On The Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres (On the Shoulders of Giants)
by Nicolaus Copernicus, Stephen Hawking
List Price:
Our Price: $8.95
You Save: $6.00 (40%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $1.87 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Nicolaus Copernicus, Stephen HawkingEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2004-12-01
ISBN: 0762420219
Number of pages: 408
Publisher: Running Press
Book Reviews of On The Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres (On the Shoulders of Giants)
Book Review: Awesome.
Summary: 4 Stars
OK, first of all, "GangstaLawya" seems to not be taking into account the fine work of Kepler, Newton, and Einstein when he suggests that we "remain agnostic" on the issue of heliocentrism. True, Copernicus himself does not excactly refute Ptolemy here (he actually was more worried about how other astronomers and Protestant theologians would react to his heliocentric system than how the Catholic church would see it... and his model wasn't fully accepted until over a hundred years after his death), but this model was later augmented by Kepler and Newton to the point where it does work better than Ptolemy's. And with all due respect, the Ptolmaic system is extremely convoluted, needlessly complicated, and downright ugly at times... so even if there's a simpler way of looking at things that works just as well, that's still a conceptial improvement. Occam's razor, y'know?
But I digress. As with most of my reviews of books like this, my concern isn't necessarily the actual book (which is usually self-evidently worthwhile), but with the presentation. I must say that it's a little awkward to see Stephen Hawking's name appear on the cover in larger type than Copernicus' and not get anything more than a very short introduction by him that doesn't say very much. In fact, there is not very much of a difference between this edition and the one published by Prometheus Books; the text is exactly the same and contains all the same diagrams. The cover is flashier (and says "Stephen Hawking!") and the type is cleaner. That's it. Those are the only real differences. In fact, the only reason I can see for this edition existing is Running Press (and Stephen Hawking) making a few bucks.
Despite all this, there isn't really anything here that detracts from the work. So basically, you can buy this copy or the Prometheus Books edtion and it won't matter; you'll get pretty much the same thing and pay pretty much the same price either way. I'll leave it up to you whether you want the flashy cover (complete with Stephen Hawking's name on it) or the plain one because that's really about as deep as the choice goes.
Astronomy Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Astronomy Books
Upper Atmosphere Models and Researchby Michael J. Rycroft
Pergamon Pr; Published: 1989-12-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $89.00
Lunar Science: Index, 1970-78: Conference Proceedingsby Amanda R Masterson
Pergamon Press; Published: 1979-11; Hardcover; Book
Titius-Bode Law of Planetary Distances: Its History and Theory (Monographs in Natural Philosophy)by Michael Martin Nieto
Pergamon Press; Published: 1972-08-17; Hardcover; Book
Elements of Literature, 6th Course: Literature of Britain with World Classicsby Jay Pasachoff
Holt, Rinehart and Winston; Published: 2000-10; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $47.00
The Jupiter Effectby John Gribbin, Isaac Asimov
HarperCollins Publishers; Published: 1977-02-28; Paperback; Book
Best price: $372.87
Planetary System - Textbook Onlyby David Morrison
Addison-Wesley Longman, Incorporated; Published: 2003; Paperback; Book
Best price: $317.36
Night Sky (Collins Watch Guide)by Liz (ed) Bourne
Harpercollins Pub Ltd; Published: 1999-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $66.41
The Universe in a Nutshellby Stephen William Hawking
Baker and Taylor; Bantam; Published: 2001-11-06; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $15.00
Price in other shops:
The Cambridge Star Atlasby Wil Tirion
Cambridge University Press; Published: 2001-03-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $132.93
A Beginner's Guide to Constructing the Universe: Mathematical Archetypes of Nature, Art, and Scienceby Michael S. Schneider
HarperPerennial; Published: 1995-09-29; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.78
Price in other shops:
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
The Evolution of Physicsby Albert Einstein, Leopold Infeld
Touchstone; Published: 1967-10-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.90
Price in other shops:
The Principia (Great Minds Series)by Isaac Newton, Andrew Motte
Prometheus Books; Published: 1995-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.36
Price in other shops:
Relativity: The Special and the General Theory (Classic Reprint)by Albert Einstein
Forgotten Books; Published: 2010-06-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.98
Price in other shops:
The Principia: Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophyby Isaac Newton
www.snowballpublishing.com; Published: 2010-02-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.06
Price in other shops:
The Works of Archimedes (Dover Books on Mathematics)by Archimedes, Mathematics
Dover Publications; Published: 2002-04-16; Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.20
Price in other shops:
Epitome/ Copernican Astronomy/ Harm (Great Minds Series)by Johannes Kepler
Prometheus Books; Published: 1995-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.38
Price in other shops:
Harmonies of the World (Forgotten Books)by Johannes Tyler Kepler
Forgotten Books; Published: 2008-05-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $7.50
Price in other shops:
The Principia : Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophyby Isaac Newton
University of California Press; Published: 1999-10-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $38.96
Price in other shops:
Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems: Ptolemaic and Copernicanby Galileo Galilei
Modern Library; Published: 2001-10-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.36
Price in other shops:
Euclid's Elementsby Euclid
Green Lion Press; Published: 2002-08-20; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.30
Price in other shops: