Review of Elementary Cosmology: From Aristotle's Universe to the Big Bang, Second Edition by James J. Kolata

Phillip Helbig

The Observatory, 141, 1283, 215–216 (August 2021)


This is a book review of Elementary Cosmology by James J. Kolata.

Elementary Cosmology: From Aristotle's Universe to the Big Bang and Beyond, Second Edition, by James J. Kolata (IoP Publishing), 2021. Pp. 153, 26 x 18.5 cm. Price £30 (hardbound, ISBN 978 0 7503 3613 0).

The name is apt, as it is much more basic than other cosmology textbooks I've reviewed for The Observatory. It is broad, covering nearly all the topics expected in an introductory cosmology course, but of course at the expense of depth. There is a slight emphasis on particle-physics aspects at the expense of traditional observational cosmology. The main problem is with the more traditional topics. While not the author's area of research, a book at this level should be able to get everything right. I've seen similar goofs elsewhere, but expected more from a book published under the aegis of the American Astronomical Society. After about half-way through, there are practically no such mistakes. Those in the first half are easy enough to correct. There is a reasonably good book here waiting to get out, but marred by easy-to-fix problems.


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