Principles of Physical Cosmology

I read this wide-ranging book when it was first published in '93 and have referred to it often as one of `go to books'. While one of my main pleasures is reading the popularized science writings of Davies, Hawkings, Frank, etc., from time to time, I like to see the equations that go into the foundations of the various themes. With this book by Peebles, I get a good dose of it. Not too much mind you. Just the right amount. Certainly as a 1993 model, some of the latest discoveries in physics and cosmology are not included. This is no big deal as the basic foundations are well intact and the majority of us (I'll betcha) can always stand a refresher course in the fundamentals without having to get bogged down with too much of the wiz-bang new discoveries. Besides, to truly grasp the new, we must be fully conditioned by the old. Final opinion: If you are math adverse, avoid this book. Final, final opinion: If not, buy it. I hope you find this review helpful. Michael L. Gooch, SPHR

Citing reasons and telling the reader "why," this book presents cosmology not as a mere stream of facts but as an argument. It is very good; Peebles is a Bruce Medalist. The only drawback is that it does not contain COBE or WMAP results due to its being published in 1993, but once the student learns the basics of cosmology from this book, he can easily read the COBE and WMAP papers to get himself up-to-date.

I've had this book for years and have read through it several times. It is an excellent introduction to the wider physical context of cosmology, and a thorough review of many essentials. Unfortunately, a lot has happened since 1993! The discovery of cosmic acceleration especially makes some of the analysis here dated. HOWEVER: Peeble's exposition of things like inflation and structure formation are just as good now as they ever were. Like his textbook on quantum mechanics, this can be a difficult book to learn from. He expects a great deal of knowledge from his readers. On the other hand, he is an absolute master at explaining why cosmologists do what they do. A very worthwhile book that every physicist should read.