Pasachoff is Field Memorial Professor of Astronomy and director of the Hopkins Observatory at Williams College, and has written numerous books and field guides. He provides an unusually comprehensive (and hefty) textbook with many nice features--what student wouldn't be intrigued by the full-page photo of Yoda which begins the chapter on life in the universe? Throughout the book, but especially in the final chapter, he emphasizes new research in cosmology and particle and theoretical physics. c. Book News Inc.