Cosmos: A Journey to the Beginning of Time and Space

Amazingly detailed pictures of the cosmos from space probes and Hubble due to quality printing and the fact that this book has some serious real estate. It measurs 17.3 x 14.2 inches!! Like a posterbook. When you think of the work and money it took to get some of these photos, especially the outer planets, you come up with millions of dollars invested to get us these shots. Very inspiring to anyone who loves sci fi since this is the real deal and what it's based on. An amazing gift we have been given to see what is out there ...so so far away.

What a beautiful volume! This book provides a view of the cosmos, with amazing photos and fine visual representations. The author notes (page 6): "The aim of this book is to help make sense of our crowded, chaotic cosmos. . . .Along the route of our celestial odyssey, we attempt not only to explain the nature of the different objects we encounter, but also try to put them in the wider context of history--their own, and that of the cosmos as a whole." This is a massive volume, weighing a lot, with very large sized pages. This format allows much space to depict wonderful photos and representations on the cosmos. And for a pretty reasonable price at that! The first part of the book focuses on the "Interplanetary." Each planet and other characters in the Solar system (such as the asteroids and moons) get space here. For instance, the treatment of Earth features photos that illustrate landforms, tectonics, and life. Only a few pages, but a lot of stuff is jammed into that space. Part II is entitled "Interstellar," and focuses on the stars, with some enchanting images of the Milky Way galaxy, star clusters, nebulae, and so on. Visually stunning. Part III, in turn, explores the "Intergalactic." The "local group" (including The Milky Way, Andromeda, Magellanic Clouds, etc.) leads this segment of the volume off. Other galaxies are also presented, with this part ending with a consideration of galactic evolution. The fourth, and final, part of the book looks at "Deep Space and Time." This concludes with an examination of "The Big Bang" and "The End." For those interested in where Earth fits into the larger universe, this is an interesting book. It is an accessible work; one need not be an astronomer to appreciate this. A wonderful work!

From a review of the best beautiful astronomy & space books, on my Xanga blog AeroGo (see profile for info): "[A] quite impressive book from the UK is Giles Sparrow's Cosmos: A Field Guide, a very large hardback. Besides the many large illustrations of various sorts, such as the Himalayas from space, a scale of Saturn's rings and moons, and many beautiful planetary nebulae, Cosmos has the best depiction I've seen of the universe as a whole. This is done (pp. 204-5) with a fascinating series of depictions of our own galactic cluster and how it fits into larger clusters and superclusters. The creators of Cosmos are also to be commended for their good taste in putting one of my favorites, the Sombrero Galaxy, on the cover. In all, this book is an outstanding coffee table book, and about big enough to be a coffee table!"

I recently purchased this book and I must say, I am very impressed! The book is quite simply large, physically. I mean it's huge! It could very well be the largest book I've ever read. It really adds to the incredible scale of the subject matter. As far as pictures and photographs go, this book contains, by far, the most impressive array of cosmic photography I have ever seen. Not just in quantity but in quality. All of the photos are perfectly clear and as large as the book itself. At $30, this is honestly a steal! A must own!

Giles Sparrow's 'Cosmos' is a fantastic journey through space. From the innermost objects in our solar system, to the outermost limits of known space, and everything in between, Sparrow brings us in depth descriptions and amazing pictures of our universe. This is the best book about space and astronomy that Ive ever purchased. This book is a perfect introduction to the universe for beginners, yet provides fascinating information and pictures even for veteran and professional astronomers. The book is huge physically, which is appropriate considering the contents inside it. And at the price its going now, it is a huge value. Highly recommended.