Wow! What a Story!, December 27, 2000

By John Bernhardt (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

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.

Dennis Overbye, who studied physics at MIT, is also the author of Einstein in Love. He is Deputy Science Editor of the New York Times, and his writings have appeared in TIme, the New York Times Magazine, and many other publications. Lonely Hearts of the Cosmos was nominatated for a National Book Critics Circle Award in Nonfiction and a Los Angeles Times Book Award in Science.