4/5 stars.
Hardcover, 222 pages.
Read from September 1, 2017 to September 4, 2017.
Many of us don’t explore physics past high school. I know I sure didn’t. It was not out of lack of interest but my math skills were always poor and so I just avoided the class altogether to save myself and my grades. Yet before school smashed my learning desires on the subject I loved science and space. I grew up adoring Bill Nye the Science Guy and appreciated the fun approach that the show took. Neil deGrasse Tyson is like Bill Nye but for adults. He makes the idea of learning about space fascinating again.
This book is exactly how it is described. A short read that is a little over 200 pages long that entails the basics of astrophysics and some of the major people and discoveries that have been made. If you have ever found a science textbook boring, I assure you this is the furthest thing from it. This book covers all the basic theories, like gravity and Einstein’s theory of relativity and how they are both still playing a major factor in the progress of science today. The book is able to get technical without getting overly complicated as it perfectly caters to beginners in astrophysics.
“Everyone of our body’s atoms is traceable to the big bang and to the thermonuclear furnaces within high mass stars that exploded more than five-million years ago…We are stardust brought to life, then empowered by the universe to figure itself out—- and we have only just begun.”
While I did not know much about Neil prior to this book, his personality is hard to miss. I often read the interviews that he does in National Geographic as well as watching the few educational shows that he has cameoed in. Neil is funny, smart and engaging and his writing style is very much the same. At one point in the book when he is going over a few of the essential laws, he describes a funny situation in which he orders a hot chocolate with whipped cream at a coffee shop and when it arrives there is no whipped cream. The barista states that it has sunk to the bottom but as Neil knows that “whipped cream has low density and floats on all liquids that humans consume” so he offered the barista two possible explanations, “Either the laws of physics that apply everywhere in the universe are suspended in your coffee shop or you didn’t put whipped cream on my hot cocoa.” Neil’s lighthearted humour is what makes this book truly exceptional and enjoyable.
Even if you are only moderately interested in science and astrophysics I would recommend reading this book. Its content is important and awe-inspiring. It is truly remarkable how much we have been able to learn about space and our world and just how much further we have to go. It is a lovely reminder that we are all apart of the bigger picture.
The Pluviophile Writer 
I really enjoyed this book!
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Right?! Was such a satisfying read.
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It was! My husband is a space nut. At least I somewhat understand what he rattles on about now 😂
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