The Universe. J. P. McEvoy. 2010.

Since the dawn of humanity, man has attempted to define the nature of the heavens. The first astronomers mapped the movement of the seasons and used the positions of the constellations for augurs and astrology. Today, the search goes ever deeper inside the nature of reality and life itself.

In this accessible overview, astrophysicist J. P. McEvoy tells the story of how our knowledge of the cosmos has developed. He puts in context many of the greatest discoveries of all time and many of the dominant personalities: from Aristotle, Copernicus and Newton, to Einstein and lesser-known pioneers such as Henrietta Leavitt.

McEvoy’s story of astronomy is an exciting account of discovery, but he also tells the story of the science, exploring in detail the key ideas that have changed the way we look at the universe: Newton’s mathematical model of the universe, Einstein’s theory of relativity as well as the extraordinary ideas that formed the theory of the Big Bang.