Reviews

The First Three Minutes: A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe by Steven Weinberg

mimidelrey's review against another edition

challenging informative mysterious reflective slow-paced

3.75

challenging to understand but rewarding when you do. (definitely had to skip bits though)

henach's review against another edition

4.0

Overall, a very thorough and well written overview of the history and major concepts of the field of cosmology. The book does a good job of not only explaining the ideas but also the historically, and physically, relevant information needed to put everything in context. I was hoping this book would be a 'public science' level novel on the field in which I work, and I am not sure it was quite that. Although Weinberg writes in a very approachable way, many of the physical concepts still require (or a very much aided by) having a working understanding of physics, astrophysics, and cosmology. I would treat this book more like a review and historical treatise.

One thing to note, this book was first published in 1977, many years ago from the point of view of the quickly growing and developing field of cosmology. As such, much has been discovered since the book's initial publication. Weinberg treats some of these new discoveries in the Afterword (written about 16 years later and available in the second edition), but several decades have since passed, filled with their own discoveries in cosmology, particle physics and more. This is another reason why I do not recommend this book to anyone unless they already have a good working understanding of the discussed topics, it is quite simply a little outdated. A well written book nonetheless, and a staple for any cosmologists/astrophysicists bookshelf.

scott_h_119's review against another edition

4.0

I've read a lot of books about physics, relativity, elementary particles, the universe, black holes, astronomy, cosmology and the Big Bang theory. Some of them are hard to penetrate. Some of them are written below my level of understanding. This thin volume manages to find the right balance, never really losing me in the process (although it does include the higher maths in an appendix if that's your thing). This book - a long pamphlet really - gives me a much better understanding of the earliest moments of the universe in a way I never had before. It's a much better resolution of vision into the events of the first minute, 3:45, thirty-four minutes of existence. Recommended.

rocky1650's review against another edition

4.0

It may have been written 45 years ago, but it is far from inaccurate. It is true that today we know in more detail what has happened since the beginning of the universe, but this book does not dissapoint, it is very precise and elegantly written.

jbrieu's review against another edition

3.0

Very complete and technical. Too technical for my level. Definitely want to come back to it later. I counted only one use of an analogy. So really no vulgarisation at all.

cjpgomes's review against another edition

5.0

Awesome introduction to quantic and relativistic approaches of cosmology. The best for either undergrad students or everyone else just interested in the subject.

adamgb's review against another edition

4.0

my mind bro

jbrown2140's review against another edition

4.0

This was very fascinating and challenging and my only complaint is that it was perhaps too technical to suit its purpose, which is supposed to be to clarify the main evidence for and about the big bang theory for a lay audience. Though that may just be my ignorance speaking :)

juanpablo_85's review against another edition

4.0

It's a fairly short book, only about 155 pages but there is a lot of information in it. The history of discovering what the Universe was like after the Big Bang is covered, the missteps & a clarification of how things are missed even with useful information available. It obviously goes into the conditions of the early universe. For me personally, reading a little bit about the basics of Quantum Physics & relativity helped me out tremendously with certain topics that were covered & I feel I might have been lost otherwise. Understanding the nature of quarks, particles, the 4 forces & things of that nature I think go a long way towards comprehending the material in this book & when the information "clicks" it just makes it all the more exciting. The book is fairly old but it is still relevant considering the things that have been confirmed in the years since this book was written. A definite must read if you're a fan of cosmology & trying to understand what the universe was & is like.

gwcoffey's review against another edition

4.0

This book was published in 1977 and revised in 1993, so it is definitely a little dated. But the period of time it covers was well understood at the time, so the information is still accurate.

I enjoyed every page. For me it strikes the right balance: not too technical that I can’t keep up, and not so basic that I feel talked down to. And unlike so many slightly-more-in-depth science books, it is very well written.

I loved this passage, after talking about a series of miscommunications, mis-interpretations, and missed opportunities along the way to understanding the early universe.

I have dwelt on this missed opportunity because this seems to me to be the most illuminating sort of history of science. It is understandable that so much of the historiography of science deals with its successes, with serendipitous discoveries, brilliant deductions, or the great magical leaps of a Newton or an Einstein. But I do not think it is possible really to understand the successes of science without understanding how hard it is—how easy it is to be led astray, how difficult it is to know at any time what is the next thing to be done.