Welcome to the Cosmology and General Astronomy Page

The definition of "chutzpah" is to kill your parents and then throw yourself on the mercy of the court because you are an orphan. This used to be a joke before the Menendez brothers actually tried the defense in California.

The people with the most chutzpah are the cosmologists. Cosmology is the study of the universe as a whole, its evolution and eventual fate. So, since cosmologists study literally "everything," this is the section where we have put most general information on stars and galaxies.

Books on Cosmology and General Astronomy
Illustration	Price	Book and Author	Remarks

	$14.36	100 Billion Suns : The Birth, Life, and Death of the Stars (The Princeton Science Library) by Rudolf Kippenhahn, Jean Steinberg	How are the nuclear power plants we call "stars" formed? Where do they get their energy and how do they die--and what does this suggest about the future of the universe? One of the most popular books written on astrophysics, 100 Billion Suns provides an exhilarating and authoritative life history of the stars. Color plates.
	$12.76	1001 Things Everyone Should Know About the Universe by William A., Jr. Gutsch	Eminent astronomer Bill Gutsch takes the reader on a journey to explore the nebulous star clusters, probe the core of the nuclear furnace we call the sun, tour the distortions of time and space, and demystify 997 more amazing secrets of the cosmos. Readers gain insight into how the galaxy evolved, and search its very heart where many believe there may lurk a monstrous black hole.
	$35.95	Advanced Stellar Astrophysics by William K. Rose	In the last two decades, remarkable progress has been made in understanding stars. This graduate-level textbook provides a systematic, self-contained and lucid introduction to the physical processes and fundamental equations underlying all aspects of stellar astrophysics. In add ition to traditional topics such as stellar interiors and atmospheres, the reader is introduced to stellar winds, mass accretion, nuclear astrophysics, weak interactions, novae, supernovae, pulsars, neutron stars and black holes. Exercises and helpful hints are provided at the end of each chapter. This long-awaited volume provides a thorough introduction for graduate students and an up-to-date review for researchers.
	$16.76	After the First Three Minutes : The Story of Our Universe by T. Padmanabhan	How does our Universe evolve? And how did structures like stars and galaxies form? In recent years, scientists' understanding of these profound questions has developed enormously. This book presents a clear, state-of-the-art picture of cosmology for the general reader.
	$21.20	The Anthropic Cosmological Principle by John D. Barrow, Frank J. Tipler (Contributor)	Two respected physicists take a chance with their professional reputations by presenting a text that is simultaneously lucid, brilliant, mathematically sound, and honest (gasp!). This is a work in both physics and biology. It centers around the "Anthropic Principle"-roughly, that our existence necessarily puts some constraints on the evolution of the universe.
	$11.96	The Astronomer's Universe : Stars, Galaxies, and Cosmos by Herbert Friedman	Surveys the whole sweep of modern astronomy . . . for those who would like to sit down with one of the leading postwar researchers who could explain what the new astronomical knowledge is all about.
	$38.00	Astronomical Almanac for the Year 1999 : Data for Astronomy,Space Sciences, Geodesy, Surveying, Navigation and Other applications (Serial)	Government Printing Office document
	$17.47	Before the Big Bang: The Origins of the Universe by Ernest J. Sternglass	A brief tour of the latest developments in astrophysics, including a discussion of the origins of the universe and the author's firsthand exchanges with Einstein and other scientific greats. Color photos. B&W illustrations.
	$10.36	Beyond Einstein : The Cosmic Quest for the Theory of the Universe by Michio Kaku, Jennifer Trainer Thompson (Contributor)	Beyond Einstein takes readers on an exciting excursion into the discoveries that have led scientists to the brightest new prospect in theoretical physics today -- superstring theory. What is superstring theory and why is it important? This revolutionary breakthrough may well be the fulfillment of Albert Einstein's lifelong dream of a Theory of Everything, uniting the laws of physics into a single description explaining all the known forces in the universe.
	$15.96	Big Bang by Joseph Silk List
	$50.00	Black Holes and Relativistic Stars by Robert M. Wald (Editor)
	$105.00	Black Holes, White Dwarfs, and Neutron Stars : The Physics of Compact Objects by Stuart L. Shapiro, Saul A. Teukolsky (Contributor)	This self-contained textbook brings together many different branches of physics--e.g. nuclear physics, solid state physics, particle physics, hydrodynamics, relativity--to analyze compact objects. The latest astronomical data is assessed. Over 250 exercises.
	$32.00	Cosmology by Michael Rowan-Robinson
	$36.00	The Early Universe by Edward W. Kolb, Michael S. Turner
	$19.57	The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory by Brian Greene	The Elegant Universe presents the ideas and aspirations--and some of the characters--of string theory with clarity and charm. It is both a personal story and the tale of a great intellectual movement.
	$28.00	Galactic Astronomy (Princeton Series in Astrophysics) by Michael Merrifield, James Binney	GALACTIC ASTRONOMY introduces all astronomical concepts necessary to understand the properties of galaxies, including coordinate systems, magnitudes and colors, the phenomenology of stars, the theory of stellar and chemical evolution, and the measurement of astronomical distances. 100 photos.
	$47.50	Galactic Dynamics (Princeton Series in Astrophysics) by James Binney, Scott Tremaine (Photographer), Scot Tremaine	This book is a very well-known and widely used reference for students in extragalactic astrophysics and stellar dynamics. A solution manual for the problems would be highly welcomed.
