5 comments about Apollo Moon Missions: The Unsung Heroes.

1. "The Unsung Heroes" is an easy read. Fourteen chapters of fourteen different people behind the scenes. From the "frogman" who was the first person to see the Apollo 11 crew after splashdown to the wife of an Apollo 14 astronaut, Billy Watkins covers a variety of backgrounds. Each 10-15 page chapter is a story unto itself, allowing a person to read a chapter at a sitting without being in suspense until the next time you pick up the book.



2. It might be appropriate that nearly 35 years later after the last Apollo mission (1972) names like Armstrong, Aldrin, and Lovell immediately conjour up images of the first moonlanding and the near tragic mishap of Apollo 13, thanks to Ron Howard. But if it weren't for people like Bales, McCandless, Underwood and Hatleberg - and the countless scores like them - the American public might not have even remembered the men that flew on the Apollo missions in the first place.
   
   Watkins has done a great service to space history specifically, and this cultural experiment we call late 20th century America, by giving us fourteen glimpses into the lives of the unsung heroes behind the Apollo mission. One could only wish we had access to many more of the stories of people like Joseph Laitin, Joe Schmidt and Rodney Rose.
   
   Knowing what the average person does about the Apollo heroes (i.e., the astronauts) gives one a foundation to appreciate what the Apollo missions accomplished and what they meant to our country. But knowing the contributions of the behind-the-scenes support people, like the ones profiled in this book, will make your understanding and appreciation of the Apollo missions go from analog to high-def plasma in 186 short pages.
   
   Today in Space History (www.todayinspacehistory.com) gives it high marks and a must-read.



3. When you think there isn't anything more to write about Apollo and the whole moon program, this book shows how much more there might be. I don't know how Watkins was able to cut down the list to 14 but the ones selected sure show how many people there were working behind the scenes so that a few could walk on the moon. A really good read, I highly recommend it!



4. This would be a terrific addition to your space collection. It tells the stories of a variety of people who were instrumental in going to the moon, but, until now, have been overlooked. It helps to give you a fuller picture of the space program in the moon shot days. I also recommend Carrying the Fire by Mike Collins (my favorite book by an astronaut) and Flight by Chris Craft.



5. There's something about the whole Apollo project that makes you wonder, when you really consider it, whether we peaked in 1969.

3 comments about The Chilling Stars, 2nd Edition: A Cosmic View of Climate Change.

1. A very readable book that makes strong case for effects of cosmic rays on cloud formation and hence on climate change. Because the basic theory is that fluctuations in the sun's magnetic field affect cosmic ray intensity on earth, there is considerable material on astronomy (cosmic rays, supernovas etc.) which provides the background needed to understand the discussion. In essence, more solar magnetic storms strengthen the sun's magnetic field which divert cosmic rays from earth. Cosmic rate create ions that provide nuclei for cloud formation. More nuclei mean more low clouds and more reflective clouds which in turn cool the earth, (except over Anartica and other ice covered areas, since snow and ice actually reflect even more sunlight than clouds).
   The author (a Danish scientists who did much of the key work in this area) has been able to produce the effect in the laboratory and has documented the statistical relationship with low level clouds and surface temperatures. Many climate episodes over millions of years appear to be explained by cosmic ray effects. The theory also explains how differing number of sun spots come to affect year to year climate change on earth.
   
   The later makes this a key book for those interested in the global warming debates, especially since so much of the research is recent. This makes it a must read since the evidence is not yet in most other popular discussions of climate change.



2. Henrik Svensmark, director of the Centre of Sun-Climate Research at the Danish National Space Centre, and Nigel Calder, the well-known science writer, have produced a challenging book on climate change.
   
   When stars die, they do so in supernova explosions that emit cosmic rays, which create ions, which form clouds. Low clouds - less than 3000 metres above the surface - keep the planet cool. The less active the sun is, the more cosmic rays get through to the earth, and so the more clouds there are to cool the earth.
   
   The Danish National Space Centre's SKY experiment showed how cosmic rays set free electrons which then catalysed the clubbing together of sulphuric acid molecules, the most important source of condensation nuclei. These cosmic rays have varied since the world began; their influx depends largely on where the earth is in the galaxy in our orbit around the centre of the Milky Way. When the earth is in dark regions with few stars where the rays are scarce, the climate is warm. When the earth is in bright regions where the rays are intense, the climate is cool.
   
