The First Three Minutes: A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe

True that the first version of this book--appeard some time ago, that does not diminish its usefulness to the layman or person interested in the history of the popularization of cosmology--which is a steady business with many competitors. To find one such book so clearly written is valuable in itself, even as a landmark in this stream of such publications. As such, it belongs on any amateur astronomer's bookshelf, as well as any true scholar who wishes to place more recent findings in their appropriate context. I can add one personal note, my father, Dr. Ralph A. Alpher, commented to me when Dr. Weinberg's book appeared that this was the first book to have the history of cosmology through 1977 "right." And he was in a position to know...on that basis alone, I'll recommend it--if you can find the early paperback edition, it is a fun and short read, also. Highly recommended!

This short book is very accessible to smart high school level or undergrad level people interested in cosmology. Narry an equation nor 'physics jargon' to be found anywhere. Not even any latent promotion of "big science," experimental rather than theoretical physics. Weinberg was one of the big proponents of the Super Collider. Given Weinberg's credentials, I am confident that this book is accurate and true to the time it was written. Much work (and observation) has been achieved since then. Check out the magazine "Sky and Telescope" for news, articles, and wonderful images from space telescopes (Hubble, Chandra, others) to get updates on news about the early time of the cosmos. This book is a clear, led-by-the-hand but not patronizing tour of how the cosmos got started, who the major theorists were if you want to do further reading (such as Alan Guth's Inflation theory, which I will get to someday. It's not as easy to read) and is well written, too.

Why do I still like this book, written back in the 1970s, long before, say, the discovery that the expansion of the universe is accelerating? Well, I like it because it is well written. What it says is solid and valid. There's very little speculation, and when something speculative is said, it is clearly labeled as such. This explains what we Know about the Big Bang. Not what we think happened, but what we can prove happened. What we know because we see the expansion of the universe, because we see the cosmic microwave background, and because we see the leftover helium from Big Bang nucleosynthesis in those awesome three or four minutes in which our universe was truly a hot place. You need very little background to appreciate this book: just an interest in what happened in our Universe in less than four minutes, more than ten billion years ago. And even if you know plenty of physics and astronomy, if you haven't read this book, it's worth the time it takes to read it.

I am a true layman, having had NO education in physics beyond high school "physical science." However, I have read Hawking's "Brief History of Time," Timothy Ferris' "The Whole Shebang," and read Scientific American. I say this to point out that you do not need to bring a great deal of knowledge to the table to appreciate this book, provided you have some aptitude for cosomology. And, sure, it helps to have a passing acquaintance with General Relativity, Special Relativity, and some of the basics of particle physics. I can't imagine anybody would pick up this book if they didn't already have some passing interest in cosmology and had read a few magazine articles.The text is clear and, considering the subject matter, amazingly brief. The author does not dummy down the mathematics too much either, which is a fault of some books written for laymen. On the other hand, he also doesn't overwhelm the reader with mathematics either. He wisely chooses to include a mathematics appendix and lets you either explore the math or not.Quantum mechanics and general relatively are not particularly "intuitive" topics, so any beginning reader is going to have to read this slowly, carefully, and with some patience. But the book is as clear and open to lay people as I've yet encountered.And, frankly, I think any educated lay person should have a BASIC understanding of the principles in this book. For the curious, this is a great place to start. And even if you've been through the "story" before, this book is great for reinforcing the story of the birth of the universe in a concise, holistic layout.

Stephen Weinberg received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Harvard university and has taught at the university of Texas for decades. He won the Nobel prize in physics in 1979 and has worked with such distinguished personages as the late Richard P. Feynman. In short, he is one of the leading minds in his field. The First Three Minutes is an unusual book in astronomy / cosmology because it is now over 20 years old & yet it is STILL one of the classics of the "story" of the universe for the layman & non-expert. The book takes us on an exhilerating journey all the way back to the Plank epoch (10^-43 seconds after the Big Bang). Weinberg also deals with Einstein's theory of Relativity (which predicted the Big Bang), the Hubble Red Shift (the discovery that the universe is expanding) as well as the detection of the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) in the 1960's by Ralph Wilson and Arno Penzias. All three of these factors, plus numerous other details all form the foundation for the way most scientists think about our universe (presently known as the Big Bang theory). One of the things about Weinberg that I admire is that, like Carl Sagan, he concedes that he MIGHT be wrong, but that what he has to work with is the best paradigm available. This is brutally honest & also quite a refreshing approach. I tire quickly of reading science books that are written by individuals who are so conceited as to believe they know everything there is to know. One certainly does not have to worry about that type of arrogance with Weinberg. So, if you even have a passing interest in cosmology, I would HIGHLY recommend this book. The book may be especially appealing to many people as it is 150 pages in & out (anyone who has ever browsed the science shelf at their local bookstore can readily see that there have been far longer books written on this topic). But oh, what a plethora of info that Weinberg furnishes in those 150 pages!All in all, this is a very readable book which deals with a quite recondite topic.