immediately dive back into the book. Hawking immediately pulls you in with his obvious delight in the universe and the science around us. He somehow makes the book fun to read. The fact that Hawking makes such advanced science subjects and ideas comprehendible without watering down the material makes you want to learn more about the world around you and the possibilities of the future.
   Without a doubt, this book would not be as digestible as it is without the magnificent illustrations. Detailed pictures and diagrams help the reader to visualize the topics which Hawking explains with excellent clarity. The diagrams alone are enough to explain the ideas and theories Hawking conveys in this amazing book. I myself am a very visual learner so the illustrations were very helpful to my understanding of the topics.
   In conclusion, Hawking takes seemingly impossible subjects such as quantum mechanics, time travel, and the actual shape of time and is somehow able to explain it in a fashion that can be understood by almost any reader. Hawking introduces ideas and theories completely alien to the average person in his book, so digest the book slowly. With a little effort, anyone can comprehend the world they live in through the eyes of the brilliant Stephen Hawking.

5 comments about Fingerprints of the Gods.

1. First I wonder if Mr. Michael Bulger is on the government payroll what with his skepticism of the Hancock book. I am not a scientist by any means but have always found conventional scientific theories more than lacking in any credible explanations. Fingerprints of the Gods, whether Hancocks theories are correct or not, presents more credible evidence than traditional views. And who in the end will know who is actually correct after all since there is no proof from the 'established scientific community' (who are all fearful of not getting their tenures), so why is Mr Bulger so critical that Mr. Hancock is expressing his opinion when others have expressed theirs but without the credibility attached to it. I LOVED the book, my son is reading it now and cannot put it down, my husband will read it next.......I found it more than interesting, I can barely sit and tolerate listening to the traditional academics whose viewpoints make absolutely no sense at all (the egyptians carried 200,000 ton stones over miles; these stones can't even be lifted by cranes today........)........This reminds me of the government whistleblowers who are thrown out of their jobs, blacklisted and called unpatriotic if they say anything against the corruption of the govt)...this is what is happening here, those scientists on the govt payroll denigrating valid opinions.........Michel West, NYC



2. What I respect most about Graham Hancock is his dedication to the truth and not his own ego gratification. I have read that since the writing of this book, he has veered away from his Antarctic-Atlantis connection and "really old pyramid" theories. The sequel, "Underworld" takes a more realistic approach to the question of a great lost civilization.
   
   So what are we left with? A fine, well written travelogue and discourse on historical anomolies. The book captivated me until the end, then I stopped being captivated when he brought up the whole Antarctic civilization thing. It was just too darn silly. Pick up a copy if you're into travel journals or tips on how to gain access to...how should I put it? "Off-limit activities" (like climbing the pyramids of Giza).



3. Very entertaining and well written book, though the author fails to adequately examine the evidence, instead preferring the more sensational theories that fit his theory. Though he does raise several interesting questions, his lack of caution in drawing conclusions and his scorn for those who disagree with him take away from his credibility and place this book firmly within the realm of psuedoscience. That said, it is a good and thought provoking read, as long as one remembers to take the author's claims with a healthy dose of skepticism.



4. Graham Fancock's basic point is valid. Numerous artifacts have been found which show there were advanced civilizations prior to our historical records. Unfortunately he tarnishes his work with authoritative statements based on shoddy scholarship. One example is that he states Plato's Atlantis could not have been in the Atlantic Ocean because the the ocean floor has been mapped and no trace of a city has been found. Yet the mid-Atlantic ridge which goes past the Azores is home to many volcanos and earthquakes. In the early 1800's undersea volcanos spewed so much lava that a new island, Sambrina, appeared in the Azores. It was claimed by Great Britian but the new island later sank beneath the waves. While I am not saying Atlantis was near the Azores, if it was there the city would now be covered with huge amounts of silt and lava. Of course it would not be picked up by devices scanning the ocean floor.
   Another defect in this book is that Hancock is an Egyptophile. While Egyptian monuments are important, Hancock ignores the older monolithic works found in Britian and Ireland. Radiocarbon dating of material at the site of Newgrange, in County Meath in Ireland, has shown that ancient structure is older than the Saqqara pyramid.
   It is unfortunate that these problems mar the book. We need to learn more about our prehistory but the quest needs to be based on solid scholarship.
   Jack Farrell, Middletown, MD



