Category: Book Reviews

For these people, enamoured by flight and space travel, exciting new vacation retreats continually arise. There are converted aeroplanes that entice you with short tastes of weightlessness in parabolic flights. Fully bedecked astronaut wanna-be’s can experiment with neutral buoyancy while in swimming pools. Spinners rotate ever faster to experience the mind numbing pleasure of high g’s in a centrifuge. And speed demons can take flight in the fastest plane available. For those looking to the future, sub-orbital space flights are on the drawing boards of many companies. The richest elite can even experience the dream of a life time trip by taking a Soyuz taxi to the International Space Station. Certainly these wouldn’t be everyone’s idea of optimal leisure activities, but for some, they are just the needed escape from the boredom of cubicle land.

In this handbook, Anderson and Piven have a lot of fun guiding readers on how to satisfy their taste of space. In a style that’s part travel brochure, technical document and instructional manual, there’s information on space ports, flight vehicles and adaptation to off-world climates. The presentation is reminiscent of an advertising brochure for a cruise ship, even to the possibility of day trip adventures at various way points. Handy references include the Russian pronunciation for useful phrases like ‘What does this button do?’as well as items to bring with you in order to make your time most memorable. Within are even details on a chance to win a sub-orbital space flight, at least for a resident of the U.S. This contest is as real as the hadnbook’s contents, as Space Adventures has already shown their ability to deliver by orchestrating many tasty space vacations.

The book’s layout is also fairly typical for a vacation brochure or guidebook. The authors give travel tips on choices, travel prerequisites and expectations. There’s lots of neat ideas on basic destination necessities like eating, drinking, bathing and sleeping. For instance, the water is certainly safe to drink but your stomach might still get upset from the unfamiliar micro-gravity. As well, a fairly detailed description gives the low-down on that ever lasting query, how to go to the toilet while in zero gravity. Copious pages of protocol would help newbies resolve issues like; how to dine without letting food loose in the cabin, what to do when you accidentally float into another vacationer or the correct response when asked to play chess by a crew member. As any good brochure should do, it gives the reader a leg up on what to expect and hopefully avoid making too many faux pas.

Given the writing style and the travel brochure like presentation, there’s not overly much technical information. After all this is for a vacationer! Simple, light wording and humourous anecdotes keep the reader smiling. The drawings are bright and humourous such as how to appear sane during the psychological exam. Even more diagrams would have been useful as sometimes the descriptions got too wordy. More photographs and quotes would have lent further authenticity to the feel of the book. As well, there’s an overly large concentration of information regarding micro-gravity living in places like the International Space Station. Yet, very, very few readers will ever get the opportunity. However, with the quirky font and bright off-beat colours, this handbook is a far cry from any government sanctioned document on space flight and much more the travel brochure any vacationer would hope for.

Vacations are equal part dreams and reality. Imagining yourself at your destination may be all that keeps you going through the drudgeries of day-to-day work.. To keep your imagination alive try out Eric Anderson and Joshua Piven’s book, The Space Tourist’s Handbook. With this, your dreams can take you right off this world and perhaps with a bit of real hard work you may be fortunate enough to follow these dreams and put yourself in an out of this world experience.

Review by Mark Mortimer

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Our universe has been around a long time, nearly 15 billion years. Before that, who knows? Maybe there were strings or branes in existence. During the pre-Big Bang, these might have flexed in unison and produced a singularity of infinite density. Highly speculative as this beginning is, the follow-on is much more understandable and verifiable. Theories elucidate happenings at about 10-43 seconds after the Big Bang or time zero. These, together with knowledge built up from peering deep into the smallness of matter, help build a picture of baryons coming into being, forces starting to push and pull, and protons and neutrons appearing and making the common matter which we are most familiar with today. From this description of the small, the universe went on to make the big – the stars, galaxies and clusters. As with anything else, the common denominator of the universe is perpetual change over time.

