# Recommend a good book on cosmology **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 26, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-book-on-cosmology/723559 "2015-06-26T20:37:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-book-on-cosmology/723559/1 "2015-06-26T20:37:36Z")
… for the armchair pseudointellectual. I really liked Greene’s “The fabric of the Cosmos” a decade ago, and had meant to get his “Elegant Universe” but never got around to it. I’m thinking of picking it up now, but thought there might be a more up-to-date book or better one, and hoped folks here might have a suggestion. I do have A Brief History of Time, actually the fancy set of two volumes. I plan to reread those soon in any case. Other than these, my bookshelf is empty of cosmology, sad to say. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2015, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-book-on-cosmology/723559/2 "2015-06-26T21:47:30Z")
I opened this thread to recommend _Elegant Universe_. Oh, well. I don’t like Hawking’s writing (he’s not funny but thinks he is), and can’t remember why, but didn’t like the Michio Kiku I read. Thus exhausts my knowledge of the genre. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-book-on-cosmology/723559/3 "2015-06-28T15:12:20Z")
Thanks. Any other recommendations! Need answer fast, because, you know, cosmology. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-book-on-cosmology/723559/4 "2015-06-28T16:56:12Z")
Old book but fun reading: [The Tao of Physics - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tao_of_Physics) ---
**Author:** ![satogata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@satogata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/satogata)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-book-on-cosmology/723559/5 "2015-06-28T18:54:58Z")
Most popular cosmology books lately seem to branch out more towards superstrings, high energy theory/Higgs discovery, dark matter/dark energy hypothesizing, or arrow of time topics. At the level of Greene’s books (both good reads for a layperson), I’d also recommend Sean Carroll: [From Eternity To Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time](http://www.amazon.com/Eternity-Here-Quest-Ultimate-Theory/dp/0452296544/) (but also very good background on modern cosmology ideas) Alan Guth (one of the originators of inflationary cosmology): [The Inflationary Universe](http://www.amazon.com/The-Inflationary-Universe-Alan-Guth/dp/0201328402) A slightly older book but also a good non-expert read is: Simon Singh: [Big Bang: The Origin of the Universe](http://www.amazon.com/Big-Bang-The-Origin-Universe/dp/0007162219/) ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-book-on-cosmology/723559/6 "2015-06-28T20:35:07Z")
A Brief History of Time stunk. Confusing and arcane. As a great overview, I recommend **Coming of Age in the Milky Way** by Timothy Ferris: [http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Age-Milky-Timothy-Ferris/dp/0060535954](http://www.amazon.com/Coming-Age-Milky-Timothy-Ferris/dp/0060535954) Walks through Human’s growing awareness of where we fit, so you get history and a sense of how our awareness developed, so when you get to the more current stuff, it makes more sense. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-book-on-cosmology/723559/7 "2015-06-28T22:27:17Z")
Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-book-on-cosmology/723559/8 "2015-06-28T22:28:46Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Old book but fun reading: [The Tao of Physics - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tao_of_Physics) Shirley, you must be joking. (Actually I did read that, back in the 80’s. I enjoyed it at the time, but listening to Chopra these days gives me the hives. “Scienciness” ugh!) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-book-on-cosmology/723559/9 "2015-06-28T22:34:29Z")
> [@Learjeff](#): > > Shirley, you must be joking. (Actually I did read that, back in the 80’s. I enjoyed it at the time, but listening to Chopra these days gives me the hives. “Scienciness” ugh!) 10-4 on **Chopra**. This dude is **Capra** , though. It’s still just a bunch of woo, no matter how you spell it. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Lubricious\_Integument](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/82dd89/32.png) [@Lubricious\_Integument](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lubricious_Integument)\ **Post date:** [June 28, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-good-book-on-cosmology/723559/10 "2015-06-28T22:51:20Z")
If you are looking for a book comparable in scientific rigor to Capra’s one is a classic: [Milady Standard Cosmetology, 14th Edition - Milady](http://www.milady.cengage.com/9781439059302.asp) If you want something a bit more rigorous you could try _Gravitation_ by Misner, Thorne, and Wheeler. It’s a little dated so for a discussion of dark matter/energy you may need to consult a Buddhist.