Book 26 - John Gribbin "The Origins of the Future"

John Gribbin "The Origins of the Future" (Yale Univ. Press)









An interesting and mostly understandable account of the universe's physical phenomena over the course of its life from birth to the present, covering the very small to the very large. The writing is not particularly vivid or inspiring, and the writer does not sufficiently bring to life what is largely a lifeless topic. The most interesting parts were those at the end dealing with the origins of life and the evidence for organic molecules in space. Nevertheless, it is a worthwhile read to gain a grasp of current knowledge in particle and astrophysics, without being mind-blowing.

It has plenty of big numbers and it is desperately in need of some illustrations, a graph even, to put these into context. Unlike Weinberg's book, you don't get the maths at the end (or at all) so you'll have to go elsewhere for that kind of detail. This is despite the fact that anyone capable of making sense of the numbers will also be at ease with the equations that use them. Still, that's popular science for you.