Astronomy, Astrophysics, Cosmology All books

Joseph Silk
The Future of Cosmology Dark Matter and Dark Energy
A sweeping tour of the major questions of contemporary cosmology

Dava Sobel
Galileos Daughter
This is a most unusual biography about Galileos daughter. Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) was regarded by Albert Einstein not only as the father of modern physics but as the father of all modern science. His eldest child, Virginia, mirrored Galileos own brilliance, industry and sensibility, and by virtue of these qualities became his confidante. Their correspondence, reproduced throughout the book, reveals their intense relationship, based on tender attachment and intellectual stimulation. The little-known life of Maria Celeste gives a human dimension to one of the major seventeenth-century scientists. His struggle with the Church is a lasting symbol of the conflict between science and religion. Galileos Daughter offers a powerful account of papal Rome and of Florentine intellectual life during the time of the Medicis. Dava Sobel is a writer who lives in New York

Michel Cassé
The Genealogy of Matter
Atoms originate in the stars. There is no real separation between the Earth and the sky, and matter forms one great whole, based on a series of nuclear reactions. Written in a lyrical, poetic style, this is a concise, clearly illustrated account of the birth of matter, aimed at the general reader. Michel Cassé is an astrophysicist and researcher at the CEA and the Institut Astrophysique, in Paris. He is the author of Du Vide et de la Création and La Petite Etoile.

Jean-Pierre Luminet, Élisa Brune
Good News from the Stars
This book describes the current state of knowledge on astronomy, without taking the form of a science lesson.

Stephen Hawking, Leonard Mlodinow
The Grand Design
When and how did the universe begin? Why are we here? What is the nature of reality?

Nathalie Deruelle, Jean-Pierre Lasota
Gravitational Waves
An extraordinary, theoretical, and experimental saga told by two of the protagonists, or how a purely theoretical notion became a physical reality. A revolution: telescopes now observe in gravitational waves also! Astronomy of the future will be gravitational.

David Elbaz
The Greatest Trick of Light
The universe follows a direction, and that direction does not go toward ever more disorder, as is sometimes suggested.

Alain Dupas, Charles Chatelin
Humanity’s Cosmic Destiny
An inspiring, sometimes disconcerting book. A new history of space exploration. A future-oriented look at the evolution of humanity in the light of the evolution of technology, both biological and that regarding space.

Jean-Pierre Luminet
Illuminations Cosmos And Design
An eminent scientist explains the Universe through a number of short stories, anecdotes and revelations while guiding us on a fascinating journey.

Jean-Pierre Bibring
Mars Blue Planet?
This little gem of popular science recounts the history of Mars in clear, accessible language.

Sylvie Vauclair, Claude-Samuel Lévine
The Music of the Spheres
A fascinating work on a the latest findings in the study of the stars

Jean Audouze, Jean-Claude Carrière, Michel Cassé
New Developments in the Invisible World
Jean Audouze is Director of Research Emeritus at CNRS (the National Centre for Scientific Research). Michel Cassé is an astrophysicist, Director of Research at the Atomic Energy Commission and Associate Research Scientist at the Paris Institute of Astrophysics. Screenwriter, playwright and writer Jean-Claude Carrière is the author of best-sellers.

Alain Dupas
The New Spatial Conquest
The desire to explore our solar system, with robots and especially with men and women, has become a global one. A new page in the lengthy history of relations between humans and the cosmos is already being written.

Sylvie Vauclair
The New Symphony of the Stars
A very accessible book written by an astrophysicist who deals with the questions and concerns of modern humans.

Michel Cassé
Nothingness and Creation
This book is foremost a piece of scientific popularization. M. Cassé leads us on an historical stroll through physics. First we meet the ideas of Galileo and Newton. Then Einstein modifies the classical notions of time and space. Finally quantum mechanics revolutionize our sense of matter. On a deeper level, Cassé sees physics as an arena for debate on the nature of reality. This is why scientific discourse often tends toward reverie and poetic meditation, particularly when concerning itself with the void, a central notion for modern physics and the complex protagonist of Cassé's scientific journey.

André Brahic
Of Fire and Ice Ardent Planets
A journey through the Universe to explore the mysteries of giant planets

Sylvie Vauclair
Origins of the World, Origins of Life
The last two centuries have revolutionized our perception of the world, a perception that has had to adapt to the notion of perpetual change. A very accessible reflection on the evolution of the Universe and of life.

Carlo Rovelli
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
Everything you need to know about modern physics, the universe and our place in the world in seven enlightening lessons

Roland Trompette, Daniel Nahon
Short Stories of the EarthAnd Universe
The mysteries of planet Earth revealed in 37 lively accessible chapters

André Lebeau
The Space Legacy
Man has begun to realize one of his most ancient dreams: to overcome gravity, to conquer space, to explore the universe. André Lebeau sheds light on some of the stakes of this quest. By examining the logic of evolution which drives us to explore, and then to occupy, discovered continents, Lebeau traces the perspectives that the possible colonization of outer space opens to humanity. In so doing, he offers a new viewpoint on the dynamics of scientific and technological progress.