Welcome to the Astrophysics Page

Several years ago, my wife graduated from Mesa Community College and transferred to Arizona State University in the middle of the year. Since she needed a science for graduation credit, I talked her into taking Astronomy, an easy science if there ever was one. Unfortunately, on her first day of class, the professor announced that "This is INTRODUCTION TO ASTROPHYSICS 102.) Was I in trouble at home! (Note: She got an "A" in the class.)

Astrophysics is the study of the physics of astronomy. The books on this page are related to the physical processes that make the stars the way they are. Some of these books are not for the faint-hearted.

Books on Astrophysics
Illustration	Price	Book and Author	Remarks
	$15.40	Case of the Missing Neutrinos : And Other Curious Phenomena of the Universe by John R. Gribbin	Here is a collection of cosmological exotica, from the shrinking sun to the weighing of empty space, written masterfully by Gribbin (co-author, Fire on Earth, 1996, etc.), a noted English cosmologist and award-winning writer of popular science. Gribbin, is a scientist with a rare talent for translating complicated facts, theories, and questions into the laypersons language.
	$19.57	The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian Greene	Superstring theory has been called "a part of 21st-century physics that fell by chance into the 20th century." In other words, it isn't all worked out yet. Despite the uncertainties--"string theorists work to find approximate solutions to approximate equations"--Greene gives a tour of string theory solid enough to satisfy the scientifically literate.
	$24.47	The Elusive Neutrino: A Subatomic Detective Story (Scientific American Library) by Nickolas Solomey	University of Chicago physicist Nickolas Solomey takes his readers through the mind-bending world of particle physics, using research involving neutrinos as a navigational tool. Solomey's discussion spans the history of particle physics from the discovery of radioactivity to present theoretical speculation about the mass and origin of elementary particles.
	$11.20	The Matter Myth : Dramatic Discoveries That Challenge Our Understanding of Physical Reality by Paul Davies (Preface), John Gribbin (Preface)	Two highly acclaimed science writers--authors (separately) of God and the New Physics and In Search of Shrodinger's Cat--explain the latest breakthroughs in scientific thought, revolutionizing our concept of the universe and our place within it. Line drawings throughout.
	$38.00	Modern Elementary Particle Physics : The Fundamental Particles and Forces by Gordon Kane Our	Rather than giving a historical treatment, the author explains the modern standard model and the gauge theory of the interactions of quarks and leptons via exchange of photons, W and Z bosons, and gluons. The treatment avoids technical details, but fully explains the basic physics involved. Open questions and directions of future research are discussed.
	$9.60	The Particle Garden : Our Universe As Understood by Particle Physicists (Helix Books) by Gordon Kane, Heather Mimnaugh (Editor)	Kane (physics, U. of Michigan) writes engagingly for the serious, curious non-scientist, approaching the subject in clearly defined chapters that convey how and why the field of particle physics has evolved, what physicists mean by "we understand," what's needed for further research, and the Standard Theory--its experimental foundations, how it will be extended, and its ramifications. Annotation
	$16.10	The Search for Superstrings, Symmetry, and the Theory of Everything by John R. Gribbin	Few areas of current scientific investigation are as intriguing, contentious, or bizarre as physicists' search for a Grand Unified Theory that would unite all the forces and particles of nature in one coherent mathematical package. Since Einsten's time, this "theory of everything" has become the Holy Grail of physics, and its pursuit has resulted in some of the most extraordinary conceptions in the history of science. In THE SEARCH FOR SUPERSTRINGS, SYMMETRY, AND THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING, bestselling science popularized John Gribbin explores the field of particle physics, the most exciting area of research in physics today and the key to uncovering the Grand Unified Theory.
	$11.96	Stars and Relativity by Ya. B. Zel'Dovich, I. D. Novikov, Eli Arlock (Translator), Kip S. Thorne	No one writes science as Zeldovich! The physics is always at the forefront, by the use of clever models and analogies. Either whether you start your General Relativity here or read this book in parallel to more standard texts, you'll be a much better practitioner. The treatment of neutron stars, for instance, is "just elegant", as Marilyn Monroe would say.
	$20.76	Stars and Their Spectra : An Introduction to the Spectral Sequence by James B. Kaler	Based on a series of articles which appeared in the magazine Sky and telescope. Kaler (U. of Illinois, Urbana-champaign) covers the fundamental properties of stars: what they are like, how they are constructed, and how they are organized. The structure of atoms and the formation of spectra are discussed as a prelude to a description of spectral classification itself. The core of the book considers each star type and explores its spectra in detail. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
	$13.56	Superstrings : And the Search for the Theory of Everything by F. David Peat
	$10.36	Superstrings : A Theory of Everything? (A Canto Book) by P. C. W. Davies (Editor), J. Brown (Editor)
	$23.96	A Tour of the Subatomic Zoo : A Guide to Particle Physics by Cindy Schwarz, Sheldon Glashow (Introduction)	Now available in a new edition, this popular workbook/self-tutorial introduces the ideas, terminology, and techniques of high-energy physics. Insights into the structure of matter from the atom down to the quark are discussed within a historical context that makes them easily accessible to readers with no physics background. 154 illus Pub: 12/96.
	$10.40	Unveiling the Edge of Time : Black Holes, White Holes, Wormholes by John Gribbin	"John Gribbin's book is accessible, lucid and fun, while being no less brilliant than Hawking's book ... reading Gribbin on the subject [of astrophysics] makes this reviewer feel like a child allowed to stay up late."