5. I want to like Graham more than I do. He seems like a nice british chap, writes a good story and obviously has loads of passion. But like many oter books in this genre he leaves a lot of stones unturned that are right in front of him. Some examples:
   
   Hancock loves to reference the Piri Reis map as conclusive evidence that ancient seafarers existed thousands of years ago and the infomation in the Piri Reis map is evidence of this. However the chinese were, 1 or 2 hundred years before the Piri Reis map was drawn up, exploring many corners of the globe, had a civilisation considered more advanced than europe at its time and had a very plausible explanation of why they would sail and map the southern seas including antarctica. Hancock fails to even bring the ancient chinese sea explorers into the picture, which is suprising because it tells another tale of suppressed information (the chinese destroyed much evidence of the explorations for political reasons much like evidence is covered over today in light of other theories) that he could relate to. Further have you ever seen a piece of the Piri Reis map depciting Antarctica? Its always another more contemporary map thats shown. I belive this is because the only remaining piece of the Piri Reis map remaining does not show the portion of antarctica.
   
   An issue that bothers me is the theory of Antarctica being 'Atlantis'. Now the idea that Antarctica was in a different geographical location, had less ice in our recent past or was influenced by rapid earth crust displacement is a genuine argument. However to suggest it was the mythical 'Atlantis' doesn't make sense logically. It doesn't match up with Plato's description and it doesn't fit a logical location in comparison with the america's as a whole or a part of the america's. Its not a stretch of the imagination to believe south america and africa were trading for a long time and much evidence indicates this was in fact so. For the ancient greeks and egyptians to know of such a place likely means it was in the central america's not to the extreme far south of south america at antarctica. Ancient civilisations that really progressed somewhere tend to be in more fertile areas around the middle equatorial band and not to the extreme north and south of our planet. I wonder if Hancock simply pushes Antarctica because no one else does as rigorously and so he can get better access to covering that theory to himself. I.e it sells books to push it as an extreme theory.
   
   Hancock also frequently discusses the ideas of a great event - a catastrophe but its all very rhetorical. He mentions earthquakes, floods and then goes on to show how the pyramids were build with advanced astronimical infrastructure. But he never really discusses meteor impacts, comet strikes or other theories relating to the disaster. Quite obviously if the pyramids were dynamic to a earthquake why would they house astronimical information? Graham doesn't do a good job and bring these pieces together. It feels like he's repeating other books. The history of early Pyramids is never discussed of course...always the Giza pyramids. None of these new age writers seem bothered to write about the failed pyramids attempts and how practice makes perfect. He still pushes the idea that large ramp was used for the pyramids and doesn't pick up on other theories of ramp making, the slopes that could be used in conjunction with rounded timber wheels that could be connected to stone blocks to roll them up the ramps. Japanese groups have done experiments to show how easily a small group of people can roll a 2 tonne stone block up the required ramp using semi circular pieces of fabricated timber that make the entire block like a cylinder. Its appaling to the reader to be rehashed ideas about the pyramid construction from 30 years ago. Hancock continually bounces around in time frames and never connects the dots, never discusses how trade and knowledge exchange could occur and how other evidence could in fact support him.
   
