A sweeping history of humanity's evolving vision of the universe, as viewed through the writings of the most exceptional thinkers in history.. In this monumental book, Professor Dennis Danielson has assembled a remarkable anthology that surveys the richness and excitement of the human quest to understand the universe-its origin, its structure, and its significance. From the ancient world to the latest theories of cosmic physics, The Book of the Cosmos presents the art as well as the science of human attempts to describe the universe, not only in colorful scientific prose but also in engaging excerpts from poetry and philosophy, diaries and dialogues, essays and epistles, from writers as diverse as Aristotle, Copernicus, Cicero, Albert Einstein, and Edgar Allan Poe.Here, as never before in a single volume, we taste firsthand the exhilaration, flair, and occasional bewilderment of a hundred authors from across written history who shaped, and continue to shape, our view of the cosmos.