Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos : The Story of the Scientific Quest for the Secret of the Universe

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Summary: Excellent biographical history
Review: A history of cosmology, somewhat dated now, that is structured around biographies of some of the major players. Allan Sandage, Stephen Hawking, Alan Guth, Beatrice Tinsley, James Peebles, Marc Aaronson, etc. I have to tip my hand and say that this is one of my favorite books about astronomy and cosmology. Maybe I like the biographical aspect, or the fact that Overbye is just a great storyteller, and this is one great story. You gain an inside track into the transition of power between Hubble and Sandage. I don't think I really understood the inflation theory until I read Overbye's presentation (better even than Guth's book "The Inflationary Universe). If you like to read biographies of astronomers, this book will be right up your alley. If you like to read about cosmology and astrophysics, you may be distracted by Overbye's approach, but you'll still find the book worthwhile.

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Summary: Scientific novel.
Review: A story about the human beings behind the scientific discoveries: their dirty tricks, resentments, subversive attacks; in one word, their not so scientific behaviour in their competitive struggle to solve cosmological problems, e.g. the Hubble constant.
The central figure of the book is Allan Sandage, chief astronomer at the Mount Wilson telescope: his evolution from star watcher to computer freak.
This book is not an introduction to modern physics. Readers should have a fairly good knowledge of modern cosmology and quantum physics. Although the discussions about the Hubble constant, dark matter and the Guth inflation are impressively treated.
If you like novels about scientists and scientific debates, this is a good one. If you prefer popular science, there are other authors to recommend, like Paul Davies, Brian Greene, John Gribbin or Heisenberg himself. I prefer the second ones.

Rating:
Summary: Marvelous. Reads like a novel.
Review: If you have an interest in cosmology and the fascinating stories of the men and women who have sought to solve the mysteries our universe and what may lie before and beyond, this book will be a memorable read. The author brings sophisticated astrophysics into laymen's terms, while he paints a colorful and historical mural of the personalities, struggles, and triumphs of this fascinating community of scientists. It reads like a novel but educates like a textbook

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Summary: Inaccuracies
Review: Lonely Hearts has numerous inaccuracies that I am aware of, a clear result of the author not reading first-hand sources.

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Summary: Beautiful Mystery of the Universe
Review: Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos is the greatest book every written about the search for ultimate answers about the universe. But the science is secondary to the gallery of scientists who are revealed in all their pettiness, persistence and ultimately greatness. The story of Allan Sandage - from boyhood dreamer to discoverer of mysteries - could be a book in itself. This is a book of almost poetic prose - a real page-turner that I couldn't set down. Get it today

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Summary: Could be called - The Mystery of Cosmology - Tops!!!
Review: Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos is the greatest book every written about the search for ultimateanswers about the universe. But the science is secondary to the gallery of scientists who arerevealed in all their pettiness, persistence and ultimately greatness. The story of Allan Sandage - from boyhood dreamer to discoverer of mysteries - could be a book in itself. This is a book of almost poetic prose - a real page-turner that I couldn't set down. Get it today

Rating:
Summary: What a swell book!
Review: Okay, I KNOW I'm a little biased, being an astronogrl and all, but this book is an AMAZING read! It reads like a novel, and yet contains so many interesting astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology concepts, that it will blow you away. Covers everything from the big bang to inflation to black holes to string theory to dark matter... Dennis Overbye (the author) has hob-nobbed with so many big names and been able to glean personal interviews that you begin to feel like you know these people and their astronomy struggles. And don't worry; This book contains no equations. This book makes me excited to do astronomy and it is the best book I have read this year and will always remain one of my favorites.

Rating:
Summary: What a swell book!
Review: Okay, I KNOW I'm a little biased, being an astronogrl and all, but this book is an AMAZING read! It reads like a novel, and yet contains so many interesting astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology concepts, that it will blow you away. Covers everything from the big bang to inflation to black holes to string theory to dark matter... Dennis Overbye (the author) has hob-nobbed with so many big names and been able to glean personal interviews that you begin to feel like you know these people and their astronomy struggles. And don't worry; This book contains no equations. This book makes me excited to do astronomy and it is the best book I have read this year and will always remain one of my favorites.

Rating:
Summary: Spectacular!
Review: This book was used in my high-school cosmology class and made a wonderful textbook because it is so much more readable than a traditional textbook (more humorous!) and yet just as informative. If you need an introduction to cosmology, look no further! BUY THIS BOOK!!

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Summary: Wow! What a Story!
Review: This is the only book I have read where, halfway through, I said, "God, don't let me die suddenly before I finish this book!" The book is so beautifully written, especially the first half. Although I think the Big Bang Theory and Guth's sealing-wax fix to that theory are sadly erroneous, this book gives a dramatic impulse to the story of the develpment of Big Bang cosmology, from Hubble to Sandage. The story as the author presents it is exciting, like a race, and you will not want to put it down. I was concerned by another review, however, that there were inaccuracies in the book. As a layman, I could not detect these, if present. All I know is, whew! What a book! Hats off to Dennis Overbye.