In this well-designed volume, the authors summarize astronomers' present understanding of the structure of the universe and Earth's place in it. Included in the discussion are details about the observations and the reasoning that led to this current picture. Photographs, illustrations, and diagrams, are effectively captioned. Sidebars contribute additional information. Reading list, "Space Age" timeline, websites. Glos., ind.

Gr 6-9-Authoritative, objective, and broadly based treatments of high-interest topics. While these books are beautifully designed and well illustrated, they have worthy competitors for scarce library dollars and readers' attention. In Global Warming, the authors provide background information on public and scientific controversy, and end with ways that individuals can make a difference in their own lives. Laurence Pringle's Global Warming (SeaStar, 2001), Mark Maslin's Global Warming (Voyageur, 2002), and Paul Stein's Global Warming (Rosen, 2001) all cover much of the same material for this audience. Pringle's illustrations are more attractive and more, while Maslin provides more depth and detail, and Stein's writing is more exciting. In The Universe, the authors briefly address the size, imagined origin, and nature of the universe, depicting changing European views, the solar system (with an especially effective illustration of the relative size of planetary orbits), stars, constellations, galaxies, and spacecraft. Text boxes highlight interesting facts, and the excellent illustrations, all sharp color photographs, are quite informative, though they are thinly scattered throughout the book. Kenneth Davis's Don't Know Much about Space (HarperCollins, 2001) lacks the color photos and the Internet sites but frames its information in an entertaining question-and-answer format. Exploring the Universe (World Almanac, 2001) is a much more visual treatment. Thus, these new titles are additional purchases for libraries that own the other books listed, and general purchases for those that do not.-Jonathan Betz-Zall, City University Library, Everett, WA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.