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John Gribbin

The birth of time

The subject of The birth of time, that is the measurement of the age of the universe, can be rather puzzling. After all, there was no-one to mark when it began, so how can we get a reasonable idea of its age. Fortunately John Gribbin is not just a renowned science writer, he has also been involved with astronomical observations addressing the question. Hence in this book he gives an excellent explanation of how our views on the age of the universe have come about, but one which requires no prior knowledge on the part of the reader.

The book starts with a look at historical opinions concerning the age of the universe. There are then chapters on how the ages and distances of stars and galaxies are deduced. We then come to the expansion of the universe, which, if projected back in time, implies some sort of beginning. We see how the age for the universe found in this way was originally less than that of the oldest stars - clearly something was wrong there. Gribbin then explains how more accurate measurements eventually resolved the problem, and the final chapter describes the part which Gribbin himself played in this research.

Amazon.com info

Paperback 256 pages
ISBN: 0300089147
Salesrank: 569370
Weight:0.47 lbs

Published: 2001 Yale University Press

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Amazon.co.uk info

Paperback 224 pages
ISBN: 0753809966
Salesrank: 690161
Weight:0.49 lbs

Published: 2000 Phoenix

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Amazon.ca info

Paperback 256 pages
ISBN: 0300089147
Salesrank: 690299
Weight:0.47 lbs

Published: 2001 Yale University Press

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Book Description
How old is the universe? This engrossing book recounts how scientists have achieved the definitive answer to one of the great scientific mysteries of our time. Research astronomer John Gribbin tells the story of the struggle to determine the age of the universe and offers an insider's view of the thrilling breakthrough of the 1990s, when Hubble Space Telescope data revealed that the universe is between 13 and 16 billion years old—older by at least one billion years than the oldest stars.

Book Description

How old is the universe? This engrossing book recounts how scientists have achieved the definitive answer to one of the great scientific mysteries of our time. Research astronomer John Gribbin tells the story of the struggle to determine the age of the universe and offers an insider's view of the thrilling breakthrough of the 1990s, when Hubble Space Telescope data revealed that the universe is between 13 and 16 billion years old—older by at least one billion years than the oldest stars.

Interesting ****
This book is quite interesting compared to many other books on science I have looked at. The book builds on itself with each chapter. The first part of the book is about the earth and how we learned it's age/size. The rest of the book describes, in thourough detail, how scientists were able to find the age of the universe through various means. Gribbin does a great job captivating the reader with a sense of importance behind each scientific discovery. The only bad part about this novel is the fact that Gribbin often times explains theories that I can not begin to comprehend. Astronomy is relatively new to me, yet Gribbin will often go out on a tangent explaining how something works. There were a few times where I would not be able to understand anything because Gribbin, as one reviewer pointed out, did not put diagrams in his novel. Pick this novel up if you really want to comprehend how much time has gone into pin-pointing the age of the universe.

Interesting ****

This book is quite interesting compared to many other books on science I have looked at. The book builds on itself with each chapter. The first part of the book is about the earth and how we learned it's age/size. The rest of the book describes, in thourough detail, how scientists were able to find the age of the universe through various means. Gribbin does a great job captivating the reader with a sense of importance behind each scientific discovery.

The only bad part about this novel is the fact that Gribbin often times explains theories that I can not begin to comprehend. Astronomy is relatively new to me, yet Gribbin will often go out on a tangent explaining how something works. There were a few times where I would not be able to understand anything because Gribbin, as one reviewer pointed out, did not put diagrams in his novel.

Pick this novel up if you really want to comprehend how much time has gone into pin-pointing the age of the universe.

