BOOK REVIEW - NON-FICTION
Isaac Asimov�s Guide To Earth and Space, by Isaac Asimov. Random House, 1991
Isaac Asimov was a world famous author of science fiction novels (including the Foundation and Empire series and the Positronic Robot series) but, for the last half of his writing career, he devoted much of his time to non-fiction, popularizing (proselytizing) science. He presents complex ideas simply, so that anyone can understand them, but never talks down to his readers or makes the concepts too simple. His non-fiction writing style is perfect - entertaining, gently humorous, always interesting. (In fact, I prefer it to his fiction writing style.)
This book is written for youngsters, but it is the kind of book that anyone of any age can read and learn from. Indeed, any well written book for youngsters is equally readable for adults, when what is wanted is an introduction to a subject.
Asimov�s Guide provides a firm grounding which interested readers can use as a starting point to pursue the subjects he introduces more fully - from astronomy to geology. Asimov asks a series of 111 questions, then answers each one, devoting a couple of pages to each. It has always been Asimov�s style, when he�s explaining something, to start from the very beginnings of the subject and proceed to the penultimate point. He makes every concept clear, giving understandable examples to illustrate all of his points.
Highly recommended (as are all of Asimov�s collections of essays).
Table of contents:
Introduction
1. What is the Shape of the Earth?
2. What is the Size of the Earth?
3. If The Earth Is a Sphere, Why Don�t We Slide Off?
4. Does The Earth Move?
5. When You Jump Up, Why Don�t You Come Down in a Different Place?
6. What Makes The Wind Blow?
7. Why Is Summer Warmer Than Winter?
8. How Do We Measure Time?
9. How Do We Measure Time Intervals Less Than A Day Long?
10. How Old Is The Earth?
11. How Was The Age of the Earth Finally Determined?
12. What Is Mass?
13. What Is The Mass of the Earth?
14. What Is Density?
15. Is The Earth Hollow?
16. What Is The Earth�s Interior Really Like?
17. Do The Continents Move?
18. What Causes Earthquakes and Volcanoes?
19. What Is Heat?
20. What Is Temperature?
21. How Do We Measure Temperature?
22. What Is Energy?
23. Is It Possible To Run Out of Energy?
24. What Is The Internal Temperature of the Earth?
25. Why Doesn�t The Earth Cool Off?
26. Does The Sky Turn In One Piece?
27. Is The Earth The Center of the Universe?
28. Once Again, Then, Is The Earth the Center of the Universe?
29. Can Copernicus� View Be Improved?
30. How Was The Earth Formed?
31. Is The Earth A Magnet?
32. Is The Earth A Perfect Sphere?
33. Why Does The Moon Change It�s Shape?
34. Does The Earth Shine?
35. Why Are There Eclipses of the Sun and Moon?
36. Does The Moon Turn?
37. How Far Away Is The Moon?
38. What Is The Mass of the Moon?
39. What Are The Tides?
40. How Do The Tides Affect The Earth?
41. Is There Life on the Moon?
42. What Caused The Craters on the Moon?
43. How Was The Moon Formed?
44. Can We Reach The Moon?
45. What Are Meteorites?
46. Might Meteorites Be Dangerous To Life and Property?
47. What Are Asteroids?
48. Are There Asteroids Only In The Asteroid Belt?
49. What Are Comets?
50. Why Do Comets Look Fuzzy?
51. What Happens To Comets?
52. Where Do Comets Come From?
53. How Far Is The Sun?
54. Is The Earth Large?
55. Are There Planets The Ancients Didn�t Know?
56. In What Ways Are The Giant Planets Different?
57. Is There Life On Venus?
58. Is There Life on Mars?
59. Is There Life In The Outer Solar System?
60. What Does The Sun Look Like?
61. What Is Sunlight?
62. What Are Spectral Lines?
63. What Is The Mass Of The Sun?
64. What Is The Sun Made Of?
65. What Are The Planetary Bodies Made Of?
66. How Hot Is The Sun?
67. What Is The Solar Corona?
68. What Are Solar Flares?
69. Why Doesn�t The Sun Cool Off?
70. How Does Nuclear Energy Power The Sun?
71. Are There Stars The Ancients Didn�t Know?
72. Are The Fixed Stars Really Fixed?
73. Is There A Sphere Of the Stars?
74. What Are Stars?
75. How Far Are The Stars, Actually?
76. How Fast Does Light Travel?
77. What Is A Light-Year?
78. Is The Sun Moving?
79. Are The Laws of Nature The Same Everywhere?
80. What Are Variable Stars?
81. How Do Stars Differ From One Another?
82. What Happens When The Hydrogen Supply of a Star Runs Low?
83. Will Our Sun Ever Become A Red Giant?
84. Why Do Very Luminous Stars Still Exist?
85. What Is A White Dwarf?
86. What Is A Nova?
87. What Is A Supernova?
88. Is There Anything Useful About Supernovas?
89. Is There Life On Planets Circling Other Stars?
90. What Are Globular Clusters?
91. What Are Nebulas?
92. What Is The Galaxy?
93. Where Is The Center of the Galaxy?
94. What Is The Doppler Effect?
95. Is The Galaxy Rotating?
96. Does Anything Reach Us From The Stars Besides Light?
97. What Is The Electromagnetic Spectrum?
98. How Did Radio Astronomy Develop?
99. What Are Pulsars?
100. What Are Black Holes?
101. What Is In Interstellar Dust Clouds?
102. What Is SETI?
103. Is The Galaxy The Entire Universe?
104. Are The Galaxies Moving?
105. Is There A Center of the Universe?
106. How Old Is The Universe?
107. What Are Quasars?
108. Can We See The Big Bang?
109. How Did The Big Bang Arise?
110. Will The Expansion of the Universe Continue Forever?
111. Is There Matter In the Universe We Can�t See?
Index
