STARMAP

Thank you again for your interest in our book reviews. We read and we reviewed your book and liked it very much. Here is a copy of our review: 

Five Stars 

I enjoyed reading “STARMAP, AN INTRODUCTORY PICTORIAL TOUR OF THE UNIVERSE” by Dr. Edward Alan Ridgill, who in my opinion has written a beautiful and intriguing book about the Universe.  The author explains his book is designed for many readers including, students, inquisitive readers, children, and adults. I certainly agree he accomplished that as the text, photography, illustrations, graphs, and much more are truly exceptional.

In my opinion, the good doctor has created a book that sparks interest in the universe in a very enjoyable way.

Firstly, I felt the book was brilliantly organized so that it concisely covered a lot of material from the sun, our own Earth, the moon, the solar system, the planets, the Milky Way galaxy, interstellar space, our nearest star, comets, meteors, nebulae, quasars, galaxy clusters, space exploration, and much more. I felt the author gave a strong introduction into our present understanding of the universe – just enough to entice a reader to eagerly learn much more.

At the end of the book, there is a remarkably interesting chapter that discusses the intriguing possibility of life in the universe explaining the Drake Equation,

“The Drake Equation is a probabilistic argument used to estimate the number of active, communicative extraterrestrial civilizations in our Milky Way galaxy. This equation concludes that there are between 1000 and 100,000,000 planets with civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy.

The author has dedicated the book to his grandchildren and kids of all ages who have inquisitive minds and desire to understand their place in the Universe. As I read the book and enjoyed the content and amazing pictures, I thought of what Einstein once said, “The definition of genius is taking the complex and making it simple.”

I felt the author has certainly accomplished this by writing in a straightforward and truly clear manner making complicated concepts and theories about the Universe easier to understand and his work gave me a new and much broader understanding of our existence and the total environment.

For example, to show you what I mean here is the good doctor's explanation of a black hole,

“Black holes are collapsed stars that form a vacuum that is so strong that not only can particles, gas, dust, and stars not escape its gravitational pull, but even light cannot escape a black hole.  The boundary of the region from which no escape is possible is called the “event horizon”. The magnetic field of a black hole is 100 million to 1 quadrillion times stronger than Earth’s magnetic field.”

I enjoyed the way he provides colorful illustrations and amazing pictures all throughout the book to further his content.

In my opinion, this book makes an excellent coffee table/waiting room book as I found it absorbing and time flew by as I went through it leaving me with a desire to learn more.

I also liked the references at the end of the book very much that show where more information about the various subjects in this fascinating book could be found.

All in all, I highly recommend this engaging, and thought-provoking book. I felt it was a unique read and very well done! Excellent work!

It was my pleasure to receive a free copy of this book but that does not in any way affect my opinions in this review of this exceptional book!

We posted our review on Goodreads, and our social media and we have submitted the review to Amazon.  

• Report

Post by Standor5865 » 07 Jun 2021, 15:49

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Starmap" by Edward A. Ridgill, M.D..]
📷3 out of 4 Stars This Review
Starmap: An Introductory Pictorial Tour of the Universe by Edward A. Ridgill, M.D. takes us through the Universe beyond Earth that we know. Have you ever wondered what lies out there? In this book, we explore the different galaxies, from the Milky Way, Andromeda, and Tadpole galaxies to the Cartwheel galaxy, while looking into the planets in the Milky Way galaxy, their features and compositions, and their stars. Then, we also learn about the origin of the Universe, the possibility of life outside Earth, and different means and instruments employed in conducting studies on the Universe. Join Edward A. Ridgill, M.D. on the journey to exploring the Universe as you pick up this book.

I found this book very informative, as I learned a lot of new things. I have always been fascinated by what the rest of the Universe is like. A few books and movies include some information concerning this, but here, the author does a thorough job. One of my favorite aspects of the book is how organized and accessible the information is. The author also employs a lot of images that have been taken by scientists to give readers a view of the positions of satellites and planets relative to Earth.

From the formation of stars and the Chelyabinsk Meteor that is the largest object to fall in Earth's atmosphere to the extinction of dinosaurs over 66 million years ago and the event horizon in a black hole, the book did not lack in intriguing information, and Edward A. Ridgill, M.D. does very well to include citations to verify his lessons and for more information at every point of the book. I would have appreciated a more in-depth look into the "Big Bang Theory" and the forms of evidence for it, however.

Also, Starmap: An Introductory Pictorial Tour of the Universe is not a professionally edited book.  I found too many errors while reading, especially revolving around not capitalizing planet names and run-on sentences. These errors were quite distracting and greatly affected the flow of my reading. This was what I disliked the most about the book. *

At just 131 pages in length of the book, the book may not have detailed information at times, but it is an easy read. The well-researched and educative nature of the book and the author's inclusion of relevant images mean that I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars. The errors I found convinced me against giving the book the maximum rating. Readers who enjoy astronomy and astrophysics will enjoy reading Starmap: An Introductory Pictorial Tour of the Universe.

* Authors note:  Starmap has been professionally edited since this review.  Thank you for your observations.

******
Starmap
View: on Bookshelves | on AmazonLatest Review: Conversing with Various Entities by Mary Ellen WallTopNqobile771Posts: 1206Joined: 23 Jul 2020, 03:062021 Reading Goal: 30Favorite Book: Happy HealingCurrently Reading: Wilderness CryBookshelf Size: 199Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-nqobile771.htmlLatest Review: Life on the Land by Carolyn J. Brown

• Report

Post by Nqobile771 » 09 Jun 2021, 07:54

At some point in life I was fascinated by astronomy and was privileged enough to see the surface of the moon through one of the largest telescopes in the southern hemisphere, S.A.LT. and I must say that it was a beautiful sight to see. I think this book will take me back and I might also learn of the latest developments in astronomy. Thanks for a detailed review!Documented history is a gift from the past to the future! - NqobileMLatest Review: Life on the Land by Carolyn J. BrownTopPallavi LakraPosts: 87Joined: 24 May 2021, 08:522021 Reading Goal: 10Currently Reading: Apotheosis NowBookshelf Size: 44

• Report

Post by Pallavi Lakra » 09 Jun 2021, 10:12

It is every Cosmo lovers concepts in one book. Would definitely read this. And hopefully the book will go through an edit to correct the errors.
Thanks for the great review!