Beginnings: The Story of Origins--Of Mankind, Life, the Earth, the Universe

by Isaac Asimov

Book Overview

A wondrous excursion through 15 billion years of human and prehuman history, written by America's most popular and exciting science writer. From the explosive flash of the birth of the universe to the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0802710034
• ISBN13: 9780802710031
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Walker & Company
• Length: 284 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Fun, informative read!

This is one of my favorite books for evenings when I feel like learning something in an entertaining way. Of course, if you're looking for an exhaustive treatment of any of the varied subjects covered, you'll have to turn to the many authoritative texts out there (for example, the part about vertebrate paleontology sparked my interest enough to read an old textbook that had been sitting on my shelf a long time called "Evolution of the Vertebrates" which turned out to be excellent!).The main charm, and ultimately the main value, of this book is not however its depth but its impressive breadth. I love the sense of mystery it is infused with. Rather than take the typical approach of starting with the Big Bang and summarizing major events after that, he actually begins with a seemingly simple topic that most people feel they know enough about -- the history of human flight. This leads into another chapter about recorded history, which leads to the bigger mystery of prehistoric civilizations, then the origin of man himself... well, you get the picture!For anyone with a fascination for science, love of a good mystery, and fondness for the Good Doctor's deceptively simple but always informative prose, look no further than this little gem. I picked it up as an afterthough because I loved Asimov's fiction, but I've now read it three times in as many years!

A coprehensive course of science.

Azimov's Beginnings is a book every science teacher and student must read.I begin, finally, to understand all those boring highschool science classes. A masterpiece.

An excellent review of evolutionary history

Asimov, as usual, handles these topics with a clear, concise presentation of the facts. His explanations are excellent. He provides very good, concrete arguments for the evolutionary processes which have shaped and guided our growth and development. I couldn't put it down and continually reread it.I recommend it to anyone interested in the truth about our existence.

One fan's review

Of all of Asimov's non-fiction books I've read this one was my favorite.He concisely describes how different sciences and discoveries are connected. He does this by working backwards starting with human flight. If there is someone you know that doesn't fully undertand the way the world is interconnected, give them this book!

Science that reads better than many novels...

Here is an overview of current (well, 1995) natural science state of the art. The surprising part is how it compells you to turn the page. It's one of the few books that I keep buying and giving away to friends. Very highly recommended.