   The medieval warm period of 1000-1300 was followed by the cool periods of 1300-60 and 1450-1540, and a worse one, the little ice age of 1645-1715, then another cool period in 1790-1820. The peak of the little ice age was 1700, which coincided with the Maunder Minimum, when the sun's magnetic activity was very low, reducing its ability to shield the earth from cosmic rays.
   
   In the last century, the sun's magnetic field doubled in strength, reducing the cosmic rays and so the clouds, thus heating up the earth by 0.70C from 1900 to 2005, 70% of the 20th century's warming. The authors predict that global warming in this century is likely to be at the low end of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's forecast of a 1.80C-40C rise by 2100.
   
   Indeed, temperatures have not risen since 2001, even though global CO2 emissions have been rising faster than ever. Also, the Antarctic's area of sea ice grew by 8% between 1978 and 2005.



3. The theory presented in this book sounds a bit suspect when one first hears it. So the explanation for climate change is cosmic rays from outer space, give me a break.
   
   But the climate on planet Earth has been changing for roundly 4 billion years, within quite wide limits. There have been periods when most of the land surface was covered by ice caps, periods when even the polar areas were semi-tropical, and just about every state in between. There must be something big driving the system, the theories based on manmade carbon emissions (a recent phenomenon) do not seem to have much to offer, and the cosmic ray theory starts sounding better when it is broken down step by step.
   
   #The starting point is low-lying clouds, which serve to deflect incoming solar energy and thereby cool things down. Caveat: the massive and intensely white ice cap of Antarctica is even more reflective than the clouds, so in that one area (but not Greenland, Siberia, etc.) clouds warm things up.
   
   #Water vapor in the atmosphere will produce more clouds if there are nuclei (or specks) in the air to facilitate the process. The formation of nuclei is in turn facilitated by cosmic rays (high energy, charged particles that bombard our solar system from outer space). Hey, remember how energetic atomic particles were detected at one time with cloud chambers that would display vapor trails triggered by their passage.
   
   #Cosmic rays originate from the explosion of dying stars; they are not equally spread through the universe nor constant over time. As our sun makes it way around the Milky Way galaxy, the volume of cosmic rays encountered waxes and wanes. The time periods involved are so long (think millions of years), however, that human beings with their limited time span are unlikely to notice.
   
   #Affecting the volume of cosmic rays on earth in a much more immediate way is the sun's magnetic field, which deflects many incoming cosmic rays. Fluctuations in this magnetic field go hand and hand with the level of sunspot activity, which over the past several years has declined to practically zero. If the level of sunspot activity remains low, the volume of cosmic rays striking earth will be high and a global cooling trend can be expected. There have been recent signs that a cooling trend is indeed getting started, such as has not been seen since the early 1970s.
   
   Is the cosmic ray theory true? I am hardly qualified to make such a judgment, but it does seem that the authors have set forth their evidence in a convincing fashion. There is no apparent reason to believe that the scientists participating this line of inquiry (collectively there are quite a few of them) have any ulterior motive, by the way, such as being "in the pay of the oil companies." Indeed, the authors go out of their way to say that they are not interested in promoting a bonfire of fossil fuels just because the importance of CO2 in the recent warming trend may have been exaggerated.
   
   Let the testing of the cosmic rays, manmade carbon emissions, and other theories continue, with the objective of arriving at a clearer understanding of what kind of climate change we can expect for this planet and why.
   
   The debate is called scientific inquiry, and that is a good thing.

3 comments about The Complete Idiot's Guide to Astronomy, 4th Edition (Complete Idiot's Guide to).

1. Keeping up in astronomy as a general reader is not a trivial task. As the editorial matter for this excellent summary indicates, "astronomers say that we've learned more than 90% of what we know about the universe in just the last 50 [years] -- and much of that in the last decade!"
   
   Here's my solution:
   
   Subscribe to Astronomy; the magazine has recently improved its wonderful website, which is filled with tons of information based on your own location on the surface of the earth.
   
   Subscribe to NASA's free "Astronomy Picture of the Day" for a constant flow of fascinating pictures, news and features.
   
   Buy Astronomy For Dummies and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Astronomy when they are released. The last "Dummies" was in 2005; the newest "Idiot's" was just released. Both do a perfectly competent job of reviewing new developments and the editors are excellent, well trained and heavily published astronomers.
   
   Christopher DePree maintains an outstanding website with lots of astronomical information. Alan Axelrod doesn't seem to have a personal website, but his books are always excellent.
   