Trying to unravel this mystery of galactic evolution is, as Silk writes, as challenging as archaeologists piecing together life from eons ago. However, instead of deducing an environment from a few bone fragments, cosmologists must interpret emissions scattered about the electromagnetic spectrum. These emissions result from a variety of processes and give clues to the universe’s history. Thus, cosmologists will postulate various models and theories on causes and effects. Nevertheless, as Silk points out, proving any of these is next to impossible as we just can’t emulate a universe in a laboratory. What we can do to solve the mystery is to piece together clues found through experimentation and observation.

Given this vague data set, anyone would be right in assuming that one cosmological theory is as good as another. Silk, however, mostly chooses one route for his history and only occasionally considers alternative theories. His route starts with the Big Bang, is followed by a very short, rapid inflationary period that then morphs into the slower inflationary period of today’s universe.

The strength of Silk’s book is that he continually makes links between theories and experiments. Visual observations, neutrino observatories and detectors in particle accelerators all bring facts into the theories. For example, the concentration of heavy metals differs amongst stars. Yet the concentration of heavy metals is directly associated with age, hence, we can estimate a star’s age and thus the age of the surrounding galaxy. Further, by looking at various red shifts, we can estimate rotational velocity and this, together with a bit more finesse, will determine the velocity with respect to the centre of the universe. Or, there is the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe that measures the background temperature fluctuations to implicitly define the distribution of matter today. Silk even provides links into future tests, such as the Laser Interferometer Space Antenna scheduled to detect ancient gravity waves after launch in 2012. By clearly identifying the role of various future and recent experiments, Silk enables the reader to readily come to grips with our understanding of the cosmos today and our targets for more knowledge tomorrow.

Silk ably portrays highly technical knowledge in fine writing. Sometimes his book reads like a compressed graduate text with little pause for clarification or repetition. He has a somewhat higher than average expectation of prior knowledge. There are no equations, nor questions at the end of a chapter, but they might well have been there in an earlier draft. As such, the reader should be comfortable with the more esoteric concepts of cosmology in order to get the most from this short history of the universe. Mind you, with the many graphs and diagrams, the reader does have plenty aids in grasping the concept. Further, a number of colour plates dramatically demonstrate the processes being discussed.

If you want to know why we do certain astronomy experiments or why we believe in certain cosmological principles, Joseph Silk’s book On the Shores of the Unknown is just what you need. From the creation of matter to the formation of galactic clusters, he provides a clear, soundly reasoned exposition of how a point of infinite density could have made us into what we are today. With this, we can certainly consider making big plans for tomorrow.

Review by Mark Mortimer

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Jack Parsons, born John Whiteside Parsons, grew up in Pasadena, California. Though his family had substantial assets, the depression hit them hard. His life went from being a sole child in a rich family to being just one more member of a shrinking family with quickly disappearing money. An early fascination with space travel from the likes of Jules Verne gave Parsons a great desire to journey off the planet. In pursuing this quest, Parsons took what was then known of black powder and experimented. He varied constituent ingredients, relative compositions and manufacturing techniques. Yet, seldom did he get far from a glorified firecracker. Nevertheless, through trial and error, he was able to manufacture rockets that convinced the military of their usefulness in assisting take-offs (the JATO’s). Not long after, his group launched the first aeroplane flight powered solely by rockets.

With Parsons leading in such a captivating field, a biography would seem likely to focus primarily on accomplishments. Yet Pendle’s work delivers a much broader perspective. Apparently, as much as Parsons wanted to physically fly into the heavens on a rocket machine, he also wanted to journey mentally into other realms. Pendle provides all the details of how Parsons took over the local chapter of religious group, the Thelemas. Free love was in vogue as was much alcohol and the occasional ritual midnight mass. With their leader’s directive being, ‘Do what thou wilt’, there seemed little to inhibit participants’ actions.

These are the two main venues that appear in this book. Rockets and religion. Pendle steps through Parsons’ life from one main event to another. He describes each step in great detail. Housing architecture, real estate deals, and city officials on the take are all background for Parsons’ first appearance in court as an expert witness. Or there’s the Arroyo Seco range with its dry, still air occasionally broken by the blast from experimental rocket engines, swept clean by a deluge of rain, or enjoyed by youths of the area. By giving such a complete view of events and surroundings, Pendle places the reader directly into the times and moments of Parson’s life.