Well written, badly illustrated ****
All-in-all an excellent and well written book that is enthralling and informative for anybody interested in modern astronomy and cosmology. However, I must agree with the previous reviewer, Mr. Michael Wischmeyer, that it sorely lacks in the illustration department. Indeed, I shared that reviewers particular frustration with Gribbin's description of the HR Diagram. All is not lost. May I recommend that anybody thinking of reading Gribbin's book first turn to Donald Goldsmith's book "Einstein's Greatest Blunder...". I only discovered I had this book on my bookshelf immediately after completing Gibbin's book. I had been mislead by its title (which is applling) and had not bothered to open it. It poses the same basic question as "The Birth of Time" but was written a few years before Gribbin's book and sets the scene admirably. Goldsmith's book is not at all about what its title implies but is about the same problem covered in Gribbin's book, i.e. the age of the universe, and includes the well needed diagrams and a lot of prequel discussion of other related issues - e.g. a much simpler description of how the Cepheid distance measure works. Unfortunately, Goldsmith's book does seem to be hindered by a fair few typos, especially in relating the text to specific figures, but with a little thought it is possible to see what is meant. I strongly recommend these two books as companions but begin with Goldsmith's first to avoid those "oh, that's what Gribbin was talking about!" moments I experienced when reading it after having completed "Birth of Time". Goldsmith's book truly poses the question of the age of the universe (and a few others beside) before the answer was known and gives a good explanation about what exactly underlies the question. After reading Goldsmith you will simply have to read Gribbin for the answer to this one question posed in Goldsmith's book. Gribbin provides the history behind the solving of the problem of the age of the universe and describes the actual solution and his own part played in its derivation. And that is probably where the rub lies: Gribbin's personal involvement adds a definite spark of passion but it probably clouds him to providing some explanations that are required by the outsider. Although he often refers to his other books for background in certain issues I am not convinced they cover the full spectrum required by this book. Also, it is not fair to expect the reader to own Gribbin's entire library of publications - although this is not a bad idea. Yet again, an excellent book from John Gribbin!

Well written, badly illustrated ****

All-in-all an excellent and well written book that is enthralling and informative for anybody interested in modern astronomy and cosmology. However, I must agree with the previous reviewer, Mr. Michael Wischmeyer, that it sorely lacks in the illustration department. Indeed, I shared that reviewers particular frustration with Gribbin's description of the HR Diagram.

All is not lost. May I recommend that anybody thinking of reading Gribbin's book first turn to Donald Goldsmith's book "Einstein's Greatest Blunder...". I only discovered I had this book on my bookshelf immediately after completing Gibbin's book. I had been mislead by its title (which is applling) and had not bothered to open it. It poses the same basic question as "The Birth of Time" but was written a few years before Gribbin's book and sets the scene admirably. Goldsmith's book is not at all about what its title implies but is about the same problem covered in Gribbin's book, i.e. the age of the universe, and includes the well needed diagrams and a lot of prequel discussion of other related issues - e.g. a much simpler description of how the Cepheid distance measure works. Unfortunately, Goldsmith's book does seem to be hindered by a fair few typos, especially in relating the text to specific figures, but with a little thought it is possible to see what is meant.

I strongly recommend these two books as companions but begin with Goldsmith's first to avoid those "oh, that's what Gribbin was talking about!" moments I experienced when reading it after having completed "Birth of Time".

Goldsmith's book truly poses the question of the age of the universe (and a few others beside) before the answer was known and gives a good explanation about what exactly underlies the question. After reading Goldsmith you will simply have to read Gribbin for the answer to this one question posed in Goldsmith's book.

Gribbin provides the history behind the solving of the problem of the age of the universe and describes the actual solution and his own part played in its derivation. And that is probably where the rub lies: Gribbin's personal involvement adds a definite spark of passion but it probably clouds him to providing some explanations that are required by the outsider. Although he often refers to his other books for background in certain issues I am not convinced they cover the full spectrum required by this book. Also, it is not fair to expect the reader to own Gribbin's entire library of publications - although this is not a bad idea.

Yet again, an excellent book from John Gribbin!

