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Written in simple and accessible language, this non-technical introduction to cosmology, or the creation and development of the universe, explains the discipline, covers its history, details the latest developments, and explains what is known, what is believed, and what is purely speculative. In addition, the author discusses the development of the Big Bang theory, and more speculative modern issues like quantum cosmology, superstrings, and dark matter.Tags
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Member Reviews
Despite the author's engaging style, I suspect the glimmers of understanding may have just been an illusion. A glossary would have helped.
I'm one of those people who likes to know a little bit about a lot of things, so I have several Very Short Introductions that I'm gradually getting around to reading.
Despite being a book for the layman, I still felt like the maths and concepts in the book were just a little over my head, which is really what I get for trying to jump right into cosmology and the functioning of the universe without all the intermediate steps. It's also a living field with new developments all the time, so the fact that the book's over ten years old means even I knew enough to know that parts of it were out of date now, inevitably.
I know a little bit more about cosmology now than I did when I started, though, and that was all I wanted, so I'd say the book show more succeeded at what it set out to do. show less
Despite being a book for the layman, I still felt like the maths and concepts in the book were just a little over my head, which is really what I get for trying to jump right into cosmology and the functioning of the universe without all the intermediate steps. It's also a living field with new developments all the time, so the fact that the book's over ten years old means even I knew enough to know that parts of it were out of date now, inevitably.
I know a little bit more about cosmology now than I did when I started, though, and that was all I wanted, so I'd say the book show more succeeded at what it set out to do. show less
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Author Information

17 Works 554 Members
Peter Coles was born in 1963. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge and his doctorate from the University of Sussex. He is a professor of Astrophysics at Cardiff University. His primary subject of interest is Cosmology and he has written numerous books on the subject. (Bowker Author Biography)
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Cosmology: A Very Short Introduction
- Original title
- Cosmology: A Very Short Introduction
- Original publication date
- 2001
- People/Characters
- Albert Einstein; Edwin Hubble
- Important places
- Milky Way Galaxy
- Important events
- Big Bang
- First words
- Preface
This book is an introduction to the ideas, methods, and results of scientific cosmology.
Cosmology is a relatively new branch of physical science. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)But, as the saying goes, these are famous last words.
- Original language
- English
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 311
- Popularity
- 102,677
- Reviews
- 2
- Rating
- (3.69)
- Languages
- Czech, Dutch, English
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 7
- ASINs
- 5




























































