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by: Simon Singh  List Price: $15.95 Amazon.com's Price: $11.65 You Save: $4.30 (27%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 523.18 EAN: 9780007162215 ISBN: 0007162219 Label: Harper Perennial Manufacturer: Harper Perennial Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 560 Publication Date: November 01, 2005 Publisher: Harper Perennial Release Date: November 01, 2005 Studio: Harper Perennial Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Amazon.com Review: A baffling array of science books claim to reveal how the mysteries of the universe have been discovered, but Simon Singh's Big Bang actually delivers on that promise. General readers will find it to be among the very best books dealing with cosmology, because Singh follows the same plan he used in his brilliant Code Book: he puts people--not equations--first in the story. By linking the progression of the Big Bang theory with the scientists who built it up bit by bit, Singh also uncovers an important truth about how such ideas grow. Death is an essential element in the progress of science, since it takes care of conservative scientists of a previous generation reluctant to let go of an old, fallacious theory and embrace a new and accurate one.As harsh as this statement seems, even Einstein defended an outmoded idea about the universe when an unknown interloper published equations challenging the great man. Einstein didn't have to die for cosmology to move forward (he reluctantly apologized for being wrong), but stories like this one show how difficult it can sometimes be for new theories to take root. Fred Hoyle, who coined the term "big bang" as a way to ridicule the idea of a universe expanding from some tiny origin point, strongly believed that the cosmos was in a steady state. But Singh shows how Hoyle's research, meant to prove the contrary, added evidence to the expansion model. Big Bang is also a history of astronomical observation, describing the development of new telescopes that were crucial to the development of cosmology. Handwritten summary notes at the end of each long chapter add a charming, classroom feel to this revealing and very readable book. --Therese Littleton Product Description: A half century ago, a shocking Washington Post headline claimed that the world began in five cataclysmic minutes rather than having existed for all time; a skeptical scientist dubbed the maverick theory the Big Bang. In this amazingly comprehensible history of the universe, Simon Singh decodes the mystery behind the Big Bang theory, lading us through the development of one of the most extraordinary, important, and awe-inspiring theories in science. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Exceptional book!I read so many books to put together the same facts I just found in one book: Big Bang by Simon Singh. I savored every single word. The way the book is written makes it easy to grasp the concepts, which were given an equal amount of thought and consideration. The summaries at the end of each chapter, as well as the tables of comparison, constitute an efficient way of serving the objectivity with which these topics are discussed throughout the book. Loved it, loved it! I highly recommend it to everyone ... Read More Rating: - Another great book from Simon SinghAnother excellent book from Dr. Singh I could not put down. This book has increased my interest in the cosmos; I will now search for a book to fill in the gaps mentioned by other researchers in the hope of understanding the concepts behind the search for dark matter in the CERN laboratories. I will also buy a telescope and teach my son some of the concepts contained in this book. Rating: - A Bigger Bang: A Fantastic Trip into the Unknown This time, in his 3rd book with the similar approach, Simon Singh dwelves into the world of Cosmology (leaving Fermat's Theorem and Coding Theory behind) with the intension of popularizing this field, making it approachable for a broader audience. Does he succeed? Yes, he does (as always this far). Starting out with the presentation of thoughts on the universe by Greek philosophers, continuing with outlining the ideas (and personalities) of, for instance, Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, Galilei ... Read More Rating:  - A Good Start, but a Truly Useful History of How this Important Scientific Theory Developed is Still NeededWhat is the origin of the universe? What does the nighttime sky say about the manner in which this universe has evolved? How have astronomers sought to learn the answer to these and other fundamental questions? "Big Bang: The Origins of the Universe," by physicist turned journalist Simon Singh, seeks to provide answers to these questions. It is a broad, useful overview that serves well as an introductory text for neophytes and students, but it will be disappointing to scholars of all stripes. For example, ... Read More Rating: - Another great read from Singh!I had read the first two books by Simon Singh, Fermat's Enigma and The Code Book, a I was very pleased with them. However, I'm not very interested in astronomy and the big bang, so I didn't want to read this book at first. However, when I finally decided to give it a go, it turned out to be just as good as the first books! From now on, I'll read everything Simon Singh writes, no matter how boring they may sound! 
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