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A review by henach
The First Three Minutes: A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe by Steven Weinberg
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to anyone unless they already have a good working understanding of the discussed topics, it is quite simply a little outdated.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.
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to anyone unless they already have a good working understanding of the discussed topics, it is quite simply a little outdated.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.