   Geologically he contain his theory of antartica around crustal displacement. Now this sort of geological behaviour may be possible, but an event such as a comet or supernova influencing the earth 13,000 years ago is going to be complex. There's no reason why the author can't tie up a few of these theories together because I think it would make far more interesting reading and make his argument more bouyant. Eg a comet or supernova debris, or debris from a comet broken loose from a companion binary star or similar solar system/galaxy event slams into north america 13,000 years ago. At the time south america is quite advanced. Perhaps not advanced enough to make spacecraft but enough to know how to smelt metal,move large stone blocks and importantly run a society. It took us 20 years to put a man on the moon, take a country about 10 years to prepare for an olympic games so its no stretch to imagine a stone age culture developing sophisticated masonry skills over hundreds or thousands, or perhaps even hundreds of thousand years. So they had cities...its really no suprise. So they sailed, perhaps not around the globe, but certainly between south america and africa. They each exchanged knowledge. Thus similarities occur between south america and the rest of the world.
   
   He also has another book 'Supernatural'. Hancock is game enough to go and do some ayahuasca in South America. He surely understands the power of these plant psychedelics and he should be game enough to try discussing the role of drugs in our ancient past with these books in more detail. While most of us are currently bound by legal laws regarding drugs, our past was not. Its impossible they didn't play a role in shaping out belief's and development given their power. I would like to see someone write a book that ties in our use of 'sacred plants' more succinctly. Hancock should condense 3 of his books underworld, supernatural and fingerprints into 1 book.
   
   These books are not meant for strict scientific analysis though ultimately...to me they are more like updated Von Daniken books. Its a shame because Hancock is quite correct in saying the mainstream scientific community wont touch this stuff, thats very normal in professions and he's likely correct, like many others, that something devastating happened on earth 13,000 years ago. If Hancock explored more contemporary information that's out there he could do a better job because he could deepen the story into something truly thought provoking rather than rehasing old theories and ideas we've heard before. The rhetoric gets boring quick.

No comments about Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End . . ..

5 comments about Deathby Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries.

1. The first book in years that I couldn't put down once I started. I am 16 and thought I would give a challenging book a try, so I purchased this one. Good call! I fell in love with it as soon as I started. I love Tysons' sense of humor on scientific aspects of the universe. He explains stuff so well, even if you don't have a scientific mind. As I had said before, he adds a sense of humor not expected from someone with the title of an astrophysicist(and does it well!) I highly recommend picking this book up as it is maybe not only the best scientific book ever written, but quite possibly the best book ever! I don't think it gets any better than this!



2. I hate to use those descriptors in the title but I couldn't think of a better way to say it. This book is a collection of short essays that enlighten and entertain in a way that Dr Tyson is so uniquely qualified to do. Many of the topics are great for dinner conversation, especially the ones that discuss the relationship between science and religion.
   
   I kept it on my bedside and read a few essays before bed and then placed it in the bathroom where guests often find themselves engaged with the witty and knowledgeable information. Worth the purchase.



3. Neil deGrasse Tyson is the current director of the hayden Planetarium and an astrophysicist with the American Museum of Natural History. His picture shows a portly African-American with a wry smile, wearing a vest with astonomical figures perhaps cut from a wizard's robe discarded by Hogwarts. Most likely half of America knows better what he looks and sounds like than I do, since he appears frequently on TV, on the Daily Show and various Fox blathergrounds. I heard him talking about comets for a few minutes on my car radio, and found him very quick, very amusing.
   
   A comparison with Stephen Jay Gould is almost inevitable. This book, like most of Gould's, is a selection of Tyson's columns for the magazine Natural History. Tyson has a lighter touch and will be easier going for people without much background in science. He is nowhere near as encyclopedic or allusive as Gould, which will come as a relief to many. Gould wrote, increasingly so over the years, as a Harvard Don, which all the rhetorical flourishes of a man who expects his readers to be very erudite. The danger of such writing is pomposity and condescension. Since I almost became a Harvard Don myself, I have a high tolerance for pomposity, but I find Tyson's writing style delightfully relaxed.
   
   Tyson's subject in Death by Black Hole is the astronomical zoo of gravitationally caged objects - stars, planets, comets, asteroids, and Anomalous Flying Objects - in what we still call the Universe, although the name seems less and less appropriate. Tyson back-fills as needed with tidbits of history but his central purpose is to make us acquainted with current observational astronomy. People who "already know all that" will enjoy his witty delivery, while the rest of us will learn quite a lot, quite painlessly.
   
