Includes bibliographical references (pages 373-377) and index.

"This book is divided into four parts. The first part, 'Herschel's Garden, ' {aims to} give the reader an overview of the dynamic universe discovered by astronomers--the stars, white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes, interstellar gas and dust, quasars, galaxies, their distribution in space as clustersand superclusters of galaxies, and the cosmos as a whole. ... The second part, 'The Early Universe, ' {seeks to} describe the ... picture of the universe when it was only seconds and minutes old. ... The third part of the book, 'Wild Ideas, ' ... speculates about the nature of that universe before the first nanosecond {one-billionth of a second}. ... There is a short fourth part, 'Reflections, ' which expresses my opinions and attitudes."

Also issued online.

SACFinal081324