In keeping with this broad view, Pendle expands upon these background notes. There’s a rendition of the life of the Church of Thelema’s leader, Aleister Crowley. Time and again we get portrayals of the residents and architecture of Orange Grove, the street in Pasadena where Parsons spent much of his life. Pendle also shows a good view of some members of Caltech. Tie-ins with local and national science fiction authors abound. Many came to see Parsons or vice versa. There’s even a perception that L. Ron Hubbard’s definitions of Scientology originally came from Hubbard’s association with Parsons.

Perhaps what does get challenging is that these side issues take up so much of the book. There’s California’s culture, Caltech’s inception and growth, the military’s disfavour with rockets and lists of Crowley’s writings. All of these are interesting, some even fascinating, but it’s not always easy to associate with the biography. Further, though there might have been a tight science fiction community at the time, the description of magazine editors and their many stories and editorials makes one think that Pendle had more information than he knew where to insert. As my interest is in the rocketry aspect, I would have preferred more on this topic and less on the other people marginally involved with Parsons.

As well, the missing element in this writing is the lack of conjecture about Parsons himself. There are allusions to a final suicide, or was it an industrial accident? What was it like always being an outsider of Caltech or Aerojet? Why did magick hold such a spell over Parson? With no formal university training, but an encyclopaedic knowledge of chemistry and explosives, why couldn’t or wouldn’t Parsons integrate into research and development groups? These questions arose in my mind, but I kept having more questions and few answers.

Jack Parsons devoted most of his working life to proving and bettering rocket propulsion. His personal life was equally devoted, but to magick and philosophy. George Pendle in his biography Strange Angel colourfully portrays Parsons’ life and the exciting and mystical events that surrounded him. Some people were just never meant to be normal, and the rocket industry can thank Parsons for being one of those people.

Review by Mark Mortimer

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In the 1990’s two great spectacles arrived for the heaven watchers, comet Hyakutake and then comet Hale-Bopp. They separately graced the night time magnificence with their displays of light; their leading dirty snowball and following millions of kilometres of fairy tale, sparkling, shiny powder. Transitory in nature, they’ve come to be more a light show than the portenders of the future they once were thought to be. Yet in all their beauty, they also represent an element of the mystery of the universe. Where do they come from? What are they made of? What causes them to cyclically reappear?

Jan DeBlieu doesn’t answer these questions in her book, nor does she even try. At most she’s drawing a corollary between the great unknowns of the universe and the great unknowns of our own being. She makes this connection when two significant events happen at about the same time in her life. One, of course, is the arrival of the comet Hyakutake. The other is her husband succumbing to depression. Neither were wholly explicable. Neither were predetermined. Both were just short transitions through her life, but she writes about both of them in a light, vivid, soul searching style that presents her grasping to understand the nature of each.

Much as a sad wind blows by leaving a person wondering and reflective, reading this book leaves a person questioning and curious. There are many joys of nature. But to fully appreciate joys, we need sorrow. This is the nature of our being and Jan presents this counterpoint throughout her book. Sweet memorable times with her husband contrast with painful accusations and trying moments. Bright sparkling clusters and supernova remnants strongly contrast against the black background of the universe. Searching for knowledge may only lead us to more questions and a greater feeling of ignorance. Yet, as DeBlieu shows, time continually moves on, things change and we need to enjoy what we can.

Normally writing one book is challenging. DeBlieu seems to make an easy time of writing three books within one cover. For one, she’s a neophyte astronomer/cosmologist who’s all agog over the beauty, complexity and ever changing lights of the night sky. For another, she’s a wife learning to deal with a loved one suffering a challenging disorder. Last, she’s writing an autobiography of her own times, her sadness, her joys and her impressions from living. Each of these three get combined into a bright, emotional sharing of herself with her readers.

The astronomical and cosmological lore within the book are up to date and pertinent. I particular like the presentation of free will. A butterfly flapping its wings in the Amazon can effect the weather around the world. Is it then possible that we are doing the same to the weather of the universe by flinging probes like Pioneer into the nether reaches of space? For the most part, each concept presented does lend itself to the other stories within. Sometimes they don’t but this doesn’t unduly disturb the flow.

