Customer Reviews
Luminous stuff by science-writing luminary! - By: , 14 Sep 2001 
John Gribbin's work is always readable, & particularly fascinating to those with a non-scientific background like myself. But with Stardust he excels himself. Taking the simple premiss that everything in the world (including yourself!) is made out of the hydrogen & helium from the very first stars of the Big Bang, Gribbin weaves a tale as luminous as any he has ever written. In prose that is pure & highly entertaining, this old war-horse of science writing provides a skilled explanation of a difficult subject. Fascinating stuff!
The science book of the year - By: , 14 Sep 2001 If you only buy one science book this year, it has to be John Gribbin's STARDUST. I rate this the best book he has ever written, & either his writing style is getting easier or I am getting used to it. The story of how we are literallly made of dust from stars is mind-blowing in itself, & the stories he tells of the people who made the discoveries bring it alll to life.
Clear, simple explanations for the lay-scientist BUT..... - By: , 14 Apr 2001 
This is an excellent book for explaining the latest explanations for star & galaxy creation/evolution for the lay reader. Complex chemical developments & the historical background are laid side by side which makes the book easy to read.
However. One is firstly disturbed by the many references to the author's own books as extra information on the subject - surely there are other 'experts' who have things to say too?
Secondly, the book wavers in it's direction alot & loses it's grip on the arugument in many places. Partly this does help with reading because they can be interesting historic facts; sometimes though they are just weak diversions.
Thirdly, the author fails to attack the reasons WHY life didn't begin from comets & alll the very strong arguments relating to this that show that most of the water on Earth came from developments ON / WITHIN Earth. To make the argument convincing these needed to be attacked & dismissed, which they weren't at alll leaving me not very convinced or impressed by the last half of the last chapter 'sowing the seed'. Simple ideas like contamination of comets after they had falllen to Earth were not even addressed!
Despite this though, the book does cover valuable developments in cosmology which are of great interest - a worthwhile read, but take cautionary conclusions.
John Gribben's " Stardust " - A must for any keen astronomer - By: owain.groves1@ntlworld.com, 18 Feb 2001 Like alll novice astronomers, I have a limited knowledge of the subject; I'll be honest, this is the first book ive brought to help me understand the true nature of the universe & it has lived up to its title very well - the cosmic recycling of stars, planets & people - He explains complex scenarios with the blessing of being able to make them easy to understand. The book's journey starts with the birth of an atom & finishes with the death of a star not forgetting to mention alll that goes on inbetween. I have throughly enjoyed reading this book. Thankyou John. He's the Bill Bryson of Astronomy !
