Introduction to Cosmology: Barbara Ryden

I am currently in the final 6 months of a doctoral program in Astrophysics. My own research has little to do with cosmology and I've recently decided to firm up my understanding of it. So far I have read through Andrew Liddle's book and this one with Doddelson's and Weinberg's books on the 'read next' list. This book is a very easy and informative read.I suppose it might be more difficult at the undergraduate level but if you understand integral calculus, basic ODEs, and a smattering of QM, EM, differential geometry (very little needed), and a bit of thermal physics then this book is for you. At the graduate level it reads almost like a popular science book on cosmology with the perk that the included equations and the author's very readable and clear explanations illuminate the subject in a way that a math free book never could.I give this book an easy 5 stars as an introduction for cosmology. I consider it to be 'A Brief History of Time' for graduate students with an interest in the field. It is somewhat skimpy on presenting dark energy and inflationary theory but the first lacks the evidence that dark matter does and the second is beyond the mathematical scope of a book at this level.Over all I'd suggest this book to anyone with a basic background in the pre-requisites. Andrew Liddle's book is more readable (freshman calculus only) but is much skimpier on coverage, is much less thorough and clear, and is somewhat dated in the treatment of hot dark matter Cosmology. Doddelson's book is good as well but requires a much stronger basis in mathematics. If you are looking for the 'meat' of cosmology (general relativity, perturbation equations, etc.) look elsewhere. If you want a broad and easily digestible analytic presentation then look no further.Two thumbs up for the author, the exposition and organization are about as flawless as I've seen in any textbook.

Really excellent textbook - clear explanations, some pleasant humor, and effective exercises.

I highly recommend this book for people wanting to study cosmology and understand its vocabulary at an introductory level. You won't get the indepth treatment you would get from a book like Cosmology by peebles... you'll understand cosmology at the surface level, and very broadly as well. I'd say the ideal audiencce for this book are undergraduate sophmores and juniors.

Well written and easy to read. The derivations in the book are very easy to follow.

This is good if you want to understand only the very basics of cosmology. Very little detail even though the mathematics behind the scenes seems very very advanced. Would recommend getting a more detailed book for the serious astrophysicist.

I think that materials were challenging, and sometimes it was a bit hard to follow, but I enjoyed studying it for Cosmology class.

Good intro to the inflation aspect of cosmology -- currently undergoing a closer validation. The basic mathematics needed to get an intro to inflation are here.

This book is a good introduction to Cosmology as real physicists would view it. However, it is at a level that reasonably advanced undergraduates can follow - although there are some jumps and a LOT of terminology even so.

Great book, but PLEASE do not use DHL

Un ottimo libro, chiaro e abbastanza accessibile.Nulla da dire sulla spedizione, che ha rispettato i tempi comunicati e ha assicurato condizioni perfette del libro.

面白い本ですね。読んでて楽しいですよ。宇宙論を専門にする気がない人も楽しんで読めると思いますよ。一読の価値ありです。