Author: Simon Singh
Review: December 09, 2009
Edition: 2005 printing (0-00-716221-9)
Pages: 493---notes, glossary, and indexes extend it
Overall Rating: 4/5 [Good]
Synopsis: This is an accessible, historical look at the Big Bang model of the universe. It ambitiously covers a brief account of the development of the science of astronomy, the history of telescopes, and looks at competing theories of astronomy dating back to our earliest records.
Strengths: Very readable, lots of material covered, great for non-scientists (low mathematical content).
Weaknesses: Imbalanced, sometimes the writing feels too casual.
Further Review: The greatest achievement of this book is that it's very readable, so someone who doesn't already read a lot of pop science books will find everything they probably want to know about astronomy in this book. On the other hand, the length of the book is probably enough to put off this sort of reader...meanwhile, someone who is already interested enough in astronomy to tackle such a long work knows most of the content already. Some of the models in the book can be redundant, but they're uniformly clear/concise and many of them are interesting. The book is sometimes affected by non-related tangents (eg, the author sometimes discusses the lives of non-astronomers, which, while interesting, adds to the bulk of the book negatively since it doesn't contribute to the goal of the book). On the other hand, he does a great job of summarizing the biographies of important figures in order to outline their interest, motivation, and achievements and the material of the book is generally well-organized to present the subject; rather than telling the story of astronomy in a timeline, he shows how different astronomers have affected one another. The result is we learn about Newton the same time we learn about Einstein, so we see them in context of each other. This is true for much of the book: it's grouped by topic, and the flow is inspired by the interrelations between the people. Therefore, it becomes a very accessible account. As a matter of fact, this book can be read just like fiction; it doesn't require any study at all. One can sit down and read this anywhere.

My favorite fact from this book, which I didn't previously know, is that the Big Bang model was originally projected by a Belgian physicist and priest, Lemaître, which he called the "primeval atom."

More generally, I loved learning about the different scientists who contributed so much to our human knowledge. In particular, I love how quirky they all seem to have been; far from being serious and noble, they often come across as having been arrogant or self-important. There are plenty of moments in this book that give rise to laughter. For example, the following is taken from a caption under a photograph of Ernest Rutherford speaking with a colleague, and over his head is a sign that says, "Talk Softly Please":
The Talk Softly Please sign above their heads was aimed at Rutherford, who had a predilection for singing 'Onward Christian Soldiers' at the top of his voice, disturbing the laboratory's sensitive equipment.
Furthermore, Rutherford was known for bashing all other branches of the sciences outside of physics; he notoriously hated chemists. Ironically, he won the Nobel prize for chemistry.

Earlier in history, Tycho Brahe was known for his crazy parties. He even had a pet elk that died when, having become drunk, it tumbled down the stairs; Tycho also had a clairvoyant dwarf entertain at his parties. Tycho himself died after he refused to use the bathroom at a guest's house.

Because of the wide scope of this book, it becomes apparent what sorts of things contribute to scientific discovery. There is a personal element: a valuable scientist is one who is curious, tenacious, and persistent; but also there is the need for competition because theories become stronger and grow more quickly when given challenges.

Overall, this book doesn't provide any new science knowledge to someone with even a basic background of pop science, but it does introduce a lot of really interesting biography and history, and this is its primary aim.

Also, I'd like to note that I, personally, was put off by the first few pages and probably would have put it down almost immediately if my boyfriend hadn't been the one who lent it to me. ;) Luckily, the first few pages aren't typical of the entire book. ( )

I never expected a book on the origin of the universe to be so fluid in expressing the intent of the book ,i have previously read stephen hawkings "A brief History of time" which was filled with scientific gibberish ,but Big Bang had none of it ,maybe i might be exaggerating to some extent but Big bang is bang on target on what it really wants to depict . A good read for any one who is fascinated with idea of Universe. ( )

Simon Singh has written the most readable account of the "story" of the Big Bang. He writes of the characters, some of them rogues, the arguments, the lows and the highs, just as if it were a story. He writes with such clarity that anyone who has even the vaguest interest in wanting to know about the Big Bang but little in the way of a science education, should read this book as they will be gripped. Thank you Simon ( )

Fascinating and staggering. It makes difficult concepts (relatively) easy to understand and is well-written and just amazingly interesting. ( )

Everybody has heard of the Big Bang theory, but how many of us can actually claim to understand it? Why do cosmologists believe the Big Bang to be an accurate description of the origin of the universe? Who were the scientists who fought to bring acceptance to this unorthodox theory? And what, exactly, does the Bing Bang really mean?

In this unprecedented book, Simon Singh, bestselling author of Fermat's Last Theorem and The Code Book, explains the most famous and arguably the most significant idea in the history of science. With characteristic clarity and a narrative peppered with anecdotes, Simon Singh has written the astonishing story of the beginnings of the cosmos. It is a thrilling ride through the history of the universe itself.