	Price: $10.36	The God Particle : If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question? by Leon Lederman, Dick Teresi	In "one of the clearest, most enjoyable new science books in years . . . (Lederman) explains the entire history of physics and cosmology. En route, you'll laugh so hard you won't realize how much you are learning" (San Francisco Chronicle). Line art throughout.
	$15.96	Gravity's Fatal Attraction : Black Holes in the Universe by Mitchell Begelman, Martin J. Rees	Describes the technological advances that have allowed scientists to gather evidence on black holes, tracing the observations and accidents through which black holes, quasars, and related phenomena were discovered. Explores questions surrounding black holes and how they relate to the structure of the universe, and whether they will refute or confirm our present theories describing the physical laws of the universe. Includes color and b&w photos and diagrams. For students, researchers, and general readers with some science background.
	$11.96	Hyperspace : A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps and the Tenth Dimension by Michio Kaku	In the television program, Sliders, the first scene shows the hero (Quinn Mallory) is asleep with a book on his chest. This is the book! Michael McCollum
	$19.96	An Introduction to Cosmology by Jeremy Bernstein	In An Introduction to Cosmology, noted author and Professor of Physics Jeremy Bernstein provides a general qualitative overview of Cosmology followed by a technical examination of important topics in more detail with one discussion building logically to the next. Topics include the phenomenology and theory of the expanding universe, elementary particles, massive neutrinos, and going beyond the Standard Model.
	$37.95	Introduction to Cosmology by Jayant V. Narlikar, Fred Hoyle	Spectacular discoveries about the origin of the universe and the nature of the "Big Bang" have occurred during the past decade. This introduction to cosmology examines the very early universe, particle and quantum physics, and black holes in the context of the origin of structure in the universe.
	$9.60	The Last Three Minutes : Conjectures About the Ultimate Fate of the Universe (Science Masters Series) by P. C. W. Davies	Gloom and doom. Since the dawn of time, man has speculated about how the world might end. With clear language that makes the cutting-edge science of quarks, neutrinos, wormholes, and metaverses accessible to the layman, Australia's Professor Paul Davies treats readers to a wide range of conjectures about the ultimate fate of the universe. Perhaps if we dwell on one of them long enough, it will happen. Wonderfully morbid to the core
	$10.36	The Left Hand of Creation : The Origin and Evolution of the Expanding Universe by John D. Barrow, Joseph Silk	In this provocative and widely praised volume, two internationally acclaimed astronomers show nonspecialist readers how the latest scientific research is helping to solve one of humankind's oldest riddles: the origin of the universe. A treasure trove of insights and explanations. Line drawings and photos.
	$21.00	The Life of the Cosmos by Lee Smolin	It's great fun to see the implications of this fantastic idea laid out by so original a thinker. But in the end I wasn't convinced that his is a verifiable scientific theory ... I was far more impressed with the insightful account Smolin gives of the ambitious effort of physicists to come up with a theory of what they call quantum cosmology...
	$29.95	The Mathematical Theory of Black Holes (Oxford Classic Texts in the Physical Sciences) by S. Chandrasekhar	By the discoverer of Chandrasekhar's Limit.
	$8.00	The Origin of the Universe (Science Masters Series) by John D. Barrow	There is no more fascinating question in all of science than that of how time, space, and matter began. Now cutting-edge researcher John Barrow guides readers on a journey to the beginning of time. With new insights, he draws us into the latest speculative theories about the nature of time and the inflationary universe, explains wormholes and how they bear upon our existence, and much more.
	$10.36	Other Worlds by P. C. W. Davies	Paul Davies explains the significance of the amazing quantum universe, where fact is stranger than any science fiction. He takes us into a world where commonsense notions of space, time, and causality must be left behind as the realm of solid matter dissolves into vibrating patterns of ghostly energy, and where mind and matter are interwoven in a subtle and holistic manner. An Australian physicist and author of GOD AND THE NEW PHYSICS, Davies writes for the lay reader in simple language.
	$31.60	Principles of Physical Cosmology (Princeton Series in Physics) by P. J. E. Peebles	During the last twenty years, dramatic improvements in methods of observing astrophysical phenomena from the ground and in space have added to our knowledge of what the universe is like now and what it was like in the past, going back to the hot big bang. In this overview of today's physical cosmology, P.J.E. Peebles shows how observation has combined with theoretical elements to establish the subject as a mature science, while he also discusses the most notable recent attempts to understand the origin and structure of the universe.
	$15.96	A Short History of the Universe (Scientific American Library Paperback, No. 53.) by Joseph Silk	Most cosmology books are woefully lacking in illustrations, which is odd considering how our information about the universe is visual. Not so A Short History of the Universe, which continues Scientific American Library's policy of providing clear, authoritative, beautifully illustrated surveys of important topics.
	$18.99	Universes by John Leslie
	$19.96	Unsolved Problems in Astrophysics (Princeton Series in Astrophysics) by John N. Bahcall (Editor), Jeremiah P. Ostriker (Editor), John C. Bahcall	The field of astrophysics is in the midst of a technological renaissance. The emphasis of this collection of essays, composed by a stellar group of astronomers and astrophysicists, is on the current state of our knowledge as a preparation for future unraveling of more mysteries of the universe, which appear most amenable to solution. Aspiring atrophysicists will be enthralled.