Name: Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
ISBN: 9780393609400

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Over a year on the New York Times bestseller list and more than a million copies sold. The essential universe, from our most celebrated and beloved astrophysicist. What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us? There’s no better guide through these mind-expanding questions than acclaimed astrophysicist and best-selling author Neil deGrasse Tyson. But today, few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. So Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly, with sparkling wit, in tasty chapters consumable anytime and anywhere in your busy day. While you wait for your morning coffee to brew, for the bus, the train, or a plane to arrive, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry will reveal just what you need to be fluent and ready for the next cosmic headlines: from the Big Bang to black holes, from quarks to quantum mechanics, and from the search for planets to the search for life in the universe.

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

sofia mae

We are stardust brought to life. The universe has given us the power to figure itself out—and we have only just begun.

one of the hardest truths to learn is that you’re not actually the center of the universe.

The cosmic perspective shows Earth to be a pale blue dot orbiting through the vastness of space. But it’s a precious dot, and for the moment, it’s the only home we have—encouraging us to care for our rare and welcoming planet.

Shay

There's no better guide through mind-expanding questions such as what the nature of space and time is, how we fit within the universe, and how the universe fits within us than Neil deGrasse Tyson. But today, few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. So Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly, with sparkling wit, in digestive chapters consumable any time and anywhere in the busy day

Patrick Book

Actually was a pretty good primer on a vast topic. But his wistful, earnest tone got to be a little much by the end.

Pratik M

To read about something that took 13 billion years in a hurry almost seems like a travesty. I wouldn't say that now I have unlocked the secrets of the universe. Far from it. But Tyson goes the extra light year to make it somewhat understandable and I think I may have made a slight dent in my universe. I recall trying to read Hawking's A Brief History of Time and by the time I finished Chapter 1, I was gasping for breath. Contrastingly, ...in a Hurry is more patient with you but I freely admit going back couple of paragraphs to re-read what I thought I understood but hadn't.

There's plenty to learn in this short tome especially about the latest strides in discovery and how Einstein really was a genius and justifies all the hype around him. But at the same time, I feel as if physics is keenly awaiting its next Newton or Einstein to explain so much that still remains unexplained. As Durant once said, education is a gradual discovery of your ignorance is so apt when we look up to the skies and look beyond every year.

As far as the solar eclipse on Monday is concerned, did you know that it's such a unique phenomenon just because of this fact - "The Moon is about 400 times smaller than the Sun, but it also just happens to be about 400 times closer. The result is that from Earth, they appear to be the same size." Mind blown.

Benedict Neo

The words of wisdom and knowledge imprinted in this book were profound and astronomical.

matej yangwao

** spoiler alert **
           .
You can find few cosmic truths inside, yet some of them would require half-baked theories which are waiting to be tweaked by their parameter

≥Everywhere was scorching hot, and all of the powers of the cosmos had come together in unison.

≥These photons produced a new family of heavy particles called hadrons since the cosmos was no longer hot enough to fry quarks. Protons and neutrons were formed as a consequence of the quark-to-hadron transition.

≥During the hadron era, ambient photons could no longer form quark-antiquark pairs.

≥Physical principles' universality promotes scientific discovery like nothing else. It was also found that the rules of physics governing the creation of spectral signatures on the sun were similar to those governing the formation of spectral signatures on Earth, which was 93 million miles distant.

≥The big G, a sign of our universe's homogeneity, determines a star's brightness.

≥Despite this, humans are unable to see, touch, or taste the source of 85% of the gravity we measure in the cosmos. Apart from its gravitational influence on visible stuff, this enigmatic dark matter remains undiscovered.

≥Photons did not travel far before bonding with an electron in the early years. Particles travel more slowly as the temperature drops. Moving electrons slowed down dramatically and were caught by protons when the universe's temperature fell to a scorching 3,000 degrees Kelvin, resulting in the creation of atoms.

≥Since photons were free, the cosmos expanded by a factor of 1,000. By a ratio of 1,000, the cosmic background has cooled. The energy of all visible light photons has decreased by 1/1,000th. Microwaves — “cosmic microwave background,” or CMB for short — are the new name for them. The CMB emits radio waves and a comparatively tiny number of increased photons.

≥The element of matter is present in all of us.

≥Dwarf galaxies outnumber big galaxies by more than ten to one in the expanse of space overhead.

≥The famous Magellanic Clouds are part of the Milky Way's dwarf family.

≥Cosmic rays are super-high-energy, fast-moving, charged subatomic particles that penetrate space on a regular basis.

≥Dark matter is required to explain how stars travel about the galaxy's center.

≥In the cosmos, there are two opposing forces at work: gravity wants everything to congeal, while expansion wants it to dilute. Gravity must recruit the assistance of dark matter to win this fight; otherwise, we would not exist.

≥The study of astrophysics is essential to understand human existence. Contrary to religious assumptions, you need cosmic knowledge to know the truth about the universe. There are many things to learn and unlearn about the galaxies.

