Universal: A Guide to the Cosmos

Panning half a century, our quest to understand how the universe works has remained at the forefront of our most engaging inquiries. It’s only been in recent times that the tools to study the marvels of nature have come into existence. Scientists, too, have evolved to partake in this amazing journey to understand our place in the cosmos.

With great enthusiasm, Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw have compiled an incredible volume, Universal, that helps explain it all. Brian Cox is well known for his dynamic narratives in hosting science documentaries on television. The two authors are colleagues at the University of Manchester, England, where they are professors in particle physics and theoretical physics, respectively.

One of the more intriguing discoveries of the authors’ work is Brian Cox’s discussion of how vast distances such as the distance between stars are calculated using the concept of parallax. He managed to describe the distance of stars with easy-to-understand concepts without distorting scientific theory. Similarly, the chapter on weighing the universe tells us what’s in it. Such concerns as What Happened Before the Big Bang raise further questions that drive scientific inquiry. The book holds a strategic place in the scientific repertoire.