Awards

• Winner of Cosmology Prize of the Peter Gruber Foundation 2001
• Winner of New York Book Show Award 2002
• Winner of New York Book Show Award 2002.
• Winner of New York Book Show Award, Bookbinder's Guild of New York 2002 (United States)

Overview

"Our universe seems strangely ""biophilic,"" or hospitable to life. Is this happenstance, providence, or coincidence? According to cosmologist Martin Rees, the answer depends on the answer to another question, the one posed by Einstein's famous remark: ""What interests me most is whether God could have made the world differently."" This highly engaging book explores the fascinating consequences of the answer being ""yes."" Rees explores the notion that our universe is just a part of a vast ""multiverse,"" or ensemble of universes, in which most of the other universes are lifeless. What we call the laws of nature would then be no more than local bylaws, imposed in the aftermath of our own Big Bang. In this scenario, our cosmic habitat would be a special, possibly unique universe where the prevailing laws of physics allowed life to emerge. Rees begins by exploring the nature of our solar system and examining a range of related issues such as whether our universe is or isn't infinite. He asks, for example: How likely is life? How credible is the Big Bang theory? Rees then peers into the long-range cosmic future before tracing the causal chain backward to the beginning.He concludes by trying to untangle the paradoxical notion that our entire universe, stretching 10 billion light-years in all directions, emerged from an infinitesimal speck. As Rees argues, we may already have intimations of other universes. But the fate of the multiverse concept depends on the still-unknown bedrock nature of space and time on scales a trillion trillion times smaller than atoms, in the realm governed by the quantum physics of gravity. Expanding our comprehension of the cosmos, Our Cosmic Habitat will be read and enjoyed by all those--scientists and nonscientists alike--who are as fascinated by the universe we inhabit as is the author himself."

Full Product Details

Author:   Lord Martin Rees
Publisher:   Princeton University Press
Imprint:   Princeton University Press
Edition:   New edition
Dimensions:   Width: 14.00cm , Height: 1.20cm , Length: 21.60cm
Weight:   0.028kg
ISBN:  

9780691114774

ISBN 10:   0691114773
Pages:   224
Publication Date:   23 March 2003
Audience:   General/trade ,  College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  General ,  Tertiary & Higher Education
Replaced By:   9781400888986
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   Out of print, replaced by POD  
We will order this item for you from a manufatured on demand supplier.
Language:   English

Table of Contents

"PREFACE ix PROLOGUE: ""Could God Have Made the World Any Differently?"" xi PART I: From Big Bang to Biospheres 1 Planets and Stars 3 2 Life and Intelligence 15 3 Atoms, Stars and Galaxies 35 4 Extragalactic Perspective 49 5 Pregalactic History 65 6 Black Holes and Time Machines 87 PART II: The Beginning and the End 7 Deceleration or Acceleration? 99 8 The Long-Range Future 113 9 How Things Began: The First Millisecond 123 PART III: Fundamentals and Conjectures 10 Cosmos and Microworld 141 11 Laws and Bylaws in the Multiverse 157 APPENDIX: Scales of Structure 183 NOTES TO THE CHAPTERS 187 INDEX 197"

