favorite books to read on subjects ranging from Astronomy

ubermensch

What are your favorite books to read on subjects ranging from Astronomy, Physics, Astrophysics, Hard Sci-Fi, and many other books in the scientific arena? Even if you don't read any of those genres, what are you favorite books?

I am a HUGE reader of Philosophy but lately, I have been getting into Physics and Astronomy. The wonder of the cosmos is making me extremely curious and I'll just about pick up any book that has something to do with space.

I WAS reading The Fabric of The Cosmos by Brian Green but I had to put it back on the Border's bookstore shelf. Why? Cause it's 30 bucks to buy it, that's why. I was on page 30 and the book was pretty amazing.

Other than that, I have been getting into some Arthur C. Clarke, some Stephen Hawking, and a college intro book on Astronomy by Roger B Culver (published in the 70's but nonetheless very good).

So got any suggestions for even further reading? I really appreciate it.

Thanks

B. Elliott

My favorites in my collection concentrate on the history of Physics and Astronomy. Never got much into Philosophy, though Synchronicity pushes that envelope a bit. In no particular order...

Brian Greene: The Elegant Universe
Brian Greene: Fabric of the Cosmos
Michio Kaku: Hyperspace
Carl Sagan: Pale Blue Dot
Carl Sagan: Cosmos
Kip Thorne: Black Holes and Time Warps
John S. Lewis: Mining the Sky
F. David Peat: Synchronicity
Michael Zeilik: Astronomy (text book)
Richard P. Feynman: Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman

mgiddy911

Brian Greene: The Elegant Universe
Brian Greene: Fabric of the Cosmos
Stephen Hawking: Brief History of Time
Niels Bohr: Atomic Physics and Human Knowledge
Edward O. Wilson: Consilience (check out all his other books as well for good mix of science and philosophy)
Capra: The Tao of Physics
O'Murchu: Quantum Theology
Huston Smith: Beyond the Post Modern Mind
Richard P. Feynman: Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman
Michio Kaku: Hyperspace
Roger Penrose: Road to Reality

A lot of books by Carl Sagan

Dan Brown: Angels and Demons
J.K. Rowling: Harry Potter 1-7

ubermensch

This one looks like a fun read, according to the feedbacks on amazon.com.

Evo

There is a place that you can go and read books for free, they even let you take them home, it's called a library. As opposed to a bookSTORE, where you are expected to pay for the book.

cristo

I've read a few of Brian Greene's books, and I don't rate them that highly. His writing style just doesn't appeal to me, though I can't exactly say why.

I would recommend the book by Simon Singh (called Bang, I think) as a good popular cosmology book.

B. Elliott

Oh it's definitely a good book which I highly recommend. I also got his book The Meaning of It All: Thoughts of a Citizen-Scientist, but it doesn't flow as well as Surely You're Joking. It dips a bit into morality and religion which to me are subjects which have already been analyzed to Kookamunga and back. Got a bit bored with it actually. Took it with me on a trip to Florida (only book I took) and ended up putting to the side after only reading the first three chapters.

Though it just could have been because of my friends who kept nagging, "Why are you reading a book? You're on the beach!"

B. Elliott

I think I know what you mean. There were quite a few instances in his books where I had to back and reread a paragraph to try and make sense of it... or how it relates to the next paragraph. As if he could have made everything flow a bit better.

Evo

When my 16 year old daughter polished off Elegant Universe in no time I realized just how pop-sci his books were and how lame I was to be reading the same book. Nothing wrong with him writing for beginners with no knowledge, everyone has to start somewhere, but they are not for people that have knowledge of the subject. (I am a beginner with no knowledge).

ubermensch

Neither of my local libraries have the book.

ubermensch

It's not that I rate Greene's books highly, it is just that it is interesting. As already someone stated, his paragraphs may not flow very well with each other.

I'm still pretty new in the physics/space/astronomy side of things. For about 2.5 years now, I have been a big reader of philosophy.

Thanks for the recommendation for Singh's book. I'll def check out all the books you guys have listed here on this thread.

BTW, do any of you like to read any literary classics? I may go into some Tolstoy soon.

tribdog

That was the first physics book I ever read and I still think it's the best one I've ever read. I LOVED it.

Evo

If you ask, they should be able to order it for you. They can't have all books at a branch, but will get them for you.

ubermensch

I'm going to be going to a new college soon (I'm a transfer) in the north Georgia mountains, so it wouldn't make sense for them to order it.

The school I will be going to has a brand new library. It is pretty big. It has got a cafe on the first floor! YES!

There is nothing like sitting in a comfortable chair, reading a great book, and having a cup of joe on the other hand.

tribdog

Your town now is big enough for TWO library's and neither one has Fabric of the Cosmos? Did you really check or are you just saying you did?

B. Elliott

Even though it's hard to pick out my number one favorite, if it came down to three, it would be that one, Mining the Sky, and Pale Blue Dot. I loved how Thorne incorporated so much history into the book and was able to integrate it with physics, black hole and spacetime evolution. I learned more about the history of modern Physics from that one book than I did in any other. (Einstein, Eddington, Bhor, Zwicky, Wheeler, Penrose, Schwarzschild, Chandrasekar, ect, ect.)

It's the one book that deserves the distinction of resting under my bathroom sink.

ubermensch

I checked.