   Buy the "Idiot's" now, then wait for a year or two, and buy the newest "Dummies". This plan of action will keep you up to date in this fast moving field.
   
   
   Robert C. Ross 2008
   
   PS: On April 23, 2008, "The New York Times" carried an interesting ten question quiz designed to let you know how up to date you are in the field of astronomy. The questions were written by Christopher De Pree, and there are three additional extra credit questions sure to evoke heavy debate.
   
   On May 13, the "Times" also ran a fascinating story on the Microsoft WorldWide Telescope project and the Google Sky project. Both sound like resources well worth exploring further. B.



2. I am just returning to my first hobby, astronomy. This is an excellent, up-to-date guide. It is clear and concise. The CD-ROM is a nice extra, but the book is the reason to buy.
   
   I especially enjoyed the info on cosmology and the fate of the universe.



3. This book has stimulated my interest in astronomy. It is very timely as I have been watching the progress of the Phoenix lander on Mars.

5 comments about Vector Mechanics for Engineers: Statics w/CD-ROM.

1. shipping was done fast and delivered in expected condition. Book has all the necessary textual and visual components that make learning the material easy.



2. This book is great for self learning!, most of the theorems are explained in a very good way (a little too good and normally a little to hard to understand the first time) the examples are clear and the exercises are neither easy nor difficult (well some of them are difficult, but not all of them).
   I already had 2 teachers that told me they learned from this book... it's true that almost all the material is the same, but nevertheless it's a great book to get yourself started in Statics... way better than Hibbeler.
   The contents of this book are worth every penny, it's almost like having a private tutor.
   And remember it's engineering you'll have to do some WORK to master all the subjects.



3. I don't care very much for this textbook because of how confusing some of the problems are due to misleading figures. The book itself has been around for over fifty years and they still haven't worked out all the bugs... what kind of message is that conveying from the publishers? A bad one...



4. Never received my order. I waited 3 weeks and then I found out that it was sent to the wrong address. They did send a refund for the order. They should have notified me sooner when they realized the mistake.



5. Good book the class is going well. Amazon was a terrible retailer. They totally screwed me. I paid for overnight shipping and they lost my book in a warehouse in NV. I was forced to purchase the book from another retailer, so I did not miss too much homework. Furthermore their customer service personnel could barely speak English, and at times were rude. I will definitely use Amazon in the future only as a LAST RESULT.

No comments about The Night Sky Companion: A Yearly Guide to Sky-Watching 2009 (Patrick Moore's Practical Astronomy Series).

5 comments about DIMENSIONS: A Casebook of Alien Contact.

1. Dimensions: A Casebook of Alien Contact provides dozens of fascinating stories and provocative questions. Yet most of the questions are reiterations of one another, and none of it is backed up by substantial analysis or evidence. I don't mean to say that such analysis or evidence could not exist--just that it isn't in this book. The author seems to think he is performing science when instead he is telling stories, and the result fails to be a very good example of either.



2. i really am enjoying this book, granted im not all the way through it yet. valee did such a job with this book.



3. 
   THIS IS A BUNCH OF OLD FOLKLORE REWRITTEN FOR GOD KNOWS
   
   WHAT. DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY ON IT.



4. This is an excellent book, with much insight into how strange the entire UFO issue may in fact be.
   My only wish is that an electronic edition were made available. I've got three copies of the book and would gladly pay for another copy to tote around on the Kindle.



5. This book, and Dr. Vallee's work, while being unaccepted by the mainstream and even by many UFOlogists, is regardless phenomenal and unprecedented. Please read if you have an interest in UFOs and are tired of the standard explanations. This is a must-read for anyone with an open mind and a creative side. You don't have to believe the theories, they are theories after all, but at the least, you will be exposed to a new and fascinating side of the UFO mystery, and indeed, of the mysteries of many unexplained encounters and "miracles" through the ages.

5 comments about Cosmology: A Very Short Introduction (Very Short Introductions).

1. First, be warned that Amazon has mixed up two very different books here. Cosmology: A Very Short Introduction is the 139-page paperback I am reviewing. The editorial review refers to Cosmology: The Origin and Evolution of Cosmic Structures, a 520-page hardcover. At the time of writing this review, Amazon have the two books confused and you will find the same editorial and user reviews under each. So if you order one, make sure it's the right one.
   