   One of the Identified Flying Objects Tyson describes is the asteroid Apophis, which ought to be of maximum interest for anyone under 40 years old. Tyson writes: "On Friday the 13th of April, 2029, an asteroid large enough to fill the Rose Bowl as though it were an egg cup, will fly so close to Earth that it will dip below the altitude of our communication satellites ...If the trajectory of Apophis at close approach passes within a narrow range of altitudes called the Keyhole, the precise influence of Earth's gravity on its orbit will guarantee that seven years later in 2036...the asteroid will hit earth directly, slamming in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii." You knew that, didn't you, and you've already made reservations for the observation grandstand on Mt. Whitney? What a show! But Tyson continues: "The tsunami it creates will wipe out the entire west coast of North America, bury Hawaii, and devastate all the land masses of the Pacific Rim." Oops. I'd better warn my grandchildren to sell my house in SF before it's too late.
   Tyson doesn't mention it, but there's an upside to Apophis -- no need to worry about global warming after all.
   
   In fact, Tyson is not all levity about Apophis, or about the inevitable fate of civilization. Later in the book, he discusses what "we" should be doing about our self-preservation in a universe that is far from anthropically perfect for human life, or any kind of life at all. Read it and quake - from laughter as well as fear.



4. I am a student of astrophysics and I just wanted something simple to read about my favorite subject. This is exactly what I got. Dr. Tyson's book conveyed the cosmos throughly in a very entertaining tone. I will be buying more of his books.



5. This book is witty and well written. If you love to learn about astronomy this is the book for you.

5 comments about Cosmos.

1. I have to laugh that one of the tags for this book is atheist. Was he an atheist? I don't know. But I truly enjoyed this book, and it was a further shovel of dirt on religion in the ground for me. A number of things had led me to that point (taking a philosophy course way back when I was in college), but this book really gave religion in a frank light: nothing more than an explanation of the unknown for societies. The ones that took hold and didn't go away when science explained away are what we have today. But seriously, lets only go as far as agnostic, please.
   
   Religion aside, this is truly a magnificent travel through space. I read it whilst camping that really assisted in its fine journey. A little outdated, but highly recommended nonetheless.



2. This is undoubtedly the most beautiful work of science ever written for the general public. It spans across multiple disciplines, from evolution, to genetics, to chemistry, to physics, to astronomy, and astrophysics. Whether you're a scientist or just a child interesting in the world around us, Dr. Sagan does not disappoint and conveys science with nothing less than elegance.



3. This is an incredible book, even if it is dated. I am a words person, not numbers, so when Sagan got into a lot of equations and chemistry, I had to kind of skim over those parts. I never could have understood them, and if I'd tried to force myself to, I probably would have gotten frustrated and gave up on the book. So I stuck with the parts (happily, that was most of it) I could absorb and easily understand. There were so many fascinating aspects to it that I would have missed had I given up over the math. This book is capable of starting you on a journey. It has made me find a book on Alexandria, which I am just starting. There is a fascinating history there, and I will continue on with books on da Vinci and Einstein. They are men I've heard about, of course, but never has my curiosity about them been so piqued. Being a book lover, the Library of Alexandria is something I want to learn more about. This book will make you want to learn more about a lot of things.



4. Carl Sagan's COSMOS is simply one of the best popular science books ever written. What sets this book apart from others on the subject is Sagan's poetic style and enthusiasm for the topic. By the way, the pictures in the hard-cover version are beautiful.



5. ... as there is nothing else to add except that this book is THE BEST book I've ever read in my entire life. Carl Sagan is a GENIUS. His memory will live on forever through his books. He made me love astronomy so much I bought a telescope! :o)

3 comments about Cosmology.

