I’m not really in a hurry so much as I am overscheduled. I am also the lone non-science person in my family. I love science, but my brain doesn’t always hold onto the salient details of science. Say, for example, the difference between astrophysics and cosmology (Astrophysics is a sub-branch of astronomy to deal with physics of celestial objects and phenomena. Cosmology talks about universe as a whole which includes origin, evolution and ultimate fate of the universe.). But, I really like Neil deGrasse Tyson’s conversational style and my brother just came to visit for a week and he made his third pilgrimage to the Hayden Planetarium so I felt inspired to bump this audio book up the to read list when he left.
I think the best encapsulation of this book I could offer you is that it is basically one super extended planetarium show, or a long form podcast, or a sober Drunk History marathon.
Not enough information? Okay. In fourteen chapters Tyson talks the reader through the basics of his field and its related sciences. You get a taste of how the universe formed, what it is made of, and the near constant search to quantify and understand just what the heck is going on out there beyond our atmosphere. But also within it because we’re all star stuff. Some of this I already knew, because I am related to several space science geeks. Some of it was new to me, the biggest being that sometime in the future the observable universe won’t be observable anymore and it is up to scientists now to figure out how to leave an appropriate record of what they are seeing/have found for the future generations. My museum heart felt their pain.
This is a perfectly pleasant way to spend just shy of four hours, so pick it up if you feel like it, but don’t expect anything earth shattering.
This review, like all of my previous ones dating back to CBR4, can be found here.
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