With this history of the Big Bang theory, the incomparable Simon Singh has now written three of the very best popular science books that I've ever read. Like the other two, this one is beautifully written, insightful, and does a marvelous job of explaining scientific concepts. ( )

One of the two best books I have read during the last year! ( )

Another excellently accessible and readable science book from Simon Singh. This one covers the history of the science of how the uiniverse works and is very well written. Singh's books are aimed at the intelligent layman and as such he explains everything you need to know in easy to read languge without ever patronising and also deals very well with the personalities involved. There's much more to his books than just the science. ( )

http://floatingsun.net/2007/01/07/the... ( )

Really enjoyable overview of the science, and the history of the science, of the Big Bang, plus a discussion on how scientific revolutions come about.

It was a review for me of an astronomy & cosmology class I'd had a dozen years ago, so it was fun to refresh and enhance the concepts. I especially appreciated the hand-drawn, two-page summaries at the end of each chapter. ( )

For this reader with a lot formal education, but very little of it in the physical sciences, Simon Singh's `Big Bang' was phenomenally interesting, engaging, intellectually stimulating, readable, and educational. Others with more background in cosmology may find it too basic. Singh takes the reader through the history of cosmology as he builds toward an explanation of the Big Bang theory. The opening chapter explains the ancient's earth-centered (and common sensical) view of the universe and its downfall at the hands of Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler and Galileo. Later chapters follow the disproof of ether, Einstein's special and general theories of relativity, and the `great debate' between the supporters of a static universe and Lemaitre and others who supported the idea of an expanding (Big Bang) universe.

A large portion of the book follows the scientific efforts to gather evidence to support one view or the other. The renowned Edwin Hubble and the less so Henrietta Leavitt played key roles in finally providing enough evidence supporting the Big Bang theory to at least make it a credible argument. The remainder of the book follows the debate between the solid state theorists led by Fred Hoyle and the Big Bang backers led first by Gamow and Alpher, but later by others who resolved some of the nagging doubts about the theory, for example, the crucial 1992 proof of tiny variations in cosmic microwave background radiation.

Each chapter (at least in the P.S. version) has handy summary notes. Singh provides a useful glossary as well as recommended further readings for each chapter.

I generally read 50-75 books a year and rate The Big Bang as one of my top five books of the year. Five measly stars don't do it justice. I will resist the temptation to rate as a supernova, but this book greatly enhanced my understanding of the world around us and was a joy to read.

Absolutely the highest recommendation. ( )

Simon Singh is one of my favourite authors when it comes to popular science. I've enjoyed his books a lot, his style is both entertaining and educational at the same time. Big Bang is no different. By focusing his story on the colourful characters instead of equations, Singh makes the book easy to approach.

There's one thing to notice: the book is less about the Big Bang itself and more about the theory of Big Bang. Singh starts from the ancient Greek, describing how the whole concept of science was born and developed. Much of the book is devoted to the argument between Big Bang and steady-state universe theories. After reading this book, the reader will be familiar with the scientific process and the evolution of scientific paradigms.

Another success for Singh, and I'm definitely looking forward to whatever he's doing next. (Review based on the Finnish translation.)

Original review at my review blog ( )

I have read Singh’s books on math before; he is a very good writer, and in this volume covers a historical review of the theories of the big bang and cosmology. He has a lot to say about the early years of the last century, writing about the “great debate” in 1921 between Harold Shapely and others over the issue of nebulae; were they in the milky way (the “via lactia” in Latin) or independent galaxies, and about the discoveries of Edwin Hubble on Mount Palomar with the 200 inch telescope. I will encourage Mike to read this book for background on astronomy. ( )

Long, slow-building history of the BB theory, written for the masses but blessedly embracive of metric units.

Something I love about Simon Singh's books is the way the science is always woven through with the stories of the people who made it happen, which are often just as fascinating. The narrative flows easily and scientific concepts are built up in easy to follow steps (and just in case, each chapter has a summary page so you can check you did not miss anything important). The end result is an incredibly satisfying read on many levels. Great for those of us who struggled with "A Brief History Of Time"! ( )

If you have ever wondered what the big bang is but only had a faint idea and you don't want to read through a heavy book of calculations, then this is the book to read. Simon Singh puts the science into a historical context so that you see the evolution of thinking about man's understanding of the universe. This helps warm the mind up for the only slightly more difficult to understand concepts of the Twentieth Century scientists. I felt like this book covered all of the basic concepts necessary to understand how science has come upon the major theory for understanding the universe and thus should be a textbook for all auto-didactic non-scientist inquisitors about the bigest scientific discovery of the last 100 years.

Well written like all of Singh's books. Covers a lot more than the Big Bang, including most of modern astronomical physics. That's a good thing. ( )