Nevertheless, the topics change quickly. In a brief span of the text, that is two pages, DeBlieu discusses the value of drugs in combatting depression, the power of light to draw baby sea turtles and the dark matter that keeps the Milky Way spinning. If this quick flip from one subject to another makes reading enjoyable for you, this is a book for you.

No one can say that their life is better than another’s. Even during difficult times, there’s lots to keep a sense of wonder in one’s heart and a smile on one’s face. All we need do is keep a proper perspective. In Year of the Comets Jan DeBlieu gives us her perspective of her own life; the things that made her smile and those that kept her going even when so much was not going well. Share some of your own time with her memories and take pleasure in the wonders of astronomy.

Review by Mark Mortimer

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Humans and high speed vehicles have been getting together for a long time. The need for added speed keeps us experimenting. From two horse chariots to four horse, or galleons to schooners, we keep finding ways of getting ourselves moving faster and further. Rocket power swiftly followed the advent of planes, giving us freedom from the grip of land. Then ballistic missiles sent us past the slight friction of our atmosphere and into the near complete emptiness of space. With every advent of new technology and speed, there were flaws and errors. A chariot wheel fractures and dumps the drivers onto the ground. This may lead to no more than a bruised ego. But, when a thin ring of rubber fails on a rocket, the results are much more disastrous. Sad as this may be, one of humanity’s common traits is a greater interest in failures than successes. Hence, though we have made many successful flights into space, it is the failures that interest most people, even a long time after the event and it is this trait that gets treated with this book.

To satisfy this interest, Richard Lawrence has compiled a collection of stories, narrations and articles. These cover the time from planes using rockets in 1953 to the launch of the Rosetta mission in 2004. There is Neville Duke an early air speed record holder who describes rocket flight. Chuck Yeager powers through a description of his first transition through the sound barrier. Buzz Aldrin depicts Apollo 11’s landing, while Lovell repaints his sojourn in Apollo 13. As well, Lawrence with Bryan Burrough, provide their own rendition of the time a Progress supply vessel crashes into the Mir space station. These and others in the collection bring back to life many of the most memorable crises of humans and rocketry.

In addition to the events themselves, the styles of the presentations show the maturation of the technology. The early stories usually refer to only one person who was fully integrated with the craft and often referred to it as an extension of themselves. Later narrations, in particular the very dry excerpts from the commission’s report on the Challenger and Columbia accidents, show the remote controlled nature of flight even to the associated communications. Exceptions do occur though as Jerry Linenger eloquently echos his feelings of almost uncontrollable terror while dangling in the void of space at the end of a boom extending from the Mir station.

In editing, Richard Lawrence chose an excellent collection of narrations covering humans and rocketry. By selecting first hand accounts, or very well placed second hand accounts, he continually places the reader directly at the event. He provides clarification by adding a few paragraphs before each selection to aid the reader in understanding the situation. Though these articles represent a quite superficial and somewhat negative view of humanity’s progress with rocketry, as indicated by the sensationalist title, still many youths might be pleasantly swayed by much of the emotional delivery. That is except for the very dry and bureaucratic style of the selections for the Challenger and Columbia accidents. Certainly there are other thoughtful, technically accurate and strongly emotional narrations for these.

For many good and bad reasons, people contentedly place themselves into perilous situations. Perhaps this is the nature of humanity, to offer your singular service for the greater good. In the book edited by Richard Russell Lawrence entitled Space Exploration and Disasters, there are many stories of people striving to do their best against some astounding challenges. And, as often seen, people were able to adapt, apply innovative thinking and respond successfully.

Review by Mark Mortimer

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Tycho Brahe was a Danish nobleman who spent his life taking the most exact measurements of stars and planets then known. Being of high ranked noble birth, his family’s expectations were for Brahe to enter into court politics. Yet Brahe followed his own path, that being his love for astronomy. Even his slight divergence into alchemy quickly returned to astronomy on seeing the skies brighten from a supernova. Nevertheless, this being Europe of the early 1600’s, politics dominated lives. Brahe was exiled when a new king sat upon the Danish throne and he ended up in Prague as the mathematician of the court of the Holy Roman Empire.