   Anyway, Cosmology VSI is excellent. Laymen's guides to physics usually resort to metaphors that are seriously misleading. The alternative is a highly mathematical approach that is inaccessible to most readers. Coles manages to simplify without misleading. Actually, some basic knowledge of physics is assumed, at least if you want a full understanding of what is being said, but it is never beyond high school level and most of the book does not require even that.
   
   Covering relativity, quantum theory, particle physics and much else, this is a perfect introduction to a vast and profound topic. My only complaint: cosmology is a fast-changing subject. A new edition is needed very soon.



2. I never would have expected a book with chapters discussing physics concepts to be enjoyable or understandable. Nor did I expect a book on cosmology to include that type of thing in the first place, which shows how little I knew about the topic before I read this. Needless to say, understanding the concepts author Peter Coles presents and actually wanting to know more about them was a pleasant surprise.
   
   This book flows smoothly from topic to topic, and the author does a good job of explaining things at a level detailed enough so you get some of the science behind things but not at a level so in depth that the average reader would be lost. A few helpful diagrams are also scattered about the book in places which would otherwise cause confusion. Where applicable, Coles gives brief introductions to various competing theories and points out both their strong and weak points.
   
   Despite being "a very short introduction," the book is very solid and thorough. The information presented is well organized and builds upon itself, so essential concepts are reinforced even as new ones are discussed. After finishing the text, I skimmed through the index and found that I actually remembered what most things listed there were. The only exceptions were names of people, and those aren't exactly essential to understanding the subject matter.
   
   I started this book without a completely accurate idea of what cosmology is, and I finished it knowing far more about it than I expected to. As such, I must say Coles was extremely successful in writing "a very short introduction" to cosmology, and I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject.



3. In an introduction to a topic, one expects lots of figures to explain just about every topic. This book, and indeed the entire series, generally has rather few figures. The series also, generally, focuses on the historical development of the topic and not necessarily on the current understanding of the topic. Therefore, the series sacrifices a better explanation of our current understanding to explain who thought what and when. However, that is a matter of personal taste as to whether this is a digression or not. Nonetheless, this book serves adequately in the capacity of a "very short introduction."



4. This is a good general overview book. It's well written and covers the major topics of cosmology with good descriptions and easy language. If you are more scientifically inclined, than this book is probably too light to be of interest. However, if you an amature or just interested in the topic, this is a great overview. Easy read and very short.



5. Rumination on the vastness and complexity of the universe may numb and overload 1k human brains. The thing is just so dang big. And here we are on our little molten dot gazing into the seemingly impenetrable void. From the perspective of pure unaided observation nothing seems to make sense. Where are we, what are we, what the [explicative deleted] is the Universe anyway? And just where can tiny minds go to comprehend this behemoth?
   
   "Cosmology: A Very Short Introduction" would be a good starting place. Though it doesn't clear up the mystery of existence (what could?), it does provide a great overview of where humans stand in understanding the "great beyond." We still have a ways to go.
   
   The questions underlying cosmology have followed humanity for millenia. Though cosmology only became a pure empirical science within the last century. A brief overview of this developmental history opens the book. Starting from creation myths, described as anthropomorphic, this section follows the cosmological story from the Greeks to the modern era. Many big names appear: Thales, Pythagoras, Plato, Aristotle, Aquinas, Copernicus, Kepler, Newton, Olbers (of "Olber's Paradox"), Hubble, and Einstein, whose theories laid the foundation for the Big Bang.
   
   The majority of the book revolves around the successes and challenges of Big Bang cosmology. Einstein's Relativity theories broke the classic Newtonian mold by ousting the notion of absolute space and time. Relative simultaneity, time dilation, and the equivalence principle led to ideas of curved space-time (the book emphasizes how difficult these concepts are to visualize and understand; General Relativity's Rube Goldberg-esque equations don't make it easier). For better or worse, Einstein then "simplified" the Universe by introducing the Cosmological Principle (homogeneity and isotropy). This led him to posit a static, non-expanding Universe in 1917. By 1929 Hubble had presented data for an expanding Universe. Einstein's Relativity and Hubble's expansion provide the foundations for modern cosmology. But problems remain: singularities exist at the initial conditions and at black holes. Essentially, the mathematics break down into infinities at these points. Regardless, the Big Bang has seen great successes with the 1965 discovery of the cosmic microwave background (remnants of "the fireball") and the general distribution of Hydrogen, Helium-4, Deuterium, and Lithium-7 (the observations and calculations coincide). For the author, the successes apparently outweigh the difficulties, for he considers the Big Bang model "proven beyond all reasonable doubt."
   