Reviews

As books encompassing the realm of everything in the universe (universes?) go, this one is relatively short. Its brevity, however . . . its elaborate index (a point I find refreshing), and the fact that it was written by someone so esteemed in the astronomical community, begs the reader to ask why this couldn't be used as a one-semester introductory text. Well-written, clear visuals, great author: a good combination for a first book on the subject. --April S. Whitt, Planetarian A fabulous journey round the cosmos in excellent company. --Maggie McDonald, New Scientist A must-read book for people who are interested in the philosophical implications of the emerging idea that, possibly, we are not alone. --Science Books and Films Rees is one of the great astronomers royal; he is a leading cosmologist, and his skill in writing what may be termed popular science is probably unequaled today. I know of no other author who could present such difficult concepts in so lucid a manner. This is a brilliant book, to be read and enjoyed by all. --Sir Patrick Moore, Times Higher Education Supplement In the instant after the big bang, there was only a one-part-per-billion preponderance of matter over antimatter, just enough to create the universe that created us. Rees, an accomplished scientist with superior writing skills, marvels over the wonder that matter even exists. --Booklist (Top 10 Sci-Tech Books of 2001) There is a lot of stuff in the universe--the estimated number of stars is 10 followed by 22 zeros. But as to whether there are other planets with life like Earth's, Rees says the chance of two similar ecologies is less than the chance of two randomly typing monkeys producing the same Shakespearean play. --George F. Will, The Washington Post In the crowded field of popular writing about the universe, Rees is genuinely in the forefront--an accomplished scientist with the superior writing skills. . . . He exudes the instinctual curiosity we all possess when looking upward, and he focuses that wonderment on the narrow range of cosmological numbers that allow us to ruminate about it all. A wonderfully appealing presentation. --Booklist Our very own Astronomer Royal blasts off into space, in velvety, friendly prose. His musings on the possibilities of alien life and of time travel, the necessity to colonise space, and a vision of the far future make for a pleasingly concise and always intriguing tour d'horizon. --Steven Poole, The Guardian Probably the clearest and most easily understandable account of our Universe available. --Ian Morison, New Scientist [An] awe-inspiring survey. . . . Rees is not only a world-class cosmologist but one of our best living science writers. --John Cornwell, Sunday Times Ample in scope, this explicit, confident, helpful, modest and good-humored book arises from a recent lecture series spanning astrophysics and cosmology. Using not one full-fledged equation only fresh diagrams and clear, personal prose--Rees, a masterful theorist, brings readers a sheaf of insights. --American Scientist Rees provides a nice summary of how we got here, how the universe began and how it might end. . . . Lay readers will appreciate Rees' clear, uncomplicated prose, even when dealing with tough stuff that leaves most physicists tongue-tied. Most welcome of all, he explains how scientists know what they claim to know. --K.C. Cole, Los Angeles Times [This book] has an informal style and breadth of coverage that make it a joy to read. . . . Rees's explanations are exactly right. --William G. Unruh, Science Winner of the 2001 Peter Gruber Foundation Cosmology PrizeWinner of the 2002 New York Book Show Award

The bestselling unreadable books of our time have tended to be about astronomy and cosmology. It seems that, however clear his prose, the expert cosmologist is dealing with concepts which are almost impossible to convey in language the ordinary reader can comprehend. This book is something of an exception. Sir Martin Bell, Astronomer Royal of Great Britain, looked in his Scribner Lectures at the underlying laws that govern the microworld of atoms and the grand scale of the cosmos, and in the book which has sprung from those lectures attempts to understand how these set the stage for life by allowing the emergence of planets, stars and galaxies. He asks what culture might inform the world of aliens, should they exist, and speculates on the nature of the special recipe which, rather than leading to still-born galaxies with no life, only sterile uniformity, led instead to the world we know. Of course his argument gets difficult, but he probably comes nearer than any other living writer to making it possible for the common reader to understand (for instance) the fascinating new concept of super-string theory or M-theory, in which 'each point in our ordinary space is actually a tightly folded origami in six extra dimensions, wrapped up on scales perhaps a billion billion times smaller than an atomic nucleus'. This is not a book to be afraid of, but one to stimulate the mind, to inform, and - almost - to explain the extraordinary space we inhabit. (Kirkus UK)

[This book] has an informal style and breadth of coverage that make it a joy to read... Rees's explanations are exactly right. -- William G. Unruh Science Rees provides a nice summary of how we got here, how the universe began and how it might end... Lay readers will appreciate Rees' clear, uncomplicated prose, even when dealing with tough stuff that leaves most physicists tongue-tied. Most welcome of all, he explains how scientists know what they claim to know. -- K.C. Cole Los Angeles Times Ample in scope, this explicit, confident, helpful, modest and good-humored book arises from a recent lecture series spanning astrophysics and cosmology. Using not one full-fledged equation only fresh diagrams and clear, personal prose--Rees, a masterful theorist, brings readers a sheaf of insights. American Scientist [An] awe-inspiring survey... Rees is not only a world-class cosmologist but one of our best living science writers. -- John Cornwell Sunday Times Probably the clearest and most easily understandable account of our Universe available. -- Ian Morison New Scientist Our very own Astronomer Royal blasts off into space, in velvety, friendly prose. His musings on the possibilities of alien life and of time travel, the necessity to colonise space, and a vision of the far future make for a pleasingly concise and always intriguing tour d'horizon. -- Steven Poole The Guardian In the crowded field of popular writing about the universe, Rees is genuinely in the forefront--an accomplished scientist with the superior writing skills... He exudes the instinctual curiosity we all possess when looking upward, and he focuses that wonderment on the narrow range of cosmological numbers that allow us to ruminate about it all. A wonderfully appealing presentation. Booklist There is a lot of stuff in the universe--the estimated number of stars is 10 followed by 22 zeros. But as to whether there are other planets with life like Earth's, Rees says the chance of two similar ecologies is less than the chance of two randomly typing monkeys producing the same Shakespearean play. -- George F. Will The Washington Post In the instant after the big bang, there was only a one-part-per-billion preponderance of matter over antimatter, just enough to create the universe that created us. Rees, an accomplished scientist with superior writing skills, marvels over the wonder that matter even exists. Booklist Rees is one of the great astronomers royal; he is a leading cosmologist, and his skill in writing what may be termed popular science is probably unequaled today. I know of no other author who could present such difficult concepts in so lucid a manner. This is a brilliant book, to be read and enjoyed by all. -- Sir Patrick Moore Times Higher Education Supplement A must-read book for people who are interested in the philosophical implications of the emerging idea that, possibly, we are not alone. Science Books and Films A fabulous journey round the cosmos in excellent company. -- Maggie McDonald New Scientist

