Just finished reading Simon Singh's "Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe". I have read quite a few popular books on Cosmology, but this one is probably the best so far in terms of reading pleasure. Despite being nearly 500 pages long, it kept my interest throughout. It was total joy to read - probably the funnest long book I've ever read.
This is an excellent historical narrative of the development of the Big Bang theory; one gets an overview of the science, but also of the process and personalities involved. I always crave for a historical perspective or a chronological narrative when learning science concepts. I have often thought to myself, if I ever taught someone a science course, I'd peel the onion as it really unfolded in history - I feel this will give the student a great perspective and a deeper understanding of the concepts. Well, this book does exactly that.
This is no way a comprehensive or an in depth work. Any book on Big Bang that mentions inflation and quantum mechanics in the Epilogue, and doesn't mention String theory at all, can't be. But for someone new to the subject, this should be an ideal first book. Even for me, who was familiar with much of the subject matter beforehand, this was worth every minute. I'll probably read it again some time - it's a lot of fun!
This is an excellent historical narrative of the development of the Big Bang theory; one gets an overview of the science, but also of the process and personalities involved. I always crave for a historical perspective or a chronological narrative when learning science concepts. I have often thought to myself, if I ever taught someone a science course, I'd peel the onion as it really unfolded in history - I feel this will give the student a great perspective and a deeper understanding of the concepts. Well, this book does exactly that.
This is no way a comprehensive or an in depth work. Any book on Big Bang that mentions inflation and quantum mechanics in the Epilogue, and doesn't mention String theory at all, can't be. But for someone new to the subject, this should be an ideal first book. Even for me, who was familiar with much of the subject matter beforehand, this was worth every minute. I'll probably read it again some time - it's a lot of fun!
