Book Review: The Cosmic Mystery Tour: A High-Speed Journey Through Space and Time
April 2019 :
The Cosmic Mystery Tour: A High-Speed Journey Through Space and Time, by Nicholas Mee, New York: Oxford University Press, 2019, ISBN 978-0-19-883186-0, hardbound, $24.95 U.S.
Reviewed by Francine Jackson
Every so often a book comes along that attempts to introduce the universe to a reader in as short a context as possible. Some work, others don’t. The Cosmic Mystery Tour does. It starts long before any of us were born, familiarizes us with the giants of science through the ages, then stops for awhile to let us know what’s been happening during the past several decades.
It almost seems as if any scientist born within the 20th century has been thrown into the magic of our neighborhood. From Einstein, Eddington, Bell-Burnell, Feynman, and many others, the universe has become a place of such wonder that it is hard to describe in such a small, under 200-page book. And, yet, the author has done his share to make the discoveries that made these and other names virtual household words. In detail he explains the workings of the instruments that create theory into a form of reality:
LHC, LIGO, LISA, and all else that opens up the universe into much more than anyone could have ever dreamed of just a few centuries ago.
The author also ventures into the future, taking the infamous Drake equation, and does his best to wonder what happened: Are we the only civilization in the universe? Are we just one of many all over the place? Are there any with either the technology we have, or much more, therefore deciding we aren’t worth the effort to communicate with? He ends this topic with the famous words of Sir Arthur C. Clarke on the terrifying concept of being alone, or not. Goose bumps either way.
In a very small, readable format, with way over a hundred illustrations, most of which are in color, the author has given us a handy, portable collection of the cosmos. And, the reader doesn’t have to read from cover to cover: Anywhere you open it up, and start to read, you will be fascinated with the study of our universe – past, present, and future.
