Cosmic Queries- StarTalk's Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We're Going by Neil deGrasse Tyson
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Web ID: 12620438Astrophysics Made Simply... Mostly
I have just recently finished reading this amazing book by Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson and James Trefil and I must say I am thoroughly impressed. The creative nonfiction book, Cosmic Queries discusses a large range of topics relating to our universe, all the way from its eruptive birth, to its frosty end. If you are interested in astronomical theories, dark matter, explosions spanning light-years, and more, than this is the book for you. Even philosophical and religious questions were tackled in this book, but from a scientific perspective, giving them a level of impartiality. This gave me a deep understanding of not only what happened in the past, but how people thought and how that affected the outcome of the modern world. From an Astrophysicist to a curious and voracious learner, this book will be a real treat. Dr. Tyson and Trefil did an astounding job putting their thoughts onto paper. It still confounds me how anyone could describe the phenomenon of our universe in such simplicity, while also not taking away any value from their complexity. The writing style made the information easy to absorb. While I was reading this, there were many times when I felt like I was in a classroom, with the authors personally teaching me. Every detail in this book was told descriptively and passionately, straight from the heart. There were many facets of this book that I loved. Firstly, was how Dr. Tyson’s tweets were integrated into the book. The tweets were, at many times, not related to the topic at hand, rather Pinocchio or collaborations between nations in history. I feel like they were well spaced out and they did not distract me, rather they invigorated my mind, which I adored. Next, I treasure the job the visuals team did. The visuals in this book are by far the best I have ever seen, and this is not even a graphic novel. The images helped me connect to what Dr. Tyson and Trefil were discussing as I could make a visual connection. They were beautiful yet informative. The subtitles were also especially helpful. Lastly, I appreciated the mini-biographies they gave the readers. The authors would enter in small doses of knowledge about a subject they were referring to in gray text, usually with an image, especially if it was a more complex subject. This helped me stay on track and made sure I did not get lost too often. With that being said I would like to discuss the one major feature I did not like in this book. That would be the seemingly endless pages of definitions. Many times, when the subject at hand had many facets that needed to be explained individually, Dr. Tyson and Trefil would give these lists of individual definitions. In a couple of cases, these would last for multiple pages. They would get boring tremendously fast. That is not to say that the topics were tedious, rather the way they were described. As you can probably tell from the title, this made me confused at times and I believe they were selling us a bit short of the authors capabilities. As a final recommendation, If you have a genuine interest in the Universe and or how it works, this book is right for you. As a Neil deGrasse Tyson fan, it gives me everything I want, Dr. Tyson’s charismatic personality and wit, along with loads of amazing information to fuel my curiosity. I truly believe that this is one of the best books I have ever read.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Great Intro to the Universe
Enjoyable reading for the non-scientist and the dedicated scientist and all those in between. Informative, chatty, and doesn't talk down to you.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Not for the Novice
Although I am fascinated with science and in particular cosmology, I am not a scientist. The subject matter of this book is in keeping with my interest, however the presentation is confusing and disorganized. The side bars and side notes interrupt complicated discussions of complex concepts. It would have been helpful, for me at least, to have an early explanation of particles and forces and subsequently delve into the theories that surround those definitions. The book starts out discussing particles but the reader only learns of quarks and string later on, which makes the earlier discussion somewhat incomplete. In short, I would have edited this book very differently. In addition, this book is a challenge for the novice.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
informative, educational, and entertaining
Cosmic Queries: StarTalk's Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We're Going by Neil deGrasse Tyson and James Trefil is a very highly recommended informative, educational, and entertaining book explaining the universe. "Cosmic Queries" is a popular part of the StarTalk series of shows where the questions fans ask on a topic are answered. Some of these questions require too deep or involved an explanation to be answered on the show so the book Cosmic Queries tackles those deeper, more philosophical questions in a conversational style that is informative, educational, approachable, and infused with some humor. The history of all related topics is included and assists readers unfamiliar with astronomy, astrophysics, and quantum mechanics to gain an understanding of the topics. Naturally the illustrations and photographs are beautiful and abundant. In a well organized manner the chapters include: What Is Our Place in the Universe? How Do We Know What We Know? How Did the Universe Get to Be This Way? How Old Is the Universe? What Is the Universe Made Of? What Is Life? Are We Alone in the Universe? How Did It All Begin? How Will It All End? What Does Nothing Have to Do With Everything? Each chapter then has talking points noted under the title. For example "Chapter 1: What Is Our Place in the Universe?" is followed by: Is the Earth a Planet?; Astronomy with a Stick; The Parallax Solution; How Big is the Solar System; Henrietta Leavitt & The Standard Candle; Galaxies; Billions & Billions; A Final Word. Interspersed throughout the text are copies of tweets Neil deGrasse Tyson sent out which span the gamete from philosophical to informational to humorous. What really shines is the ability of Tyson to present difficult topics in an understandable manner. As someone who once answered the question "what boggles your mind?" with "the vastness of space," I appreciated the use of analogies and metaphors to explain complicated concepts. There are still many questions to be explored and answered and this book will likely encourage young scientist to consider a life devoted to the scientific endeavor of exploring the complexities of the universe. Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of National Geographic in exchange for my honest opinion
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Packed with information, without being too complex
This has a lot of information packed in a small book, and all of it felt very accessible to someone without heaps of base knowledge in astrophysics. I switched back and forth between the audiobook and the eBook, and both were well done - the narrator was fantastic and the images in the eBook were interesting and lovely. My one issue with the eBook, was the small boxed in sections of information at the bottoms of some pages - there were multiple pages where those were in between an unfinished paragraph at the bottom of the page and it's conclusion at the top of the next one. This meant I either needed to pause mid-thought or skim past them and then remember to go back - it would've made more sense to me if they were placed after the paragraph, wherever it happened to end - this was not an issue in the audio, though, since the narrator did this seamlessly.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
To the Ends of the Universe and Back
Pondering our place and fate midway between the micro and macro scales of the quantum and astronomical worlds has been a popular topic in recent publishing. During the past few years several well-known science theorists have written extensively about this area and been featured on several television shows: • David Christian (2018 “Origin: A Big History of Everything”) • Sean Carroll (2019 “Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime” • Brian Greene’s 2020 (“Until the End of Time: Mind, Matter and the Search for Meaning in the Evolving Universe”). These contributions also just happen to coincide with the unrelated political assault on the credibility of science relating to the pandemic response. And they remind us how important science is and how much we have yet to learn. The latest entry is an excellent addition from Neil deGrasse Tyson and James Trefil with their 2021 collaboration, “Cosmic Queries: Star Talk’s Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We’re Going” published with the National Geographic. Written and presented in a straightforward style for a broad audience with scientific curiosity, the work is beautifully illustrated with colorful photographs, classic illustrations, renderings and charts that support a trim text. The book is intended to provide a perspective about historical and current findings without intimidation. These ten chapters are presented from a humanist point of view to address familiar questions as well as current topics such as the Dark Matter, Dark Energy mysteries, the antimatter problem, and “The Multiverse” theory: • What is Our Place? • How Do We Know What We Know? • How Did the Universe Get to be This Way? • How Old is the Universe? • What is the Universe Made Of? • What is Life? • Are We Alone in the Universe? • How Did It All Begin? • How Will It All End? • What Does Nothing Have To Do With Everything? Sprinkled throughout are short, pithy observations from the New York Hayden Planetarium’s Tyson with his usual twinkle: “If Pinocchio said, ‘My nose is about to grow?’ I wonder what would actually happen.” With your family or by yourself, this is a treat to appreciate what we have learned and how much we have yet to know without the tinnitus of political distraction.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com