James Duggan

The Rhythm of the Uni-verse James Duggan

This book presents a unique and interesting introduction to the wonder and rhythm of the known universe using verse and prose. It is a reflection of nearly sixty years of observation by the author and his perception and interpretation of all things universally related. It makes statements, poses questions and offers theories. It is written in simple language, supported by almost 100 appropriate colour illustrations, which hopefully will enable readers to easily grasp the essence of the various subject headings and perhaps inspire them to take a deeper interest in one or more aspects of what is probably the most fascinating subject of our times. Like the universe itself any book written about it would be immeasurably huge, therefore each heading in the index can only be a snapshot of that particular subject designed to give the reader a starting point from which to go on and delve a little deeper into areas of particular interest. There is a rhythmic elegance in the way in which the universe functions with every galaxy spinning and revolving around each other and the stars within those galaxies doing likewise in seemingly perfect synchronicity. Every element of it from the largest to the smallest apparently depends on each other for its existence. It can be likened to a vast cosmic rhythmic dance. With just a little imagination the haunting strains of Ravel's Bolero can be heard in the background and the majestic scene compared to the perfect elegance of Torvill and Dean's ballet-like interpretation of that piece on ice. In the spirit of its title 52 subjects have been selected for treatment (one for every week of the year) and there are 365 verses (one for every day of the year) plus one extra verse in the conclusion at the end to take account of leap years, thus allowing the reader to enter into a rhythmic study of a different subject each week throughout a single year to obtain a systematically good basic overview of the universe.