Fascinating book on how we learned to measure the universe *****
John Gribbin is a treasure. He not only has the ability to explain complex scientific concepts to general readers (like me), but he can also explain the controversies surrounding them in a way that the reader can appreciate what issue caused each alternative to arise and what needs to be resolved between them. This wonderful book takes on the topic the techniques used by astronomers to measure the age of the Universe. Deciding the age of the Universe is not simple, nor is measuring the motion and distance of stars and galaxies. It is fascinating to read how the present conclusions were derived and the role wonderful technology, such as the Hubble telescope, played in opening new areas of the sky to our understanding. The book has some black and white pictures that do add to the reading of the book, but there are books with truly amazing images from Hubble that are also available. I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Fascinating book on how we learned to measure the universe *****

John Gribbin is a treasure. He not only has the ability to explain complex scientific concepts to general readers (like me), but he can also explain the controversies surrounding them in a way that the reader can appreciate what issue caused each alternative to arise and what needs to be resolved between them. This wonderful book takes on the topic the techniques used by astronomers to measure the age of the Universe.

Deciding the age of the Universe is not simple, nor is measuring the motion and distance of stars and galaxies. It is fascinating to read how the present conclusions were derived and the role wonderful technology, such as the Hubble telescope, played in opening new areas of the sky to our understanding.

The book has some black and white pictures that do add to the reading of the book, but there are books with truly amazing images from Hubble that are also available.

I highly recommend this book to everyone.

Measuring the Universe ****
Overall. I like the book. It had some short comings, and I get to those, but it did make approachable some of what astronomers do and how they do it. The book is basically a historical narrative of the science of astronomy and cosmology, and how they are continuously striving to answer some basic questions: How old is the Earth and consequently the Universe?; What is the nature of that Universe? In this regard, the book does very well. It introduces historical figures, what they did, how they did it, who they influenced, and a few interesting side trips to historical oddities that later proved prescient. There are historically significant people, and people significant only to the field in the book. The book however, is not so much about people as the questions asked (fundamentally remaining unchanged), the answers each generation uncovered (constantly changing with new insight and new precision of the fundamental technology), and the politics of the scientific community. The author makes approachable aspects of the theories of Einstein, Newton, Quantum Mechanics, the inner workings of stars and how this influenced astronomy. This is were the author is strongest. The weak areas are primarily in the paucity if figures, diagrams, and pictures to highlight and illustrate key techniques, theories, and technologies. What impressed me the most is how the science of astronomy and cosmology are built on estimates, built on assumptions, tied to just a few laws of nature or knowns. The answers the participants in the field devine from their work is constantly being refined as the estimates and assumptions are better understood or tossed out.

Measuring the Universe ****

Overall. I like the book. It had some short comings, and I get to those, but it did make approachable some of what astronomers do and how they do it. The book is basically a historical narrative of the science of astronomy and cosmology, and how they are continuously striving to answer some basic questions: How old is the Earth and consequently the Universe?; What is the nature of that Universe?

In this regard, the book does very well. It introduces historical figures, what they did, how they did it, who they influenced, and a few interesting side trips to historical oddities that later proved prescient. There are historically significant people, and people significant only to the field in the book. The book however, is not so much about people as the questions asked (fundamentally remaining unchanged), the answers each generation uncovered (constantly changing with new insight and new precision of the fundamental technology), and the politics of the scientific community.

The author makes approachable aspects of the theories of Einstein, Newton, Quantum Mechanics, the inner workings of stars and how this influenced astronomy. This is were the author is strongest.

The weak areas are primarily in the paucity if figures, diagrams, and pictures to highlight and illustrate key techniques, theories, and technologies.

What impressed me the most is how the science of astronomy and cosmology are built on estimates, built on assumptions, tied to just a few laws of nature or knowns. The answers the participants in the field devine from their work is constantly being refined as the estimates and assumptions are better understood or tossed out.

