Malcolm Longair is Jacksonian Professor of Natural Philosophy at the Cavendish Laboratory, University of Cambridge.
'Little of astrophysics and cosmology escapes the gaze of Longair ... Readers, especially those already familiar with many of the topics, will enjoy his prose. Certainly all graduate students in the field should read this book. And anyone interested in the history of science would enjoy it as bedside reading if they were willing to skip the equations.' Jay M. Pasachoff, Nature 'I can envisage this book being useful to physicists from other areas of specialization, who would like an overview of astrophysics and cosmology, or for workers in one of these areas who want to broaden their horizons. It could also be a text for graduate students in astronomy, astrophysics or astrophysical cosmology, who want a synoptic overview of these areas ... the book ... clearly separates speculation from well-established theory ... a sound work that will be well appreciated.' George Ellis, Nature Physics 'Written with grace, clarity and formidable knowledge this is simply a book that every serious student of astrophysics must have.' Astronomy Now