Universe

I'm an amateur astronomy nut, and have read several dozen books on astronomy, cosmology, etc. This is probably the most clear, in-depth, understandable treatment of astronomical issues that I have ever read. Be it stellar evolution, stellar death, theory of relativity, black holes, galactic evolution -- you name it -- this book presents the research clearly, and explains tough to explain issues in terms I can understand. Bravo! My only complaint is that it's a bit heavy on Solar System research (first half of the book); I found the last half more to my interest.

One of the best done books I've ever seen on a topic - don't know how it could be done any better.

This is a premier text for the fields of astromony and comsmology. Thorough, deep, professional, concise, technically and scientifically accurate, but also, imaginative, filled with the wonder of discovery and learning. Beginning with the ancient origins of astronomical pursuits, the reader is taken through the unfolding world of space and time. The electromagnetic spectrum, light and optics, telescopes, planet and solar system formations, stars-their nature, galaxies, quasars, black holes, all of these wonders are explored. Do yourself a flavor-get it!

This book is beautiful. Well written, easy to read, with nice and informative illustrations all over, full of interesting details. The CD is also very interesting,not only for Starry Night, but also because of very illustrative simulations.The level is between popular and introductory professional.There is not much hard theory inside, but that was probably not the aim of the authors.Apart from a great thing to read for oneself, the nicenessof the edition makes it also a nice gift in my opinion.

I had the fortune, and sometimes misfortune, to read a fair number of textbooks. All of them did promise to teach, though some proofed rather very disappointing on closer inspection.This book on the other hand most certainly holds everything one can expect.The book is divided into four parts: first, there is a small introction into the basics of astronomy, followed by a more in depth discussion of the solar system. The third part then covers stars and stellar evolution, while the final part is devoted to galaxies and cosmology.The math required is minimal (i don't think the average high school graduate should have any problems), and a wealth of pictures and graphs, together with elaborate explanations in the text make sure, that this book will be a pleasure to learn from for the interested college student.Every chapter (30 in all) ends with a short recapitulation of the most important concepts learned, a good number of review questions (to which the answers are supplied in the back of the book) and suggestions for further reading (books, magazines and weblinks).The book comes also with a CD, on which there are further review tests to all chapters (of course with answers), as well as additional animations and much more.As if that were not enough, there is a companion webside that offers additional tests and answers plus updated information, since after all, astronomy is progressing swiftly.All in all, there cannot be much doubt that this is one of the best and most well rounded astronomy textbooks on the market. If you have to learn the basics of astronomy due to a course, or if you simply want to enrich your horizon, this book will make either task both easier and more enjoyable....