Measuring the Age and Size of the Universe ***
Questions about the age of the universe are tightly coupled to understanding the size and structure of the universe. John Gribbin, a research astronomer as well as a popular writer, tells the story of how astronomers and physicists gradually recognized that the universe was both very large and very old. We all know today that the universe is immense, that the Milky Way is one of many galaxies, the age of the universe is measured in billions of years, and it began with a big bang. This fundamental understanding is actually quite new. In 1920 the scientific community was deeply divided over whether the Milky Way was essentially the entire universe or whether other large galaxies existed. The age of the universe was significantly underestimated. The Big Bang Theory was first considered seriously in the 1940s. The Birth of Time is a 200-page detailed look at how this remarkable story unfolded. Gribbin writes well and his explanations are quite lucid. We learn not only about major breakthroughs, but we also explore blind alleys and dead ends. It is an exciting, intriguing story, one that definitely warrants reading. Nonetheless, this book has one major drawback. Gribbin fails to use explanatory drawings or graphs. For example, he describes the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram entirely in words. We laboriously read: So in a diagram (a kind of graph) where the brightness of each star (its absolute brightness, after allowing for how far away it is) is plotted against its colour, all hydrogen-burning stars lie along a single band in the diagram, a band which is called the main sequence, running roughly diagonally from top left to bottom right. Likewise, without any diagrams or graphs, or equations, Gribbin discusses parallax measurements, the redshift-distance relation, Hubble's Constant, gravitational lensing, spectral lines, and the Cepheid period-luminosity relation. (There were eight black and white full page astronomical photos that were indeed helpful.) I hope John Gribbin updates his work to include recent findings regarding dark matter and dark energy, and the now highly precise age (13.7 billion years) assigned to the universe. I reviewed the 2000 edition published by Universities Press.

Measuring the Age and Size of the Universe ***

Questions about the age of the universe are tightly coupled to understanding the size and structure of the universe. John Gribbin, a research astronomer as well as a popular writer, tells the story of how astronomers and physicists gradually recognized that the universe was both very large and very old.

We all know today that the universe is immense, that the Milky Way is one of many galaxies, the age of the universe is measured in billions of years, and it began with a big bang. This fundamental understanding is actually quite new. In 1920 the scientific community was deeply divided over whether the Milky Way was essentially the entire universe or whether other large galaxies existed. The age of the universe was significantly underestimated. The Big Bang Theory was first considered seriously in the 1940s.

The Birth of Time is a 200-page detailed look at how this remarkable story unfolded. Gribbin writes well and his explanations are quite lucid. We learn not only about major breakthroughs, but we also explore blind alleys and dead ends. It is an exciting, intriguing story, one that definitely warrants reading.

Nonetheless, this book has one major drawback. Gribbin fails to use explanatory drawings or graphs. For example, he describes the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram entirely in words. We laboriously read: So in a diagram (a kind of graph) where the brightness of each star (its absolute brightness, after allowing for how far away it is) is plotted against its colour, all hydrogen-burning stars lie along a single band in the diagram, a band which is called the main sequence, running roughly diagonally from top left to bottom right.

Likewise, without any diagrams or graphs, or equations, Gribbin discusses parallax measurements, the redshift-distance relation, Hubble's Constant, gravitational lensing, spectral lines, and the Cepheid period-luminosity relation. (There were eight black and white full page astronomical photos that were indeed helpful.)

I hope John Gribbin updates his work to include recent findings regarding dark matter and dark energy, and the now highly precise age (13.7 billion years) assigned to the universe.

I reviewed the 2000 edition published by Universities Press.

Brilliant *****
This book is truly fascinating. As an A-level physics student I found this volume to be increddibly accessible. I just could not put this down. John Gribbin describes complicated measurements throughout the universe in a clear way which leaves you understanding how astronomers and astrophysicists work. After reading "A Brief History of Time" I was looking for another book, written for the average reader, without lots of equations and complex, mind blowing theories, that would fuel my interest in space and help me to understand what was going on in the world around me. John Gribbin's clear style definately helped me to understand the universe around me. This book is a must for any person who is the least bit interested in space or measuring distances.

Brilliant *****

This book is truly fascinating. As an A-level physics student I found this volume to be increddibly accessible. I just could not put this down. John Gribbin describes complicated measurements throughout the universe in a clear way which leaves you understanding how astronomers and astrophysicists work.