1. Wow! This is the first review of the book in the whole of internet (had reviewed it in the amazon.co.uk website). I got a copy of Steven Weinberg's Cosmology two months back though Amazon and am happy! Reminds me of the day back in early 2000 when I pre-ordered Weinberg's Supersymmetry and the day I got it was full of intellectual thrills. All the other texts had a very superficial treatment of Supersymmetry and this was also the case with Cosmology - until now, when the biggest physicist in the post-world-war-2 era wrote on the subject!
   
   Any review of Weinberg's texts is far from complete without having to say something about the Preface. The reader will remember the preface of his book on Gravitation and Cosmology where Weinberg tells us how dissatisfied he was with the usual approach to studying Gravitation and how he sees General Relativity as a consequence of constraints imposed by the quantum theory of massless Spin-2 particles. The reason for Weinberg to write the texts on Quantum Field Theory was also spelled out in the preface - he wanted to address a deep question: "Why Quantum Fields?". In the preface of this book, the author tells us that he wanted to share his experience of learning the latest development of Cosmology, since lots has happened in this area recently. Plus of course, he indirectly (and correctly!) points out how incomplete the usual review articles on Cosmology are.
   
   That indeed is true! And this book precisely will help the reader in learning Cosmology in a way where equations are actually derived and not just mentioned with a reference. Usual treatment of cosmology is vague and superficial and in this text the reader will find not only the full derivation but also good explanations.
   
   The book can be divided in 2 parts. In Chapters 1-4 the reader is introduced to topics ranging from the Robertson-Walker metric to the expanding universe to inflation. The reader has to be familiar with General Relativity to start reading this book. There is a small Appendix in the book on GR: however it should be seen as a write-up for establishing conventions. The remainder of the book (Chapters 5-10) consider advanced topics such as anisotropies, growth of structure and multi-field inflation. Weinberg mentions that he did not want to cover speculative topics and this seems to make sense for such a book. (Though I would have loved a section on the Cosmic Anthropic Principle)
   
   To summarize, this is simply the best reference for Cosmology and Weinberg has once again written a text, noboby else could have.



2. How do modern scientists form a basis for their research? "Cosmology" is a complete and comprehensive manual to anyone who is curious about he functions of this science and wants to learn more. Covering countless topics in nearly six hundred pages, such as microwave background polarization, leptogenesis, multifield inflation, and others, "Cosmology" is an ideal text for students. Enhanced with appendices containing formulas, glossaries, and more, "Cosmology" is almost a science college course on its own. A top pick for college library science collections.



3. As a graduate in experimental nuclear physics (MSc, also now a retiree of 65), I read Prof. Weinberg's The First Three Minutes, and Dreams of a Final Theory, when I was actively working in the field of nuclear engineering. I bought the author's three volume books on the QED, and, of course, this book too, because of his mathematically rigorous descriptions of theoretical models of Nature. Because I have also read Prof. Andrei Linde's "Particle Physics and Inflationary Cosmology," I have wondered if Prof. Weinberg also writes something about "Consciousness," but no mention of it, maybe simply because "Consciousness" cannot be put on a mathematically rigorous basis as yet. What I have confirmed from this book is Prof. Weinberg is, apparently, mathematically rigorous a Materialist.
   We know that there are many Dualists in the field of parapsychology, John Beloff, for example. I can understand these Dualists' position; they cannot deny the existence of Non-physical Realm as well as Physical Realm, both based on their convincing facts. But from my point of view, these Dualists are dualists because they cannot deny the existence of at least One Objective Physical Realm, i.e. our Universe. How can we, conscious Egos, (not the Unconscious) deny it! Maybe, our Universe was created as explained in this book, or as in Genesis, for example. However, we also have "Psychical Knowledge" given by the non-physical entity "Seth" through the trance-channeling of the late American writer-poet Jane Roberts (1929-1984); the knowledge tells us, the conscious Egos, that "Consciousness" is the origin of everything!

5 comments about The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe.

1. A book with this breath and sublty comes along a couple of times in a generation. There have been Feynman's Lectures on Physics, Misner Thorne Wheeler Gravitation and others. Penrose is a world class mathematician and physicist (but you already know that). I cannot begin to adequately review this book even handedly because his audience is really other stellar mathematical physicists which I certainly am not.
   
