The Prophet And The Astronomer [Book Review]

Title: The Prophet And The Astronomer
Author: Marcelo Gleiser
Category: Science
Tastes like: History, philosophy, and theology wrapped around the birth and the death of the universe.

This book is appropriately subtitled "Apocalyptic Science And The End Of The World", as the sense of dread and doom that normally accompany celestial happenings are dissected in a historical account of the apocalyptic visions that humans have adopted since the dawn of time. After all, who hasn't gazed in awe or fear at the sight of their first solar eclipse or the passing of a comet.

It is a scientific certainty that our time in the physical world we know is limited. The author wastes no time with explaining this statement as he draws a parallel between our fear of the unknown and the theological reasoning we create for ourselves in times of crisis and impending doom. From astrology to astronomy, from Judaism to Christianity, the author does a fantastic job of explaining our need to constantly look beyond ourselves for answers to questions that exist beyond this material world.

Theology is just the beginning. As our knowledge of the cosmos increases, so does our ability to logically predict the fate of our universe. There is nothing left untouched in this scientific exploration of planets, suns, galaxies and universes. From a full account of what will happen when our sun spends all of its fuel (hint: it is not good) to a fictional short story about an adventure into the world of quantum mechanics, this book is sure to entertain both science and science fiction fans alike.

In closing, I would like to entice you with a summary of the short story I alluded to earlier. To explain the effects of quantum mechanics on larger scale bodies like humans, the author creates a fictional character who dives beyond the event horizon of a black hole. The result is an adventure into a psychedelic universe that draws you closer to the weirdness of the very small. By the end of the story, I was convinced that there are things in this world that are bigger (or smaller) than any of us.