[.ca] Magnificent Universe (ISBN 0684845946)

From Amazon.com:
Not all astronomers are totally thrilled with the Hubble Space Telescope. "That's not data, it's pictures," they complain. But what pictures: never has the universe seemed so gorgeous, powerful, diverse: in a word, magnificent. Only part of the pictures in Ken Croswell's Magnificent Universe are from the Hubble, but all cleave to the same high standard. Whether of Mars, a supernova, or galaxies in collision, they are beautiful. The paper in the book is glossy black, which is ideal for bringing out colors and details in the photographs, each of which covers an entire very large page. The white-on-black text is less special, meant more for browsing than for learning. It's rather a pity, because Croswell's other books (The Alchemy of the Heavens and Planet Quest) are written in a style both witty and informative. The only astronomy coffee-table book that can begin to compare to this one for beauty is Full Moon. The black-and-white photos in the latter have a stark loveliness with something of the chill of space; the pictures in Magnificent Universe are colorful and even exciting, giving the reader sheer, sensual pleasure along with their sense of wonder. --Mary Ellen Curtin

The Magnificent Universe is Simply Magnificent:
One of the most enjoyable books I have ever read or seen. Perhaps it is one of the most beautiful books ever published. The book is a must buy if you like astronomy and is also a good way to inspire children into the wonders of the Cosmos. One cannot help but read and look at this book and wonder at the magnificence of the universe in which we live. Five Stars! Jeff Scott

Magnificent Book!:
With this book, Ken Croswell opens to the reader the beauty of our universe with his unique prose coupled with the best pictures from leading observatories around the world. From the cover itself you will experience an unforgettable journey through the heavens, with splendid vistas and splendid lectures that will give you a taste of the cosmos on a "majestic scale". First, you will encounter "The Planets", "one by one as they race around the sun". Then, "The Stars","colorful gems that make the heavens sparkle". Farther away, "The Galaxies", "specking space the way flowers dot a spring garden". and then, "The Universe" opening up with "cosmology's first observation: the dark night sky". Poetic and visually amazing, the book also contains colorful tables for data lovers and a small glossary for quick reference as well as an index for further reading. In short, a magnificent book!

Great science blended with brilliant photographs!:
This is an extraordinary book. I'm giving a copy to my 10 year old grand daughter. The photos are exceptional but they are backed by succinct, clear, explanation that any intelligent reader can grasp. It looks like a coffee table book, but I can't imagine a better introduction to astronomy. Because of its beauty combined with brevity it leaves even those who know the topic with a feeling of grasping the whole at a new level.

Fascinating jaw-dropping photographs:
This is THE astronomy book for the coffee table. The photos are truly awe-inspiring and will have house guests thinking about getting into astronomy! For amateur astronomers, this book makes for great cloudy-night browsing. All photographs have brief but well-written captions explaining what you're looking at. The gorgeous colors and large format pages allow for great dramatic impact. It is an expensive book. However, it is (to my knowledge) the best of its kind. Admittedly, I went through it a couple times and now it just sits on my bookshelf! But it's always fun to show it to other people. I think every amateur astronomer would want a book like this to let the imagination run free once in a while. The various galaxies pictured in the book seem so close and detailed that it's easy to start dreaming of journeying there in a spaceship. We forget how incredibly far off these behemoth "island universes" are.

Ditto:
I'll echo the thoughts of the other reviewers. Great picture book for the coffee table. I slightly preferred the pictures in Malin's Invisible Universe, but I bought this one for one basic reason: it's smaller in size and actually fits on our coffee table! Unlike Malin, it also has pictures of the planets. You won't go wrong with this or Malin, but I'd buy Malin's first if I had a bigger table, mainly because his pictures of several star fields are just glorious. "What a mighty God we serve!"