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A review by jlennidorner
The Universe by Peter Grego
4.0
Overall, a pretty good book. It felt like a mini-textbook to me, like the ones from school days in the 1980/90's. I do wonder if all of the pictures were "as taken" photography or "computer rendered."
The book mentions astrology, as an early reason for astronomy, and then dismisses it as "insubstantial" with no basis in science. It mentions the stone medicine wheels with astronomical alignments as being something Native American and used for religion and cosmology. (Absolutely no mention or distinction as to which tribes, which nations, used these. It's 7.65 million square miles of people lumped together.) Stonehenge got a shout out and picture all to itself.
It's always interesting when science books write in absolutes of things that are likely true, but are yet to be proven beyond all shadow of a doubt. For example, "intelligent Martians have never existed." I'm quite sure that back in 2006, there hadn't yet been a team of archeologists on Mars. In fact, the book later mentions that we haven't put human Earthlings on Mars yet. I'm not sure science has irrefutable evidence to prove that there weren't intelligent Martians at one point, perhaps millenniums before humans came into existence. I'm just saying that I feel there should have been a disclaimer, an "as far as we know right now."
Pluto is a planet in this book. #PlutoLives Though the author lists reasons that it might be reclassified. Then again, UB313, Planet X is also listed as the tenth planet. (In 2018, that's now a minor-planet called Eris. See what I mean about disclaimers?)
It talks about binary star systems, which is the reason I picked up this book in the first place. Much more common than our single sun solar system, these multiple star systems are out there. Along with places that have three or eight or who-knows-how-many stars with a common center. This interests me because of a fantasy story I'm writing where the world has a binary star system.
The book gives several ideas of ways to learn more and offers plenty of science links. Overall, not a bad bit of quick education. Easy to read and understand.
The book mentions astrology, as an early reason for astronomy, and then dismisses it as "insubstantial" with no basis in science. It mentions the stone medicine wheels with astronomical alignments as being something Native American and used for religion and cosmology. (Absolutely no mention or distinction as to which tribes, which nations, used these. It's 7.65 million square miles of people lumped together.) Stonehenge got a shout out and picture all to itself.
It's always interesting when science books write in absolutes of things that are likely true, but are yet to be proven beyond all shadow of a doubt. For example, "intelligent Martians have never existed." I'm quite sure that back in 2006, there hadn't yet been a team of archeologists on Mars. In fact, the book later mentions that we haven't put human Earthlings on Mars yet. I'm not sure science has irrefutable evidence to prove that there weren't intelligent Martians at one point, perhaps millenniums before humans came into existence. I'm just saying that I feel there should have been a disclaimer, an "as far as we know right now."
Pluto is a planet in this book. #PlutoLives Though the author lists reasons that it might be reclassified. Then again, UB313, Planet X is also listed as the tenth planet. (In 2018, that's now a minor-planet called Eris. See what I mean about disclaimers?)
It talks about binary star systems, which is the reason I picked up this book in the first place. Much more common than our single sun solar system, these multiple star systems are out there. Along with places that have three or eight or who-knows-how-many stars with a common center. This interests me because of a fantasy story I'm writing where the world has a binary star system.
The book gives several ideas of ways to learn more and offers plenty of science links. Overall, not a bad bit of quick education. Easy to read and understand.