The First Three Minutes, Steven Weinberg

The First Three Minutes: : A Modern View of the Origin of the Universe - Steven Weinberg, Basic Books; 2nd/Update edition (June 1, 1993). ISBN:0465024378

Title & Author:	The First Three Minutes Steven Weinberg
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The First Three Minutes by Steven Weinberg was the standard book on Cosmology for the lay reader in the 1970s. In 1993 it was updated, and remains the best account of the first three minutes of the Universe's existence for a general audience. The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking and Big Bang by Simon Singh both reference it for further reading. The First Three Minutes goes into more depth than these books, and demands slightly more of the reader. 

Reading The First Three Minutes by Steven Weinberg was one of main factors that inspired me to take an MSc in Astronomy in 1980, where I based my main project around his advanced textbook Gravitation and Cosmology.

The standard model of cosmology hasn't changed in the last ten years, especially in the area of particle creation during the Big Bang in which Steven Weinberg is a leading expert. 

Steven Weinberg provides a comprehensive, fast paced, and highly literate account of the radical observations that underpin today's theories of cosmology - for instance, the galactic red shifts observed by Hubble and the cosmic microwave background radiation detected by Penzias and Wilson. 

He does not limit himself to the first three minutes, but looks at the whole evolution of the Universe. For instance, he considers the still unanswered question of whether the mass of the Universe is enough to cause a Big Crunch or lead to a Cold Death

• The First Three Minutes by Steven Weinberg is superb account of the early history of the Universe