After reading "A Brief History of Time" I was looking for another book, written for the average reader, without lots of equations and complex, mind blowing theories, that would fuel my interest in space and help me to understand what was going on in the world around me. John Gribbin's clear style definately helped me to understand the universe around me.

This book is a must for any person who is the least bit interested in space or measuring distances.

Fascinating insight into the race to date the universe. ****
This book is very well written and easy to read. It takes you from early theories on the age of the universe right upto date. The author builds on previous discoveries, so that by the time you reach the present you have a good grasp of the science involved. Being an astronomer on the Sussex University team which dated the universe, John Gribbin is well placed to take us on this tour. One thing this book teaches us though is that all scientific advances are only "fact" until another theory comes along and displaces it. One possible weakness of the title is that it can be a little heavy going in the middle chapters. The complexity of the theories, although written in an easy to understand manner, still took some thinking about before the concepts sank in. But I find this a bonus because by thinking about them I came to a greater understanding of the ideas. All in all a terrific read and a real eye opener to the persistance of scientists.

Fascinating insight into the race to date the universe. ****

This book is very well written and easy to read. It takes you from early theories on the age of the universe right upto date. The author builds on previous discoveries, so that by the time you reach the present you have a good grasp of the science involved. Being an astronomer on the Sussex University team which dated the universe, John Gribbin is well placed to take us on this tour. One thing this book teaches us though is that all scientific advances are only "fact" until another theory comes along and displaces it. One possible weakness of the title is that it can be a little heavy going in the middle chapters. The complexity of the theories, although written in an easy to understand manner, still took some thinking about before the concepts sank in. But I find this a bonus because by thinking about them I came to a greater understanding of the ideas. All in all a terrific read and a real eye opener to the persistance of scientists.

How can the Universe be younger than the stars? ****
This book addresses the apparent paradox, aired in the media a couple of years ago, that the Universe appeared to be younger than the stars in it, and sets out to explain the methods by which the age of the Universe is estimated. The first part deals with the history of the scientific research that gradually pushed back the age of the Earth from the 6,000 years originally calculated by Martin Luther in the Sixteenth Century to the current estimate, based on radioactive decay, of 4.5 billion years. The rest of the book deals with the problems of measuring the age of the Universe as a whole, relating this to the growing perception of the true scale of the cosmos and the difficulty of knowing even roughly how far away anything is. As a non-specialist who has read a few books on cosmology, I found this an interesting discussion in more detail of issues that are ussually glossed over by popular science writers. Finally the book describes how, with the aid of the Hubble Space Telescope, the paradox was resolved in 1997. Altogether this is a fascinating story. The general reader, looking for a general description of cosmological concepts, might find it too narrow in focus, but for those who already have some familiarity with the idea of Doppler shift and the Hubble constant it provides a lot of background material in a fresh and readable form.

How can the Universe be younger than the stars? ****

This book addresses the apparent paradox, aired in the media a couple of years ago, that the Universe appeared to be younger than the stars in it, and sets out to explain the methods by which the age of the Universe is estimated. The first part deals with the history of the scientific research that gradually pushed back the age of the Earth from the 6,000 years originally calculated by Martin Luther in the Sixteenth Century to the current estimate, based on radioactive decay, of 4.5 billion years. The rest of the book deals with the problems of measuring the age of the Universe as a whole, relating this to the growing perception of the true scale of the cosmos and the difficulty of knowing even roughly how far away anything is.

As a non-specialist who has read a few books on cosmology, I found this an interesting discussion in more detail of issues that are ussually glossed over by popular science writers. Finally the book describes how, with the aid of the Hubble Space Telescope, the paradox was resolved in 1997. Altogether this is a fascinating story. The general reader, looking for a general description of cosmological concepts, might find it too narrow in focus, but for those who already have some familiarity with the idea of Doppler shift and the Hubble constant it provides a lot of background material in a fresh and readable form.

