Timothy Ferris

I love Ferris' books. The first one I read was The Red Limit and I liked the way he managed to explain a lot of complicated stuff in a simple manner. But I have read many books on the topic with similar comments for various authors (like Briane Green). What makes Ferris different is his candid writing style, which makes the reader feel as if s/he were reading the transcript of a lecture rather than a book.

Moreoever, in The Whole Shebang, Ferris skirts the ideas of philosophy and religion. A show more book on the genesis of the Universe would be incomplete without considering philosophical thoughts; and that's why I like this book more than those of other scientists, who refuse to delve into the realm of philosophy.

All in all, if one wants to read about the theories on the origins of the Universe, this book would and should be in the to-read list. The simplicity and yet the depth of the book will definitely astonish any serious reader. show less

If knowledge is divine, than science is religion. This is the premise behind Ferris' "Science of Liberty," an epic journey beyond how science informs liberalism as a political ideology.

Wildly entertaining, profound and poignant at times, "The Science of Liberty" charts the roots of science to the humanism of Western Enlightenment. It details how rationalists refuted the conventional discourses of Fideism, challenged contemporary interpretations of God or altogether discarded them in their show more pursuit of comprehending nature.

While entertaining, it is lucid and informative. Indeed, if rationalism is your Creed than "The Science of Liberty" should be your scripture. show less

This ambitious work chronicles the history of how humans have come to understand the size, age, and origin of the universe. Given that this book was originally published in 1988, I'm sure that some of the data in the later chapters has since been disproven by more recent research; however, since it is primarily a history, it is not nearly as dated as most 1980's books on astrophysics probably are, and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to modern readers with an interest in the history of show more astronomy and physics.

Coming of Age in the Milky Way is in many ways a formative book for me. I first read it as a teen, and it helped to encourage my love for astronomy and physics (and later, to major in physics at university). The first two sections, which are a history of pre-20th century physics, are the most interesting to me personally. Ferris does an excellent job both of capturing the personalities involved (especially of figures like Galileo, Kepler, and Newton) and of describing the science in a succinct and understandable way. He covers a lot of ground, touching on geology and evolution as well as astronomy. The final section is less interesting to me, as quantum mechanics and the various theories associated with the Big Bang tend to make my head spin, and I kept wondering which 1980's theories are no longer valid today. Still, Coming of Age in the Milky Way is a well-written book that will likely always have a place on my bookshelf. show less

This fascinating and very readable history of physics takes the read step-by-step through the great discoveries about the universe we live in. The book is divided into three sections. I was right with the author all through Space, got a little lost in Time, and then was quite overcome by Creation. No matter. Ferris's style is accessible for the non-scientist reader, but he doesn't talk down either.

I particularly enjoyed getting to know the great thinkers of human history: Galileo, Newton, show more Darwin, Einstein. Ferris sprinkles his narrative with personal anecdotes that give these geniuses personality. But he keeps pulling the reader onward, from the earliest conceptions of the universe as a closed system, the stars a ceiling just over our heads, to the vast reaches of time and space that we now know the universe to contain, to the mind-warping properties of the sub-molecular universe and the early moments following the Big Bang. I won't claim to have understood it all, but I found it all fascinating, and would recommend this book to anyone who looks out at the night sky and longs to understand what she sees. show less