Who doesn't look at the nighttime sky and wonder what's up there? This book is your answer, especially if you weren't a physics major. Author and astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson came out of that ivory tower or radio telescope or wherever he does his best thinking to give us regular folk a simple grounding in the facts, theories, and discoveries about our universe.
The short, relatively easy-to-read chapters (OK, there was a still a lot I didn't understand), provide the basics of the Big Bang, intergalactic space, dark matter, dark energy, Einstein's theory of relativity, a cosmic journey through the Periodic Table of Chemical Elements, how astrophysicists are able to reconstruct cosmic history in reverse, radio telescopes, supernovas, black holes, exoplanets, and more.
The real treasure of this book is twofold. First, Tyson approaches this serious subject matter in a clever and fun way. This is an actual sentence in the book: "Yes, Einstein was a badass." From using examples that draw on the Pillsbury Doughboy and the Old Testament prophet Isaiah, Tyson explains astrophysics so you can understand it and get a chuckle while doing so.
Second, he sprinkles THE most amazing, eyepopping, and bizarre facts throughout the text. It's worth reading the book just for these nuggets.
Find out:
• The only element in the Periodic Table that was discovered someplace other than Earth.
• Why dark matter is our frenemy.
• Why when viewed from space Earth looks like a perfect sphere without any rough spots despite our planet's mountains and valleys.
• Why the Chinese will be the first to know if aliens ever make a call to Earth.
• Why when you gaze up in the sky the Sun and the moon look like they are same size, even though the moon is 1/400th the diameter of the Sun.
• Which planet acts like a burly big brother to the Earth, protecting our planet like a gravitational shield. Without this protection, complex life on Earth would never have developed.
Written (mostly) in layman's terms with a keen eye toward making the complex understandable, this is both an entertaining and educational book that provides basic answers to the biggest questions about the universe. And just like the title implies, you can easily read this book in bits and pieces on the go.
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I see one or two star reviews because this is difficult to understand for novices or passers-by looking to glean some basics about the cosmos. I believe this is because people read the title and expect the book to contain basic, introductory information. Here the title may be interpreted as a ‘Astrophysics for Dummies’ or ‘Astrophysics 101’ type of study, but the book’s title, and more so the book’s epigraph, (“For all those who are too busy to read fat books yet nonetheless seek a conduit to the cosmos”) suggest that a lot of information is presented in a concise read with a plethora of details shortened in summary. And so it is.
Some low to middling reviews lament Mr. Tyson’s glazing over topics with less detail than would be preferred. Here I believe the brevity offered for each topic is exactly what the title promises: a quick, detailed read with an assumption that the reader has a basic understanding of math and science that informs astrophysics. And so the 12 chapters, each broken in to smaller, quick-burst summaries, provide history and present-day knowledge of the topics that explain mankind’s understanding of the universe.
Granted, I am not an astrophysicist, nor am I of much value to any form of science or math in general, being that I’m massively right-brained, more a musician, poet, satirist, writer, philosopher.
But I love the cosmos! I find a beauty in the universe that quickens my heart, inflates my lungs, consumes my mind, floods my spirit, and allows deep fascination to etch itself within my soul. The unfathomable expanse in which this little blue planet upon which we live exists, like a infinitesimal Lilliputian in a Brobdingnagian sea, is simultaneously mesmerizing and terrifying. In the beauty of what appears to be chaos is actually scientific principle governed by concrete, scientifically sound laws. I find peace and am stilled by the possibilities. Also, Neil deGrasse Tyson’s approach to the universe, and his intense interest in things which affect our daily lives on earth but aren’t particularly relevant to astrophysics, is unique, funny, easily interactive, and deeply moving.
So, yes, I read this book, I understood the basic principles of science, the bases of mathematical models, all concepts absorbed by my artistic lens which is informed by my penchant for learning as an autodidact. I’m greatly pleased! Our universe is gorgeous and the laws that govern its existence are enjoyably complex but herein adroitly explained.
