Laird A. Thompson is Professor Emeritus of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He has held appointments at the Kitt Peak National Observatory, at the Universities of Hawaii and Nebraska, and is a member of the American Astronomical Society and the International Astronomical Union.
'... a very readable book, and I recommend it to anyone who wants to know about the universe at large scales.' Ingemar Bengtsson, Contemporary Physics 'Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals.' S. P. Maran, Choice