   I had the requisite math background so I understood most of it from cover to cover. But I am under no illusion that I have mastered the material. I can say the content is superficial and tricks the lay reader into thinking he has mastered something when he has not.
   
   We are talking about maths that are even beyond the Ph.D. level of mathematical physics here folks! How can even Penrose condense tens of thousands of pages of textbooks that one routinely must grasp to get where he is with so much facility? The publisher must have thought (and Penrose rationalized) that they could sell more books if they touted that even a mathematically challenged reader could get something from it. This is not the case.
   
   True, I was thrilled at Penrose's intuitive grasp of difficult abstractions that had me puzzled from studying more pedestrian texts on these subjects. Simply breathtaking. I was a page turner from the get-go. However I was under no illusions that I was learning something other than vaporware.
   
   The most interesting idea that caught my eye was his critique of symmetry. Animals have evolved to be pattern recognition machines. Survival goes to the brain that can see the "tiger burning bright in the forests of the night. Who has framed thy fearful symmetry?"
   
   Physicists and certainly mathematicians have been guided by a mystical belief that Nature must follow some beautiful elegant mathematical plan. What is the platonic world of ideas but the symmetry of our own evolved brain functions? -- Good for this time and place but not generalizable. It has worked so far but what if looking for symmetry is wrong. What if framing our equations in terms of groups is wrong. What if Nature is chaotic, asymmetric, fractal?
   
   Penrose entertains that the last 30 years has produced nothing which makes sense or is even observable. Yet physicists blindly 'theory-on' capivated by their presumptions. The point is they have lost sight of the physics, the data, the observations.
   
   As Firesign Theatre once said "The People! Give them a light and they will follow it anywhere!" Well, we know from history where this goes. Penrose suffers from his own criticisms and wants to create something like Einstein's elegant relativity applied to quantum gravity. Who can blame him? What is learning but man's vain search for God?
   
   But what if QFT's incredible accuracy is only an accident like the resonance particles. Feynman and others fudged enough to get the answers they were looking for even though QFT is not in principle normalizable. It is not even beautiful!
   
   What if Einstein and unitary quantum mechanics was the last hurrah of this sort of elegance in our species? Strings are beautiful but we will never know if the theory is observable. I'm afraid the measurement paradox is confusing what side of the experiment the measurement is taken.
   
   It is consciousness and evolved brain structure that is the problem. Penrose in other books has the (admittedly crack pot notion) that quantum gravity collapses the wavefunction and thereby creates consciousness. But maybe he was looking in the right direction?
   
   It is time to examine ourselves and our inherited prejudices as Nature is not only stranger (non-symmetric, anti commutative) than we suppose; it is stranger than we can suppose (Arthur Eddington). The future of physics and maths lies in understanding the limits of our own brains. Maybe the largest symmetry group that exists (the "Monster" of 196K dimensions) is the symmetry group of the thinkers which discovered it. And there are no groups bigger than this!



2. This book is perfect for where I'm at right now, which is at an advanced undergraduate level of studying physics. It covers pretty close to all of the ideas in physics that are out there right now, and most of the major areas of mathematics that are involved in explaining these physical theories. As such, it makes a great review of what I've encountered so far, and gives the clearest exposition I've yet encountered for many of the advanced ideas that I've only thus far encountered tangentially. Even for "basic" ideas, Penrose often chooses a way of explaining an idea that is significantly different from how most texts will explain them. His explanantions of complex numbers and the uses of the complex plane, differential forms, and 4-velocity and 4-momentum pop out in my memory as particularly good, and are concepts that I don't feel I entirely "got" until here. Also, he builds the concepts upon each other slowly and systematically, giving the entire book a "story arc" that's rare among physics and mathematics texts. Most of the second half of the book is devoted to what could be considered "cutting edge" physics, and he does an excellent job of evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of the various approachs.
   