At almost the same time, Johannes Kepler was using his intellect to escape his difficult and lowly lifestyle. Earning passage into a university, he excelled at mathematics and also fell into a love of astronomy and astrology. Kepler equally had difficulties in life and though he married a lady who had extensive land holdings, all their wealth disappeared. The politics of the time was again the culprit. Fortuitously, Kepler had already connected with Tycho Brahe who had given him an invitation to work and live together. Kepler, apparently without any other options, accepted. Much later, after Brahe’s death, Kepler used Brahe’s data to determine his now well known three laws of planetary motion.

Most references, in discussing Brahe and Kepler, provide little more information than the above. The Gilders, however, have gone digging. With the help of many experts and original documents, they build the characters of these scientists. Brahe may have been a nobleman, but he seems to have continually turned his back to the corresponding lifestyle. Kepler was not only smart with numbers but also had a tendency to quickly lose friends through a hot temper. Many details of their lives get reviewed; their parents, their places of birth, their schooling and their relationships. Yet this is not a simple biography of these two individuals. This is a case of murder. For the authors show that Kepler, with his temper and his craving for fame, wanted and needed Brahe’s data to pursue his own postulations about the shape of the heavens.

The key element in the Gilder’s book comes from recent investigations. Brahe’s crypt was recently repaired and, given this opportunity, some hairs were analyzed to try to deduce the cause of his death. The authors use tools of today’s forensic experts to understand a bit of what was happening with Brahe during his final days. In so doing, they combine these results with many pieces of circumstantial evidence to substantiate their belief that Kepler had the opportunity, means and motive. This case is a bit cold, actually more than 400 years old, but the Gilders make it fresh and exciting by reliving the times of these scientists and making the two much more than footnotes in a physics text.

This ability to enliven a well aged event sets this book apart. Very little science graces its pages. Some description of Brahe’s observatories and sextants show the state of the art in astronomical observation. A little on Kepler’s Mysterium Cosmographicum give an idea of the philosophical issues of the times. For the most part, the Gilders dish up a finely flavoured selection of the pertinent points and issues that embellish their belief of a dastardly deed. A delicious undertone questions the drive of scientists and society. That is, just how far outside society’s mores do we allow researchers when the result adds knowledge or ability for all. The answer to this question might have changed in 400 years, but it is still relevant to ask today.

People come in all stripes and colours. Brilliant scientists might be lousy friends. Fantastic leaders might be so inept with numbers as to be unable to balance their own finances. This potpourri of characteristics bring spice to our lives. However, some spices are not as well liked as others. The murder that Joshua Gilder and Anne-Lee Gilder so boldly proclaim in their book Heavenly Intrigue is one such. Perhaps a golden opportunity brought together Johannes Kepler and Tycho Brahe, but read this book and see how other opportunities may have prematurely ended their association.

Review by Mark Mortimer

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Our solar system rates little more than an acknowledgement from the average person. Simple rhymes from grade school help us memorize the planet names and their order from closest to the Sun to farthest out. As the solar system changes ever so slightly in the brevity of the average person’s life, this is reasonable. However, we have been lucky enough to have recently seen the bright comets Halley and Hale-Bopp trek by the sun. Then comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 disintegrated and slammed into Jupiter. In keeping with this awakening interest, we routinely scan the skies for asteroids that might impact our Earth. With all this activity, it becomes obvious our solar system is anything but routine. Hence, a travel guide is an excellent resource for learning more.

Miller and Hartmann’s tour book is a great complement for those wanting to know more about the worlds circling our Sun. Using the tools of artists, together with the concise detailing of science, the far away worlds come alive before our eyes. Distinct chapters highlight individual planets and the smaller worlds. The presentation stresses a view as if for a visitor rather than an occupant of Earth. In following this vein, the authors start with the largest planet, Jupiter. A fairly regular description then ensues. The atmosphere, its properties and constituent matter get appraised. The surface shape, colour, and any novel features characterize the world. Then last, the interior gets mentioned often as a tie-in to the formation process of the solar system. Understandably, the authors have to rely on knowledge gained from probes sent and surveys undertaken by humankind, so the details of Venus, Earth and Mars are lengthy while many others are quite short and rather impersonal. For instance, Asteroid 6178 gets a two page entry, principally due to it being a pure nickel-iron alloy. But it and manner others do get mentioned.

