The Unfinished Universe

Young's previous book, The Blue Planet, disclosed most attractively this physicist-author's gift for writing vividly, even poetically, about our planet's geologic and other formative marvels. Here again she exhibits that flairbut with a bold philosophic turn, carrying the religionist's familiar argument about the universe's development from the notion of Design, so dominant up to Darwin's time, to a high degree of scientific sophistication as she delineates her view of the universe as unfinished processa continuum always and inevitably evolving toward Form, with humans as they are today a creative evolutionary participant. Nature seen whole, she argues with a persuasive meta-scientific logic, gives every evidence of being in the throes of ""cosmic birth''a concept that is clearly not new, despite her subtitle. She moves in areas of intuition, poetry and religion throughout, referring eloquently to the supportive insights of thinkers from the Hindus to Omar Khayyam, Bergson, Teilhard and Loren Eiseley. Creationists won't find comfort here; nowhere does Young posit paternal Deity as separate from human life and nature. (April)