The Big Bang to Now: All of Time in Six Chunks

By Terry Herman Sissons

Book Overview

If you are among the many who think of billions, or a hundred thousand, or tens of millions of years ago as all just "a very very long time ago," The Big Bang to Now: All of Time in Six Chunks will be an enlightening surprise. Terry Sissons divides time into six chunks - fewer numbers than are in a telephone number - to create a review of the 13.7 billion years of all of time. The surprise is that learning just these six chunks can transform one's understanding of time from grand confusion to quite amazing clarity. The Big Bang to Now is not packed with dense pages detailing what scientists have learned about our past. These details are important, but learning too much detail before one sees the big picture often leads not to knowledge and understanding but to bewilderment. The Big Bang to Now tells the story of time in less than 100 key events, and with a large amount of reassuring white space. Each page describes just one important event, like the Big Bang, the creation of our solar system, the emergence of life on Earth, man's first appearance. A facing page bullets important points and ongoing questions that are alternatively fun, fascinating, and thought-provoking. As a result, the book leaves the reader with a coherent structure within which new discoveries and learning can be fitted into the larger context. It also makes it possible to answer many questions without looking up the answers at all. Questions like: -Did early man hunt dinosaurs? -Was the universe ever completely dark? -Where did the atoms and molecules that make up our bodies come from? -Did hunter-gatherer societies have writing? -When did we start to use the wheel? Or start to wear clothes? Or domesticate animals? -Will Earth ever have another Ice Age? If so, when will it happen? How long will it last? -Why are some animals extinct? What causes extinctions at all? Whether you think our past can help us make better decisions for our future, or want to decide if the discoveries of science deepens or contradicts religious belief, it's a book that reveals a sometimes baffling, sometimes brutal, always amazing universe.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1477638504
• ISBN13: 9781477638507
• Release Date: September 2012
• Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Super Pocketbook Reference

I recommend Terry Sissons' The Big Bang To Now: A Time Line as both an interesting read and a handy reference guide. When I first received a copy, I opened it randomly and learned that dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago; homo sapiens' migration from Africa took only 10,000 years to reach China and Australia; and Queen Victoria reigned from 1837 to 1901. I settled down for an easy, informative read that gave a straightforward perspective on the basic cosmic and historic events of the last 13 billion years. Though that first read would have been plenty to rationalize the cost of The Big Bang to Now, I continue to find it a valuable reference. My college bound daughter has absconded with my first copy because she wants it at school to answer a multitude of questions that come up from friendly discussions to writing papers. I have obtained copies for both home and the office because it is so easily helpful in answering "When was that?" whether the query is about astronomy, anthropology, science, or western civilization. I have a friend who carries a pocket atlas in her handbag. Now that I have a copy of The Big Bang to Now with me, an understanding of the world we live in and how we got here is always at our fingertips.

This No-Nonsense Presentation of the Universe is Fun

This exciting version of the whole of time divides time into about 100 eras and gives a one page, wrily factual account of each. The opposite page of each section, has a thought-provoking commentary on the era. It is an inviting, easy read suitable for anyone from early teens to ancient. But, no, it is not trivial. The brief summaries of each era are soundly based on the up-to-date knowledge of 2006- with a clear reminder that science is what we know now and will surely change as time goes by. That is a good lesson for anyone to learn, and this book is an easy way to learn it. A compulsive book for the dipper-in, there are plenty of pointers to further reading on any age that grabs.

"We are made of stardust... We live in Mystery..."

This little book will delight, educate but above all amaze those readers who are fortunate enough to find it. I was attracted by its beautiful cover, its paperback format and attractive size, but even as I picked it up I felt my fear of "science..." - I was totally unprepared for the excitement, the mental and spiritual stimulation the book provides. The holistic, individual-page presentation leads past fear and soon I was completely absorbed, savoring the quality of the writing itself, and fascinated by the story of "all of time." The book is a page-turner that can be read at a sitting, as a seamless whole - or that can be put down when the baby cries or the telephone rings and perhaps not picked up again for days. Nothing will be lost. There is no sense of disconnection, nor any need to keep in mind all that went before as a prerequisite for understanding. The premise of the book is that there is no disconnection--that our amazing truth is that we are all connected, bit by physical bit, moment by preceding moment, to each other and to the source of all, whatever it is. And the author emphasizes that scientific exploration is not in conflict with religious belief; that there are "both scientists and non-scientists who believe in God, and equally those who don't" (p. 11). I would recommend that this book be put into the hands of as many high-school-age people as you know, to inspire them to take up the study of science without fear of its being "too hard" - to let them know that, instead, it is a fascinating journey, and one that interweaves with all the other ways in which we seek to enjoy and understand our world, e.g. history / literature / art / environmental and global studies. It would make a great gift for friends of all ages as well. I have enjoyed it immensely, and will keep it near at hand in my reading space, to pick up at any time - on any page - to further my own education. I wish this little book great good fortune as it circulates through time!

Big Bang Made Easy

I am familiar with almost all the events described in The Big Bang to Now, but I still found it compulsive reading. The author succeeded in weaving the major events of time into a coherent whole that the reader can comprehend. The bookis not overwhelming in detail or scientific jargon or discourse about the latest findings, which might be why I understood more about how our universe is unfolding than before I read it. Since discovering this book, my list for birthday, graduation, and Christmas gifts has been greatly simplified. I am giving it to anyone old enough to care about our planet or who wonders where we fit into the Great Scheme of things. I can even give it to someone who already has everything. They won't have anything like this yet. Robert Bellarmine

The Story of Time from the Beginning

The author has the voice of a storyteller. The book is an invitation, in an accessible style and format, to further reading and reflection. Each one-page narrative is supported by a page of provocative and imaginative details; for example, the narrative page on "Stone Tools-2.5 million years ago" is complemented by comments on the the nature of the primitive, the need for forethought and the development of the neocortex. This book combines solid science, a critical view of history, elegant writing and nice humor.