Setting this book apart from your garden variety tour guide are the graphics and images. Hundreds of large and small coloured plates place the reader directly at the subject’s location. There’s one as if the viewer is standing in the middle of Saturn’s ring watching hundreds of fellow ring objects dance along. Or picture yourself on one lobe of the compound asteroid 624 Hektor looking down at a strange connecting valley and on up to the next lobe. Many images are grand vistas where the viewer is on an orbiting world with a planet filling the distance. For example there’s the cliff of Miranda while the ring system of Uranus defines a blue back drop. With accurate angles and perspectives it is often difficult to separate the computer drawn images to real photographs. Nevertheless, with this book in hand, all you need is a vehicle and you’d be off wandering to your favourite.

The format of the book (long rather than tall) further enhances these images, as many two paged vistas are quite breathtaking. These and the complementary text keep the reader pressing forward to find more wondrous natural sights of space. Further, even though this is the third edition, the images and data aren’t dated, as much information is recent. And don’t let the 3D hologram on the front cover make you think this book is purely for children. The detail and presentation is much more apropos for secondary school students or the beginning space buff. However, given the strength of the artwork, I was disappointed at the brevity of the section for worlds Beyond Our Solar System. There would be little to lose and, I think, much to gain from letting learned imaginations fill wide vistas of planets in other solar systems.

Our solar system keeps our special planet Earth in just the right location to allow our own happy lives. This doesn’t, however, bind us to this paradise. Other exciting, unique and pictorially sensational worlds grace our passage about our Sun. So read Ron Miller and William K. Hartmann’s book The Grand Tour, A Traveler’s Guide to the Solar System and get acquainted or re-acquainted with the beauty and relevance of these other worlds that share our immediate space.

Review by Mark Mortimer

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Scientist now accept that the cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation results from the big bang. This knowledge was slow in developing. In 1920, Shapley and Curtis debated whether the universe is bigger than the Milky Way Galaxy. Yet, pieces of the puzzle kept falling into place, such as the red-shift indicating an expanding universe. However, we knew by then that mass attracts, so why are stars moving away? For resolution, Einstein introduced a cosmological constant (which he later refuted). The accidental discovery of the CMB in 1964 firmly set the stage for the inflationary theory of the universe, yet knowing its existence wasn’t enough. To delve deeper, NASA first sponsored COBE (from 1976 to 1991) then picked WMAP to “drive down the margin of error and nail down the physical characteristics…expansion rate, geometry, matter density, matter to dark matter ratio…”. Thus cosmology follows the typical tale of scientific advancement; the piecing together of little clues to develop an overarching paradigm.

The technical information that relates to the CMB is humongous. This book is not. Lemonick chooses to go the route of simplicity in conveying the scientific details. For the most part, references come with minimal description. For example, the reader is left to wonder about the relative worth of HEMT’s (high electron mobility transistors) to bolometres as the electronic detector of choice. Or for another, we read of omega, the mass/energy density that relates to dark matter and dark energy and to the shape of the universe. There are some standard descriptions, such as of topology and its doughnuts, but that is all. As cosmology combines the skills of many disciplines, this level of detail is necessary for this size book.

Rather than concentrating on the technical aspects, Lemonick emphasises the people. This is sensible as Lemonick is not a cosmological theoretician, he is a broadsheet science writer. Using a mostly chronological ordering, he presents the prerequisite characters of WMAP and many of the COBE mission as well. We read of anxiety in building the satellite, preoccupation leading to gallbladder surgery, and sleepless nights necessary for processing data. By nicely adding emotion to the description of the scientists, Lemonick puts in a real human flavour. This lightens the topic, but if you’re not interested in the side details, such as procurement strategies for high end electronics, this can be a bit off putting.