   Other parts of the book delve into complex territory, but the discussions remain accessible throughout. Particle Physics (Leptons, Quarks, etc.) and the problem concerning Baryogenesis cover the micro scale of the cosmos. Then the problem of the value of Omega appears. This number will help determine whether the Universe will expand forever or eventually collapse in "the Big Crunch." The final section discusses "Theories of Everything" via Quantum Mechanics, "Schrödinger's Cat," Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle, and the need for a quantum theory of gravity. Two attitudes towards such theories exist: Grand Unified Theories (GUTs) as explicating "the Mind of God" (Hawking) or, less dramatically, as descriptions or maps of reality. But the author mentions problems with such theories in general, especially Gödel's Incompleteness Theorem. A final subsection discusses the Anthropic principle (along with its "strong" and "weak" variants; some consider forms of the "strong" version a suspicious derivation of Intelligent Design).
   
   This short book provides a great introduction to the basic principles of Cosmology. It remains readable, comprehensible, and accessible even when tackling very heady material. Some passages will confound newcomers, but that's expected given the subject matter. Vigilance will pay off. And though the book won't make anyone into a working cosmologist, it will allow the curious a glance at what scientists think our seemingly ineffable Universe comprises.

2 comments about Stars and Planets: The Most Complete Guide to the Stars, Planets, Galaxies, and the Solar System (Fully Revised and Expanded Edition) (Princeton Field Guides).

1. This is the latest (Jan 2008) edition of the venerable Ridpath and Tirion handbook originally published in 1985. Mine was originally titled Universe Guide to Stars and Planets and has served me well all these years as a guide to use in the field. This new book is one inch wider, 1/2 inch taller and has 15 more pages. The format is similar: 1/3 all sky maps, 1/3 coverage of all 88 constellations including details of stars, nebulae, clusters, etc., 1/3 astrophysical data. The middle third is what always appealed to me as that section helps in my stargazing. In addition to updating data (for instance, pluto's demotion and the new dwarf planet nomenclature is here, latest updated distances, and data boxes for each planet) this new edition has all color photographs - with one or two exceptions - and RA/Dec coordinates for listed objects described in the middle constellation section. I especially liked the additon of close up charts of the Hyades and Pleiades clusters under Taurus' listing. Here also is a composite photo comparing the full moon's size to the Pleiades. I look forward to this book replacing my worn out original! I have two minor gripes though: I wish the printing was bolder or darker, it looks somewhat pale compared with my older book. Perhaps because the book is new or the binding is tight, it doesn't open wide easily to read. Perhaps with usage it will. And maybe I'll adapt to the paler print. Still, considering the content and price - this book is a winner. I can think of no other one book to rely on in the field for a stargazer's reference for use at the telescope.



2. The book is thoughtfully produced and contains a wealth of information. The constellation by constellation maps are attractive and readable and the highlighted descriptions of selected objects of interest accompanying each map are informative and do capture the main highlights of each constellation. The planets section is useful, especially for those with suitable telescopes. The lunar pages with maps are very good and field usable.
   
   What I don't like:
   -binding very stiff to open in the field
   -very sadly, the double stars mentioned in the constellation sections have no mention of apparent separation. Not sure while this is left out. It is certainly very valuable having separation distances instead of "can be seen with a small telescope", a description that is not too useful for folks with different telescopes wanting to have a go at double star observation. For example, one might want to try Mizar, Izar and Antares- separation measurements would be most helpful for planning an approach for each of these.
   
   All in all, for me, a very nice bedside reading handbook, but not as great for the field.
   Ivan

No comments about Saturn 1/1B: The Complete Manufacturing and Test Records (Apogee Books Space Series).

5 comments about Decoding the Universe: How the New Science of Information Is Explaining Everything in the Cosmos, from Our Brains to Black Holes.

1. I have a Ph.D. in Physics and therefore know many well educated scientists, but very few have a functional concept of Information as a physical science. Begun with, mostly, Claude Shannon, this topic of study has been growing into a real science for decades now, but for some reason it is one of the most misunderstood subjects out there, even for seasoned professional scientists. Seife cuts to the heart of the matter with very clear thinking and examples from a very well rounded range of scientific points of view. Seife clearly and very engagingly demystifies many confusing topics and brings a real and almost visceral familiarity to a complex subject. After reading this, you will understand many esoteric scientific concepts better than even some professionals... and enjoy it immensely!



