|
The Red Limit: The Search for the Edge of the Universe
|
| Price: |
85 new or used available from $0.03
Average customer review:
Product Description
For centuries, it was assumed that our universe was static. In the late 1920s, astronomers defeated this assumption with a startling new discovery. From Earth, the light of distant galaxies appeared to be red, meaning that those galaxies were receding from us. This led to the revolutionary realization that the universe is expanding. The Red Limit is the tale of this discovery, its ramifications, and the passionately competitive astronomers who charted the past, present, and future of the cosmos.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #936398 in Books
- Published on: 2002-07
- Released on: 1983-06-20
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 368 pages
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Timothy Ferris, a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award nominee, is the author of nine books, including The Whole Shebang, Coming of Age in the Milky Way, and The Mind's Sky. He is currently professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley.
From AudioFile
[Editor's Note: The following is a combined review with THE MIND'S SKY.]--Scientifically oriented minds will rejoice at having more high-quality thinking available on audio. Since the author is speaking, he uses the opportunity to bring home his points with personal emphasis. Being a professor at UCLA, editor of ROLLING STONE, and a frequent contributor to THE NEW YORKER gives the author/reader eclectic credentials. He has done his research well and synthesized the stodgy facts into a palatable and digestible format. Synthesizer music occasionally fades in and out to separate chapters, possibly a pernicious Rolling Stones melody. The presentation is pleasantly academic without alienating listeners who are not scientists. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
Customer Reviews
Book's OK, but....
The Red Limit is another of Timothy's Ferris excellent distilliations of astrophysics for public consumption. As usual, he is skilled not only in making science concepts comprehensible but bringing into vivid detail the *story* of science -- how we know what we know. It even includes the occasional philosophical discussion.
So why the low rating? Because this book is twenty years old. I had assumed that the reprint would maybe have some updated material, but it doesn't. This is effectively a book on the State of Cosmology circa 1983.
Don't waste your money on this. Ferris's own Whole Shebang is better written and more up to date. You might also check out Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos, which is a very similar book but far better and has been updatee for the most recent discoveries. Bill Bryson's Brief History of Nearly Everything only covers cosmology in basic detail, but is also far more up-to-date.
Excellent!
A great review of the discovery of the expanding universe; the science is interesting and understandable for the lay person. Even more compelling is the drama of the scientists themselves, there life, personalities,strengths, foibles and their wonderful discoveries. It is science and history of science combined in an easy to read 250 page book that helps us all comprehend just a grasp of the incomprehensable nature of our existence in this universe.
A history of cosmology
This book is not so much a science book as it is a history of science. Ferris tells the story of the development of the various theories surrounding cosmology the development of the universe. As such he does spend a lot of time talking about theories which were later proved incorrect. Periodically while reading the book I did find myself checking out various things on the internet in order to see what the final result would be.
He covers things like the debates on whether the universe contains one galaxy or many, how the big bang theory was developed, the discoveries of things like cephiad variable stars, the galactic red shift, and background microwave radiation that led to a better understanding of the universe. He also covers some of the great scientific debates, like the one about uncertainty between Einstein and Heisenberg.
I found the book to be very readable and informative. The only reason it's not 5 stars is that it is somewhat dated. However, as it is not really a book about science, but a book about the history of science, its dated nature doesn't detract from its overall narrative. As I mentioned above, anyone wanting to know the modern spin on things which might not have been available when the book was written can simply google things as he reads.