Winner of the 2001 Peter Gruber Foundation Cosmology Prize Winner of the 2002 New York Book Show Award [This book] has an informal style and breadth of coverage that make it a joy to read... Rees's explanations are exactly right. --William G. Unruh, Science Rees provides a nice summary of how we got here, how the universe began and how it might end... Lay readers will appreciate Rees' clear, uncomplicated prose, even when dealing with tough stuff that leaves most physicists tongue-tied. Most welcome of all, he explains how scientists know what they claim to know. --K.C. Cole, Los Angeles Times Ample in scope, this explicit, confident, helpful, modest and good-humored book arises from a recent lecture series spanning astrophysics and cosmology. Using not one full-fledged equation only fresh diagrams and clear, personal prose--Rees, a masterful theorist, brings readers a sheaf of insights. --American Scientist [An] awe-inspiring survey... Rees is not only a world-class cosmologist but one of our best living science writers. --John Cornwell, Sunday Times Probably the clearest and most easily understandable account of our Universe available. --Ian Morison, New Scientist Our very own Astronomer Royal blasts off into space, in velvety, friendly prose. His musings on the possibilities of alien life and of time travel, the necessity to colonise space, and a vision of the far future make for a pleasingly concise and always intriguing tour d'horizon. --Steven Poole, The Guardian In the crowded field of popular writing about the universe, Rees is genuinely in the forefront--an accomplished scientist with the superior writing skills... He exudes the instinctual curiosity we all possess when looking upward, and he focuses that wonderment on the narrow range of cosmological numbers that allow us to ruminate about it all. A wonderfully appealing presentation. --Booklist There is a lot of stuff in the universe--the estimated number of stars is 10 followed by 22 zeros. But as to whether there are other planets with life like Earth's, Rees says the chance of two similar ecologies is less than the chance of two randomly typing monkeys producing the same Shakespearean play. --George F. Will, The Washington Post In the instant after the big bang, there was only a one-part-per-billion preponderance of matter over antimatter, just enough to create the universe that created us. Rees, an accomplished scientist with superior writing skills, marvels over the wonder that matter even exists. --Booklist (Top 10 Sci-Tech Books of 2001) Rees is one of the great astronomers royal; he is a leading cosmologist, and his skill in writing what may be termed popular science is probably unequaled today. I know of no other author who could present such difficult concepts in so lucid a manner. This is a brilliant book, to be read and enjoyed by all. --Sir Patrick Moore, Times Higher Education Supplement A must-read book for people who are interested in the philosophical implications of the emerging idea that, possibly, we are not alone. --Science Books and Films A fabulous journey round the cosmos in excellent company. --Maggie McDonald, New Scientist As books encompassing the realm of everything in the universe (universes?) go, this one is relatively short. Its brevity, however ... its elaborate index (a point I find refreshing), and the fact that it was written by someone so esteemed in the astronomical community, begs the reader to ask why this couldn't be used as a one-semester introductory text. Well-written, clear visuals, great author: a good combination for a first book on the subject. --April S. Whitt, Planetarian

Author Information

"Martin Rees is Royal Society Research Professor at Cambridge University, Astronomer Royal of Great Britain, and author, most recently, of the bestselling ""Just Six Numbers: The Deep Forces That Shape the Universe""."

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