Some low to middling reviews lament Mr. Tyson’s glazing over topics with less detail than would be preferred. Here I believe the brevity offered for each topic is exactly what the title promises: a quick, detailed read with an assumption that the reader has a basic understanding of math and science that informs astrophysics. And so the 12 chapters, each broken in to smaller, quick-burst summaries, provide history and present-day knowledge of the topics that explain mankind’s understanding of the universe.
Granted, I am not an astrophysicist, nor am I of much value to any form of science or math in general, being that I’m massively right-brained, more a musician, poet, satirist, writer, philosopher.
But I love the cosmos! I find a beauty in the universe that quickens my heart, inflates my lungs, consumes my mind, floods my spirit, and allows deep fascination to etch itself within my soul. The unfathomable expanse in which this little blue planet upon which we live exists, like a infinitesimal Lilliputian in a Brobdingnagian sea, is simultaneously mesmerizing and terrifying. In the beauty of what appears to be chaos is actually scientific principle governed by concrete, scientifically sound laws. I find peace and am stilled by the possibilities. Also, Neil deGrasse Tyson’s approach to the universe, and his intense interest in things which affect our daily lives on earth but aren’t particularly relevant to astrophysics, is unique, funny, easily interactive, and deeply moving.
So, yes, I read this book, I understood the basic principles of science, the bases of mathematical models, all concepts absorbed by my artistic lens which is informed by my penchant for learning as an autodidact. I’m greatly pleased! Our universe is gorgeous and the laws that govern its existence are enjoyably complex but herein adroitly explained.
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Dessy Kancheva
An engaging and enjoyable little read, for experts and novices alike.
Reviewed in Canada on July 1, 2018
Dessy Kancheva
Reviewed in Canada on July 1, 2018
To prevent you from becoming extremist, I will tell you this: Even if you have zero background in the field of astrophysics, this book should NOT read like a jargon-riddled tome written by someone exclusively fluent in Sciencespeak. It does throw some terminology at you, and the level of writing is intended for adult readers rather than grade-school children, but unless you were absent for the entirety of your secondary science and English classes, you should not be needing to consult with Google on every page. For the most part, Tyson does a great job of explaining himself.
Likewise, if you’re a space aficionado or have taken the first set of introductory astronomy courses at your post-secondary institution, you probably won't learn anything new from this book. If you’re used to consuming textbooks and research publications, the writing will probably be a little underwhelming. To the folks accusing this book of being too elementary, I'm not sure what kind of comprehensiveness you were expecting from a 224-page volume whose title contains the words “For People in a Hurry.” (Perhaps you, like me, opened the book expecting to see the microscopic size font befitting a subject of this calibre, but instead, your eyes were met with the preposterously large print, and your first thought was, "Really? How is Tyson expecting to cram an introductory course for astrophysics into this tiny book with the kind of text size you'd expect to find in a children's novel?")
That’s just it, though. This book is NOT an introductory course to astrophysics. By my reckoning, it doesn’t even qualify as a crash course. This book merely broaches the subject of astrophysics in such a way so that if you have a spark of interest in the field without much prior knowledge, the assembly of witticisms and whoa-inspiring facts ought to serve as kindling for your interest.
So, yeah, expectations. Keep those in check.
In terms of the physical condition of the book:
- The book arrived a week earlier than anticipated (that's with standard free shipping), and in perfect condition—not a wear, tear, mis-adhered page, or other such issue in sight.
- The book is also free of misprints and typographical errors.
- Despite being a hardcover, it's a very light, conveniently sized, and therefore portable book. This is great, because it's exactly the sort of book to bring along on your hour-long public transit commutes, or during those free minutes between classes, or whenever you have a few minutes of break time to spare at work.
- As mentioned, the text size is larger than I—and probably many others—expected. To some, that’ll be a relief; to others, it might be a bit of a disappointment. But, maybe that’s the trick: if, by the end of your reading, you fall into the latter category, that’s how you know you ought to continue delving into the subject. 😊
All in all, Tyson's writing makes this an enjoyable, interesting, and most likely humbling read, regardless of your relationship to the field of astrophysics.
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