2. 
   The author has a degree in probability theory and artificial intelligence, but he is a professor of journalism and has therefore written a book which is both very entertaining and not too difficult to understand. The subject is information, which Seife claims is the third XXth century revolution in physics started by Claude Shannon and which has relations with the other two: Relativity and Quantum Mechanics.
   
   Of course, information is also related to thermodynamics and entropy, so the book contains a discussion of all these topics: thermodynamics, relativity and quantum mechanics. Famous conundrums such as Schroedinger's cat, entanglement, Maxwell's demon, etc. are analyzed from the point of view of information theory.
   
   Here are some snippets of the book:
   
   According to Seife, Einstein dictum "Nothing can travel faster than light" is really about information:" Information speed cannot exceed c". Another interesting fact is that what really causes computers to heat is the erasure of bits.
   
   Seife describes recent achievements and experiments, proof that he is familiar with the latest results. One curious example is the solution of "the knight problem" in 2000 by using a DNA computer! Another one is that the entire human race has less genetic diversity than a few scores of chimps due to some kind of cataclysm about 500,000 years ago. A third one is the 1996 experiment demonstrating the existence of virtual particles (the so called Casimir effect).
   
   In chapter 7, quantum computers are introduced and the possibility of the brain being one is briefly discussed. Unfortunately, it seems that Max Tegmark proved Roger Penrose wrong on this count. You begin to understand the power of quantum computation when the author describes Grover's algorithm to guess a number out of 16. Classically you need four yes/no answers to four questions. Grover manages the same task with two. Quantum computation reduces the complexity of some problems from n to square root of n.
   
   I found also very interesting the reasons why the photoelectric effect cannot be explained by waves. On the other hand, interference cannot be explained by a corpuscular theory of light, so we are stuck with duality.
   
   Towards the end, the author discusses black holes and the holographic principle: the quantity of information contained in a ball is not limited by its volume (surprisingly), but by its area. Since most cosmologists consider now the universe infinite (inflation seems to imply this) we are led, via the holographic bound, to the conclusion that the universe contains infinite copies of our own bubble universe. Seife admits that this is the most bizarre thing among the many ones described in his book.



3. This is great writing, though not exactly science writing. Because competing or deflating theories or studies are not presented, Seife's arguments are speculative, not of the smoke-and-mirror quality of new-agers, but based upon careful presentation of amazing scientific theory, experiment, mystery. Therefore, I take the book's argument not as an advance over prior theories of physics, but as a provocation of them. As long as the reader takes it for this, it can masterfully explain and strangely entertain. Seife will take you on a marvelous ride, expose you to such intelligibilities as: "... you are bringing the Earth infinitesimally closer to a state of chaos when you chill down a bottle of beer in your fridge" (50) or "... altering the structure of the universe with information" (257).
   
   Even if you don't buy all his qubits or multiverses, Seife will inform you of entropy, relativity and quantum physics in a way that can help the non-scientific reader better understand those theories.
   
   As I followed it, Information theory seemed to veer from the intuitive/simple to the counterintuitive/complex. One way of using Information (signaling to Lexington that the British are coming) seemed not to fit the way it may be used to describe electrons. This veering may be peculiar to me or it may be the nature of how Information serves in different contexts.
   
   Complex Information has never been so compelling. It reads quickly, like a pot-boiler/page turner.



4. A very well written book and a thought provoking one. However, it dares to claim that information is the ultimate theory that explains it all, failing short of convincing the reader that that is the case. There are plenty of exaggerated statements about how "information" explains everything, that energy is the same as information, etc., all of them based on very week connections and evidence. As many other authors, this one confuses theory of information, with Shannon's theory of efficient message coding. The author also keeps confused with the role of the observer in the information processes, sometimes requiring it/him/her, sometimes dismissing it/him/her as unnecessary.



5. Charles Seife likes big pictures and asks big questions. He writes engagingly about cutting-edge topics with a simplicity born of comprehension (something Feynman famously appreciated). Although this book was published about 2 1/2 years after Alpha and Omega, it draws on Seife's particular area of academic training and clearly reflects many years of exploration and cogitation. Although wide-ranging, the argument is not diffuse. Seife is more than a reporter here. It will be hard for him to top this one. Recommended (4 1/2 stars).