Further, continual side steps into this trivia or some person’s characteristic traits makes this book hard to classify. At times, it seems quite eloquent, such as the setting described as “…after a mild winter, the brilliance of the campus in full bloom is almost overwhelming”. This same style relates to system testing where the satellite is “…plunged down to extreme cold, vibrated, bombarded with simulate microwave signals, blasted with sound waves from gigantic loudspeakers four feet across”. With these, the reading is simple but the overall sense is of a smooth series of factoids presented one after the other. Once finished, the reader should feel quite prepared for a game of Trivial Pursuit, the Cosmology Edition (if it exists).

If you’re looking for a well written, entertaining science book that is easy to pick up and put down, this is it. There’s enough substance to keep you interested while sitting on the bus commuting into work. However, there’s not enough to over embellish the lore of cosmology, the established traits of the pertinent scientists or typify the build out of scientific satellites. A clearer title or a clarifying sub title would have been helpful.

Well, how much are discoveries worth? A satellite can answer fundamental questions about our existence, but only if we want to pay the piper. The WMAP mission was such a story as with a ceiling cost, it successfully answered specific cosmologic questions. Michael Lemonick in his book Echo of the Big Bang brings to us the story of this mission, the people involved and the challenges of high-end electronics. In combining a sense of history with the warmth of personalities he gives the average person a great introduction into cosmology and high end science.

Review by Mark Mortimer

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To understand physics is to understand the motion of the objects surrounding our everyday lives. Studying wheels that turn on the ground is simple. Studying galaxies that spin is another thing altogether. However, the principles of a galaxy’s motion and that of a wheel are amazingly similar. Sometimes all we need do is build an imaginary scenario in our minds to postulate one truth, once given another.

Gleiser really promotes this idea of mental model building in his book as he chronologically steps through 3000 years of history. Further, by placing the reader beside the historical figure, he gives a feel for the real person. He does this by locating the person geographically, identifying supporters and detractors, and adding descriptions of any relevant tools. For example, Philolaus of Croton, around 450 BC, lived in Southern Italy but was encouraged by an unfriendly mob to move to Greece. Using Pythagorean principles, he postulated a framework of celestial objects that explained day and night on Earth. In so doing he was the first to place the sun at the centre of the universe. Philolaus had no tools at hand, but he did live with a collection of like minded thinkers. In a style like this, Gleiser not only shows the contributions of many people but he also shows how society’s collective knowledge replaced the belief that god(s) were responsible.

The chronological sequence gets a rough start as Gleiser begins by thoroughly assessing primitive philosophy. The first chapter delves into creation myths of long ago when people without much information tried to build a comprehension of their existence. With this, a reader may expect a strong leaning toward philosophy throughout. This is not the case, as aside from particular researchers involved with both physics and philosophy, the remaining contents fixates purely on the progress of physics. As expected, there are: the Greeks and their postulating, the trials between the Roman Catholic church and science, the empowerment of universities, and the transcendence of the individual. Some early researchers referred to may be unknown, but otherwise Gleiser includes all the big names.

This study of the main contributors turns out to be Gleiser’s actual intent. He uses this book as the text in a large physics class for non-science majors. Hence, though he alludes to the value of physics, he focuses on the people and their contributions. He likely has been doing this for some time as all his descriptions are extremely clear, simple and easy to follow. For instance, he uses the traditional means of describing special relativity; this being a person in a train and another at the station. Yet, he clearly describes the experimental basis for never having light at rest and thus needing light to have the same speed independent of the observer. No equations reside in the pages, nor pictures, though a few simple diagrams facilitate understanding. Because of this, Glacier’s non-science majors are likely very thankful.

However, Glacier short changes his students. Though his knowledge of physics and refined presentation skills comes across very well, he doesn’t tempt the students (or other readers) to deepen their understanding. For example, there is no push for them to spend more time wondering why the physical laws exist and are (apparently) universal. I liked the very brief discussion regarding the big bang and the time immediately before and after. Sadly, I didn’t really see any hooks that might draw in a reader. As such, this book is a great review and summary but does very little to encourage the advancement of knowledge, i.e., the making of new researchers.

The very word cosmology engenders visions of apparently unending borders. Going on a mission to explore where none have gone before seems like the only game in town. Marcelo Gleiser in his book The Dancing Universe provides some real background for those non-specialists who want to know more about the borders. And should society’s interest continue to grow, there just might come a time when people can travel to find if a border exists.

