| View Larger Image | The Inflationary Universe | Paperbackby Alan Guth (Author)
| List Price: | $18.50 | | Price: | $9.95 | | You Save: | $8.55 (46%) | | | Available: | Usually ships in 24 hours |
| | Binding: | Paperback | | Publisher: | Basic Books | | Page Count: | 384 Pages | | Publication Date: | March 17, 1998 | | Sales Rank: | 40,536th |
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FEATURES | - ISBN13: 9780201328400
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
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EDITORIAL REVIEWS |
Product Description
This is the compelling, first-hand account of Alan Guth’s paradigm-breaking discovery of the origins of the universe—and of his dramatic rise from young researcher to physics superstar. Guth’s startling theory—widely regarded as one of the most important contributions to science during the twentieth century—states that the big bang was set into motion by a period of hyper-rapid “inflation,” lasting only a billion-trillion-billionth of a second. The Inflationary Universe is the passionate story of one leading scientist’s effort to look behind the cosmic veil and explain how the universe began. |
Amazon.com Review
Just about everyone in the scientific community accepts the theory that our universe began in a "big bang"--but that theory leaves numerous unanswered questions about why the cosmos formed in just the manner we observe today. In The Inflationary Universe, physicist Alan Guth recounts his and others' struggle to expound a theory that could plug the gaps. The outcome is a theory of "inflation" that postulates that the universe underwent an incomprehensibly large expansion in the first fraction of a microsecond of its existence. With the perspective that only a first-person account could provide, The Inflationary Universe sheds light on a leading theory in humankind's continuing quest to understand the universe we live in. |
CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 33 reviews)
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Great cosmology history and details by Robert Gray (Tokyo)  5 Stars
June 22, 2009
This book is a tougher read than most popular science books but by the end I felt it was worth it. I really learned a lot. It's a great book that gets into quite a bit of detail on the history and theories of cosmology. You also get a good sense of what it's like to work as a theoretical cosmologist.
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Inflation: A Very Ancient Idea Renewed By Alan Guth by C. Armstrong 5 Stars
February 16, 2009
Alan Guth writes an excellent and understandable book. He revisits an idea advanced by the Patriarchs thousands of years ago. He uses the word "Inflationary" while the Patriarchs use the words "stretcheth out".
ISAIAH 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that STRETCHETH OUT the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
(David) PSALMS 136:6 To him that STRETCHED out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.
JEREMIAH 51:15 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath STRETCHED out the heaven by his understanding.
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Enlightening by Nathaniel C. Loman (Chicago, IL USA) 5 Stars
November 13, 2007
5 stars! An enlightening, well written, accessible and personal lesson in the current paradigms regarding cosmology and the origins of our Universe by the man at the heart of the inflationary revolution. A must read. I recommend following this book with L. Susskind's "The Cosmic Landscape" which details advances in string theory, and is a nice sequel to The Inflationary Universe.
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The Inflationary Universe: The Quest for a New Theory of ... by David C. Smissonsr MD (Miles City, Montana)  4 Stars
August 13, 2006
This is an excellent read for persons with a non-academic interest in Cosmology. I have, for some time, wondered what Alan Guth meant by rapid inflation and now, I believe I am beginning to understand
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Ten years later, Guth's survey is still interesting and relevant by D. Cloyce Smith (Brooklyn, NY) 4 Stars
June 15, 2006
During the past decade, a number of books by the likes of Stephen Hawking, Brian Greene, Martin Rees, or Robert Penrose have, with varying success, brought a new generation of lay readers up to speed on new research and conjectures in cosmology, especially on the Big Bang Theory and its ancillary explorations. Even though it was written ten years ago, Alan Guth's "The Inflationary Universe" is still one of the best of the bunch, in terms both of its writing and its information.
Guth, of course, focuses on the theory he was instrumental in formulating: that, in less than a second, a "repulsive gravitational field created by a false vacuum" caused the universe to expand from relatively "nothing" and formed all the matter in the observable cosmos. In other words, the theory offers explanations for several dilemmas that had been perplexing scientists, including how the Bang occurred in the first place, and how it became so unaccountably Big.
If Guth had simply written an up-to-date report summarizing what scientists believed about the Big Bang in 1997, then his book would have fallen by the wayside long ago. Instead, he portrays the wonky disputes and contrasting theories, along with biographical anecdotes showing his own role in the development of "inflationary universe" theory. For Guth and his peers, science isn't filled with "Eureka!" moments; rather, their work is impeded by doubts, by false leads, by mistakes and omissions, and even by job insecurity.
Above all, there is a palpable sense of camaraderie, excitement, and (yes) fun. Towards the end of the book, Guth offers some thoughts on where theoretical physics might be going in future decades, and he examines some of the more speculative solutions to current problems, such as the possible existence of wormholes, or the question of whether the universe has a beginning, or how new universes might be created in a laboratory (a misunderstood subject which has morphed into the urban legend that such experimentation will destroy our own planet).
That's not to say that Guth's survey isn't a challenging read. I imagine his definitions of Higgs fields, quantum tunneling, and false vacuums will perplex the uninitiated; I had to read several sections twice--particularly when the author was trying to describe in English what can only be truly understood in equations. But the effort is worth it. And be sure to read the footnotes; Guth uses them not only to present additional detail but also to recount interesting anecdotes and to share funny asides.
While the author is not shy in touting his own role in these far-flung explorations, neither is he chary of compliments and credit for his colleagues. Steven Weinberg, Andrei Linde, David Wilkinson, So-Young Pi, Robert Dicke, Sheldon Glashow, Jim Peebles, Paul Steinhardt, Michael Turner, Henry Tye--they all get due billing. Their generosity and collegiality gives their vocation a human edge that often seems lacking in scientific accounts.
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