Interesting, but lacking ***
This book is an interesting history of the process of developing methods to determine the age of the stars and the universe. The author makes it very clear that there are assumpitons upon assumption, but that steady progress is being made and that different techniques are converging to common answers. Much emphasis is given to the importance of the Hubble Factor and why we still csn't call it a Hubble Constant. I found that, and the quest for refining the Hubble value very interesting. One of the keys to these estimates is Cepheid variable stars. More explanation of what these stars are, theories about them, and how they are used would be helpful. So would some charts and diagrams. Also how they are distinguished from the other types of variable stars thta are mentioned. I have read other explanations of Cepheid stars, for instance in StarDate magazine, and know that they can be explained well even in relatively non-technical terms. I would also have liked more stragihtforward explanation of how the Hubbble factor is used, not just that it is used.

Interesting, but lacking ***

This book is an interesting history of the process of developing methods to determine the age of the stars and the universe. The author makes it very clear that there are assumpitons upon assumption, but that steady progress is being made and that different techniques are converging to common answers. Much emphasis is given to the importance of the Hubble Factor and why we still csn't call it a Hubble Constant. I found that, and the quest for refining the Hubble value very interesting.

One of the keys to these estimates is Cepheid variable stars. More explanation of what these stars are, theories about them, and how they are used would be helpful. So would some charts and diagrams. Also how they are distinguished from the other types of variable stars thta are mentioned. I have read other explanations of Cepheid stars, for instance in StarDate magazine, and know that they can be explained well even in relatively non-technical terms. I would also have liked more stragihtforward explanation of how the Hubbble factor is used, not just that it is used.

Surveys the mystery and explains how it was solved *****
In the mid 1990s astronomers faced problems in dating the age of the Universe, with the Hubble providing information which seemed out of sync with previous observations and notions. By the end of the century scientists concurred on some remarkable facts which placed the age of the Universe at an age at least a billion years older than its oldest stars. This surveys the mystery and explains how it was solved.

Surveys the mystery and explains how it was solved *****

In the mid 1990s astronomers faced problems in dating the age of the Universe, with the Hubble providing information which seemed out of sync with previous observations and notions. By the end of the century scientists concurred on some remarkable facts which placed the age of the Universe at an age at least a billion years older than its oldest stars. This surveys the mystery and explains how it was solved.

Excellent Overview on the Astronomical Timescale *****
As a geology instructor I have often taught students the age of the Earth and the age of the Universe. Although I have a thorough understanding of the methods by which the age of the Earth was determined, I really had no idea how astronomers dated the Universe. Thus, I read this book with great interest after I came across it in the library one day. Gribbon's book is written in a way that is accessible to the non-astronomer, but not so watered down as to make the story seem oversimplified. His explanation of the methodologies with which the Universe was dated is quite good and easy to follow. But the really interesting aspect of the book is the way he follows the stories about how the field developed and progressed. In fact, the competition and collaboration between the many notable scientists working in this field is perhaps as interesting as the science itself. Towards this end I am going to have students in one of my classes read an excerpt of this book so that they can see how collaboration and competition between scientists can at one time hold a field back and at another stimulate rapid advances in understanding. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Earth Sciences, Astronomy, Physics, etc.

Excellent Overview on the Astronomical Timescale *****

As a geology instructor I have often taught students the age of the Earth and the age of the Universe. Although I have a thorough understanding of the methods by which the age of the Earth was determined, I really had no idea how astronomers dated the Universe. Thus, I read this book with great interest after I came across it in the library one day.

Gribbon's book is written in a way that is accessible to the non-astronomer, but not so watered down as to make the story seem oversimplified. His explanation of the methodologies with which the Universe was dated is quite good and easy to follow. But the really interesting aspect of the book is the way he follows the stories about how the field developed and progressed. In fact, the competition and collaboration between the many notable scientists working in this field is perhaps as interesting as the science itself. Towards this end I am going to have students in one of my classes read an excerpt of this book so that they can see how collaboration and competition between scientists can at one time hold a field back and at another stimulate rapid advances in understanding.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the Earth Sciences, Astronomy, Physics, etc.