Review by Mark Mortimer

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Twelve people have had the experience of visiting our Moon’s surface. Probes and sensors tried to fill in our knowledge before landing but there’s nothing like first hand observation. Pockmarked with craters, ripped by rills and coated in dust, the gray, still surface stretches onto the horizon. Nothing marks distances, no clues to perception tell you where you are. Valleys may be a gentle slope down a few steps or a brusque drop down a one kilometre precipice. Without trees, bushes or human markers, you feel lost in an ever changing yet hauntingly, similar realm. People’s senses, tuned to the pace of life on Earth, got shocked by this vista but nevertheless were sufficiently able to perform on the Moon.

People and our Moon are the ingredients for this film. Join these two together and we get a taste of philosophy and a bucket full of technology. The beginning features children in a sparse film set responding to history questions. Who were the Apollo astronauts? What did they eat? Would you like to go to the Moon? These all obviously lead to the point of the film: that exploration is in our blood and we need to keep satisfying our craving. The innocense, lack of knowledge and desire of these children mirrors that of the unproven astronauts in the mid 60s.

With this basis, the film jumps into the good stuff. Using the full expanse of the IMAX screen combined with superb audio, the Moon arrives. Step by step, from landing the lunar module, opening the hatch and placing the foot onto the dusty plain, we have the impact of the desolation spreading about. All is still, quiet, transcendent, then a foot falls nearby and a shower of rocks and dust shoot towards us. Ducking, we smile and remember we’re just in a theatre. Interspersed with realistic but artificial events are vignettes of actual Apollo footage. The astronauts do strange shuffles to cross craters or jump with both feet high in the air, experiencing the delicious freedom of the lesser gravity. The film smoothly interweaves these with computer generations to deliver a thorough lunar presence.

The authenticity of the film’s computer generation appears both lifelike and technically accurate. Perhaps this is in part from the sponsorship of Lockheed Martin, a very knowledgeable partner. Renditions of the lunar module have creases in the right locations, antennas pop out appropriately and even dust and smear markings age the vehicle where it stands. As another example, the separation of the ascent stage from the descent stage stresses the technical imagination as no one saw this event from the vantage point shown in the film. Also, the audio wizards were busily at work as well. Actual capcom flow gets precisely overlaid onto computer generated images to increase the feel of authenticity.

Given this technical wonder, you might be worried about too dry a film. It isn’t. Comedy is present as live footage shows astronauts tripping, falling and playing golf. Animation puts us on the rear spoiler while the electric lunar buggy zooms between boulders, through craters all the while bouncing over exotic rough terrain. A little suspense highlights the challenges. Our animated astronauts have a vehicular accident from which to extricate themselves. Though only computer generated, there remains the overlying message, ‘what if this were to really happen?’.

Yet, this is the moon one more time. Some of us luckily enough saw the live broadcasts. Many subsequent films deliver the message of exploration and accomplishment. This is not new. The newness is the huge IMAX screen and the computer generated imagery. Don’t wait to watch this at home! This needs the big screen and the comical but vital 3D glasses. Experience the dust getting kicked into other face, feel the force of the rocket roaring overhead, lean with the car while zipping through a corner. The medium is what brings this alive again.

Adding to the my experience was one special audience member. Dr. Buzz Aldrin attended the special viewing for participants of the International Lunar Conference being held in Toronto. He generously offered a short question and answer session before and after the screening. Sharing of his memories of walking on the Moon and his thoughts for today, dovetailing with NASA’s recent announcement on returning to the moon, amplify the timely and authentic message of this film.

Our Moon spans our history, our culture and our world view. We need it as a stepping stone to greater things. Though indeed desolate, it has its own beauty and special nature that fascinates and attracts us. The film Magnificent Desolation by Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman and Mark Cowen puts our Moon before our eyes and under our toes. Take the easy journey to watch this film and prepare for our much more difficult real life journey to return to the Moon.

Review by Mark Mortimer

Magnificent Desolation starts on September 23 at IMAX theatres around the world.