Title: Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
Author: Neil deGrasse Tyson
Audiobook read by: Neil deGrasse Tyson
Audiobook publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Audiobook duration: 03:41:10
Rating: ★★★☆☆ (OK)
Review:
I recently got into audiobooks and this is the first audiobook I picked up. I was excited because I knew Neil deGrasse Tyson would be a great narrator. In hindsight, I definitely regretted listening to instead of reading this book because astrophysics is a confusing subject and I needed the option to reread lines or sections to fully understand the material.
Despite the complicated nature of the subject, Tyson is undoubtedly a great translator of astrophysics. In between the cold hard facts, he sprinkled in interesting insights and funny anecdotes. He also has a soothing voice, which helped me focus on the content. My only complaint about the narration is that he maintained the same tone throughout the reading—even for the jokes included in the book, which made the jokes sound unnatural.
I rated this book much lower than I wanted because the presentation of the information, while simplified, is definitely not for “people in a hurry” nor people without a background in science. Even though I struggled with the content, Tyson did not scare me away from the subject. I just need to work with materials for beginners. He did recently publish Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry, so I might just have to pick that up next.
Notable Quotes:
- “The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you.”
- “We do not simply live in this universe. The universe lives within us.”
- “Nonetheless, they remind us that ignorance is the natural state of mind for a research scientist.”
- “The power and beauty of physical laws is that they apply everywhere, whether or not you choose to believe in them. In other words, after the laws of physics, everything else is opinion.”
- “People who believe they are ignorant of nothing have neither looked for, nor stumbled upon, the boundary between what is known and unknown in the universe.”