   That being said, if this is your first exposure to these topics, you will be lost. The math is generally more clearly built up from what would be a non-mathematically minded person's starting point, but even that has points at which an extremely subtle mind is needed to fill in the intervening steps. The physics is even more difficult if you've had no exposure, but I personally found this to be one of the books virtues. For instance, you will probably come away with no understanding of electromagnetism and how electricity and magnetism came to be seen as unified if this is your first exposure, but for those who already have encountered it at an undergraduate level, you will come to a much deeper appreciation of its symmetries.
   
   All in all an excellent book, but the publishers should reconsider the way they are marketing it as a book for the layman.



3. It is not possible to express the ideas of modern physics without using mathematics very different from what one studies in high school. But a popular physics book can hardly assume more than a high school level of math. Therefore popular physics books are impossible.
   
   Penrose's 'The Road to Reality' is a demonstration of this proposition. Penrose must be congratulated for facing the problem head on, not shying away from the formulae and trying to teach his readers all the mathematics needed. Penrose is more capable than most for such an undertaking, and often he comes up with clever, intuitive ways of explaining difficult concepts. But ultimately the beautifully-crafted intuition collapses due to the lack of a supporting structure of necessary technical details and hard proofs and the reader is left holding fuzzy ideas which he cannot independently apply.
   
   The book would be a great way for a graduate student in physics or mathematics to see the big picture. Others would do well to stick either with less ambitious popularizations or to go straight to the textbooks. For the former, my recommendation would be Penrose's own The Emperor's New Mind: Concerning Computers, Minds, and the Laws of Physics (Popular Science) while for the latter there is no better place to begin than Singer and Thorpe's Lecture Notes on Elementary Topology and Geometry (Undergraduate Texts in Mathematics) and Needham's Visual Complex Analysis.



4. I highly recommend the reading of this impressive book. It is able to embrace almost all of the mathematical background a serious theoretical physicist should have...and it does so in a both deeply and understandable fashion. It is suitable for anyone interested in knowing why something arising from tbe human mind is capable to describe the Universe. This book may be suplemmented by Geometry, Topology and Physics, Second Edition (Graduate Student Series in Physics), by Mikio Nakahara, a reading recommended for those who may want to go even deeper into the mathematics-physics relationship.



5. This book took some time to read! In my opinion, if you want to understand current work in physics, you need to have the basics under your belt. Roger Penrose starts with the basics and works all the way through at a very challenging pace. He introduces the necessary math in a very straight forward, easy to understand way in the first few chapters and they were fascinating! After that, it gets even better building on the very basics where he began. This is not one of those books that you can read in a weekend or on a long plane trip, so plan to take some time and enjoy this one. It will be well worth the effort.

5 comments about Twelfth Planet: Book I of the Earth Chronicles (The Earth Chronicles).

1. Consider Dr. Sitchin the godfather of alternative archeology. He dares to explore the impossible, the mystique, the risque, the controvesial and he put his spin on it with a powerful intellect and a perfect luingistic command. His books are spatial-historical encyclopedias and you will enjoy this book. A rich variety of topics from the very depth of ancient history brought back to us under a new scientific microscope. Really fascinating journey. Read it!



2. An interesting but speculative view of galactic/planetary history. I found it extreamly long winded and tedious reading.



3. Don't let the bad publicity against Mr. Sitchin influence your mind.
   Many jealous people and especially failed writers hate him.
   We all understand that.
   There is a person in America who asked the authorities to put him in jail.
   Crazy!
   Only in America people massacre others with dirty words,
   personality assassination and personal hatred. What they do?
   They are incapable of writing successful books
   so they began to throw dirt from their mouth
   and snake-style criticism.
   
   Mr. Sitchin is a remarkable writer.
   
   Respected all over the world.
   
   I collect all his books.
   
   S. Mahdi, Cairo, Egypt.



4. This is an excellent book. It is very indept. It is hard to put down, but can also overload your brain.



5. Great service from Amazon. Just what I ordered. The author's website said the title was out of print, but Amazon had it and other titles. Thank you.