A reader-friendly survey of the current state of astrophysics and cosmology, weaving together up-to-the-minute observations, the most recent theories, and profiles of the major figures in the field—along with enough rudimentary background to make it all comprehensible to an intelligent lay reader willing to invest some effort. Only 50 years have passed since Edwin Hubble proved the existence of galaxies beyond the Milky Way, and only 25 since the discovery of cosmic microwave background radiation pointed to the Big Bang. Cosmology, Time-writer Lemonick says, remains ``pretheoretic [like] geology...before plate tectonics, or physics before Newton—just a collection of facts.'' Yet however unconfirmable, theories abound, and the author takes us around the world to the great observatories where new data is compiled and to quiet campuses where the stars of the field spin their theories to encompass such unexpected finds as the Great Wall, the Great Void, and the Great Attractor—all anomalous galactic structures of a scale too large to have been formed since the Big Bang, given our understanding of the universe's mass. Thus comes the question of ``missing matter'' and the cold-dark-matter, warm-dark-matter, and hot-dark-matter schools of thought to resolve it. Eschatological issues are covered as well: The theory of inflation—stating that a growth spurt occurred during the first seconds of time— addresses, among other matters, the ``flatness problem''—Will the universe expand forever, achieve equilibrium, or mirror the Big Bang in a ``Big Crunch?'' Immensely informative—and lots of fun. (Thirty b&w photographs—not seen)
Pub Date: May 1, 1993
ISBN: 0-679-41304-9
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Villard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1993
Wall Street Journal Pentagon correspondent Ricks effectively combines a vivid account of the rigorous basic training received by US Marine recruits with commentary on what separates the demanding, disciplined culture of America's military elite from the more permissive culture of its civilian society. The author tracks the 60-odd volunteers who comprised Platoon 3086 at Parris Island i 1995 through the challenging 11-week course known as boot camp. Unlike their counterparts in other branches of the US military, aspiring marines do not train alongside women; nor do they have access to alcohol, automobiles, candy, cigarettes, drugs, or various other diversions dear to the hearts of young American males. Ricks offers anecdotal evidence on what USMC recruits must endure in the way of indoctrination from fearsome (but no longer gratuitously brutal) drill instructors in the deep piney woods where apprentice warriors get their first taste of what combat is like, and in other invariably sweaty venues. He goes on to review the washout rate of 14 percent or so (which thins 3086's ranks to 55 by graduation day), the ongoing debate on ever-tougher entrance requirements (which probably cost the corps some superior fighting men), and the army's purposefully ``user-friendly'' training regimen (which reportedly neither instills esprit nor prepares soldiers to do battle). Covered as well is the risk that alienation could induce cream-of-the-crop troops like marines to take a more forceful role in the governance of the nation they are pledged to protect, if not engage in an outright coup. The author argues that it behooves America's largely oblivious middle and upper classes to take a more direct interest in their military. A revelatory briefing on what sets the USMC apart and the consequences of its superiority during a postCold War era when, for all the talk of peace dividends, the wider world remains an armed and dangerous place. (16 pages photos, maps, not seen) (Radio satellite tour)
Pub Date: Nov. 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-684-83109-0
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1997
Appearances to the contrary, this is not a remake of The Making of the Atomic Bomb, Rhodes's very successful technical chronicle of the Manhattan Project. In that book, which was honored with a National Book Award, a National Book Critics Circle Award, and a Pulitzer Prize, Rhodes stuck closely to his topic. Here, it is not until halfway through the book, literally, that he begins to talk specifically about the hydrogen bomb. Up to then he mainly discusses Soviet atomic espionage and the early history of the Soviet atomic bomb program, a subject covered much more authoritatively and concisely in David Holloway's Stalin and the Bomb (1994). One has the impression that Rhodes just wants to show off what he has learned from the newly opened Soviet archives. Only well into the book does it become clear that what mainly interests him is the battle between J. Robert Oppenheimer and Edward Teller over the development of the hydrogen bomb and the direction national policy would take in the 1950s: Their battle for the soul of the American public was Oppenheimer's tragic undoing, stripped him of his security clearances, and removed him from US policy-making; Teller's semi- Pyrrhic victory left him a virtual pariah in the world of physics. Rhodes brings to that story sound judgment, a sharp eye for intrinsically fascinating detail, andnot leasta nice way with words. His down-to-earth manner also leads Rhodes to nose out little-remarked nuggets, telling us, for example, that the famous atomic spy Klaus Fuchs and mathematician John von Neumann filed a patent together for the H-bomb in 1946. This big book is not necessarily the best place to get the big picture. But who cares? Rhodes manages to fit in a wealth of interesting detail without worrying too much about how it all hangs together. (First printing of 100,000; first serial to the New Yorker; Book-of-the-Month Club/History Book Club alternate selections; author tour)
Pub Date: Aug. 8, 1995
ISBN: 0-684-80400-X
Page Count: 736
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 1995
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