From Amazon
Clifford Pickover, an extraordinarily prolific and polymathic research scientist at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center, has consistently been one of the most creative writers about computer graphics, scientific visualization, and mathematical models of natural and physical systems. This latest offering is classic Pickover in its wealth of information, ideas, bold speculations and and propositions -- including proposed "hands-on" experiments with black holes -- which just may turn out to be plausible. Recommended.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
From Library Journal
Black holes. They're exotic, violent, mysterious-a paradoxical phenomenon not easily understood. Acclaimed author and computer artist Pickover (Mazes for the Mind, LJ 12/92) has succeeded in presenting a skillful and entertaining explanation. Through a lively dialog between imaginary space explorers, he invites the reader to participate in experiments, puzzles, and computer programs that investigate and reveal the properties of black holes. Unfortunately, to travel this realm you need a science degree for a passport. Though filled with thought-provoking literary quotations and amusing real-life analogies designed to make science accessible to the lay reader, this text is loaded with mathematical formulas and weighty topics like gravitational time dilation, blueshift, and wave recoil. Despite its good intentions, it is way over the general reader's head, but it could become a cult classic for computer junkies and the scientifically literate. Highly recommended for academic and large public libraries.
Valerie Vaughan, Hatfield P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Valerie Vaughan, Hatfield P.L., Mass.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
BLACK HOLES A TRAVELER'S GUIDE
Clifford Pickover's inventive and entertaining excursion beyond the curves of space and time.
"I've enjoyed Clifford Pickover's earlier books . . . now he has ventured into the exploration of black holes. All would-be tourists are strongly advised to read his traveler's guide." -Arthur C. Clarke.
"Many books have been written about black holes, but none surpass this one in arousing emotions of awe and wonder towards the mysterious structure of the universe." -Martin Gardner.
"Bucky Fuller thought big. Arthur C. Clarke thinks big, but Cliff Pickover outdoes them both." -Wired.
"The book is fun, zany, in-your-face, and refreshingly addictive." -Times Higher Education Supplement.
Clifford Pickover's inventive and entertaining excursion beyond the curves of space and time.
"I've enjoyed Clifford Pickover's earlier books . . . now he has ventured into the exploration of black holes. All would-be tourists are strongly advised to read his traveler's guide." -Arthur C. Clarke.
"Many books have been written about black holes, but none surpass this one in arousing emotions of awe and wonder towards the mysterious structure of the universe." -Martin Gardner.
"Bucky Fuller thought big. Arthur C. Clarke thinks big, but Cliff Pickover outdoes them both." -Wired.
"The book is fun, zany, in-your-face, and refreshingly addictive." -Times Higher Education Supplement.
From the Back Cover
BLACK HOLES A TRAVELER'S GUIDE
Clifford Pickover's inventive and entertaining excursion beyond the curves of space and time.
"I've enjoyed Clifford Pickover's earlier books . . . now he has ventured into the exploration of black holes. All would-be tourists are strongly advised to read his traveler's guide." -Arthur C. Clarke.
"Many books have been written about black holes, but none surpass this one in arousing emotions of awe and wonder towards the mysterious structure of the universe." -Martin Gardner.
"Bucky Fuller thought big. Arthur C. Clarke thinks big, but Cliff Pickover outdoes them both." -Wired.
"The book is fun, zany, in-your-face, and refreshingly addictive." -Times Higher Education Supplement.
Clifford Pickover's inventive and entertaining excursion beyond the curves of space and time.
"I've enjoyed Clifford Pickover's earlier books . . . now he has ventured into the exploration of black holes. All would-be tourists are strongly advised to read his traveler's guide." -Arthur C. Clarke.
"Many books have been written about black holes, but none surpass this one in arousing emotions of awe and wonder towards the mysterious structure of the universe." -Martin Gardner.
"Bucky Fuller thought big. Arthur C. Clarke thinks big, but Cliff Pickover outdoes them both." -Wired.
"The book is fun, zany, in-your-face, and refreshingly addictive." -Times Higher Education Supplement.
About the Author
CLIFFORD A. PICKOVER, Ph.D., is the author of numerous popular science and mathematics books, including Keys to Infinity, Chaos in Wonderland, and Mazes for the Mind. He is also the lead columnist for the "Brain Boggler" section in Discover magazine. He is a researcher at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center, and his work in computer science has been featured in numerous magazines and newspapers, including the Washington Post, Wired, the Christian Science Monitor, Omni, and Science News. For his work in computer graphics, he received first prize in the 1990 Beauty of Physics Competition.