Wynter

"We are stardust brought to life, then empowered by the universe to figure itself out—and we have only just begun."

A wonderful summary of all the major topics in astrophysics. A good, but demanding, introduction to those new to the subject, and a succinct, useful overview for those who are relatively familiar with the basics. As for myself, I learned some new things, as well as reviewed some of my prior knowledge on the subject. Might make you feel small and insignificant, or reinforce your own sense of connection with the universe - depends on your character. Made me excited to live in times we live, pushing the horror and drama of politics and current events into the background for a while.

Maja Cieslik

It's a mixed collection of authors' opinions on the topic of astrophysics, introduction to basic concepts and interesting stories. Not necessarily uninteresting, though not comprehensive on any level.

a quote (Polish): "Bagaż naszego mózgu - torba wypełniona przedwczesnymi założeniami, przyjętymi z góry ideałami, przyjętymi z dołu poglądami i nieskrywaną stronniczością."

Cat Josephson

Had to look up a lot of stuff to keep up with this book... But just because I'm stupid when it comes to science, doesn't mean this wasn't a good book. Very interesting/informative.

Lord Aragorn

A breezy read and a good intro to a lot of astrophysics

Neil deGrasse Tyson is a fantastic scientific mind. Reading Astrophysics for People in a Hurry barely scratched the surface and I'm already eager to learn more about what he has to say. 

But perhaps even more important than his scientific literacy is his ability to communicate and explain complicated, scientific concepts in an accessible and intriguing way. Not a single page (or minute) of this book was boring. And coming from someone who can easily get lost in information-dense texts, this is high praise. Tyson managed to still convey a lot of information about the universe and astrophysics without making it feel overbearing. 

Time to get cosmic. There are more stars in the universe than grains of sand on any beach, more stars than seconds have passed since Earth formed, more stars than words and sounds ever uttered by all the humans who ever lived.

In fact, I would argue that Tyson is the sole reason that I now have an interest in the topic of astrophysics. 

Every cup that passes through a single person and eventually rejoins the world’s water supply holds enough molecules to mix 1,500 of them into every other cup of water in the world. No way around it: some of the water you just drank passed through the kidneys of Socrates, Genghis Khan, and Joan of Arc.

How about air? Also vital. A single breathful draws in more air molecules than there are breathfuls of air in Earth’s entire atmosphere. That means some of the air you just breathed passed through the lungs of Napoleon, Beethoven, Lincoln, and Billy the Kid.

He uses real-world examples and real-life concepts to convey how massive the universe is, how tiny molecules are, and what this means in the context of our lives. He drives home why these concepts should be important to us. Educators like David Attenborough and now Neil deGrasse Tyson are precisely the reason that I loved science as a child. 

This book as brought back so many fond memories of studying science and being in awe of our universe. It's reminded me of what it was like to be a child with a mind that just wanted to learn about new things because I enjoyed learning and I enjoyed making connections between different aspects of life. 

What we do know, and what we can assert without further hesitation, is that the universe had a beginning. The universe continues to evolve. And yes, every one 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 billion years ago. We are stardust brought to life, then empowered by the universe to figure itself out—and we have only just begun.

This is one of those books that you can read over and over and it will never lose its value because each time you listen you have another opportunity to reflect and discover new ways to digest the information. This book is almost like therapy in a way because it makes you contemplate your own existence, where we come from, where we're going, what we know, and what we don't know. 

And it's also incredibly humbling. 

Rarely do I read a book that I immediately need to go out and recommend to everyone I know, but this was a fantastic book that I think everyone should read at least once."

Beatriz Aguiar

2.5
Fascinating while also too much?
So many things just went over my head... There was no equilibrium I thought. Sometimes it felt like he was describing really basic stuff and just assuming we understood something very complex in its nature. Not completely awful but these lapses made it a bit hard to read.

Nick Gracilla

Meandering amongst epic topics in astrophysics, Tyson’s engaging writing takes readers from the Big Bang, through dark matter and dark energy, to the foundations of chemistry is cosmology, through a delightful essay, seemingly inspired by Charles and Ray Eames’ Power of Ten 1977 film: a description of our beloved earth, from close up to the nearest star system. Highly recommended, although I’m glad I caught a few NOVA episodes earlier this year, which clarified the physics concepts.

Jessica

Just loved it. Listened to it on Audible, probably going to listen to it again and going to buy it on paper!

Liam Dyer

If you wanna know about space and stuff this is pretty short and covers some cool shit. Neil is a bit pretentious about the whole affair as usual but it's not too bad.

Siya S

It took me a long time to finish reading this so I tried listening to it instead. It worked and I recommend the audiobook version for anyone who finds astrophysics intimidating in any slightest way (like me). It's also great too that it's read by NdT himself - that man is indeed an absolute legend.

Gregory Mone

America's most celebrated astrophysicist invites young readers to explore the mysteries of the universe.

Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry

Not very good - unless you like Boomer humor, anecdotes where someone is oblivious to their own assholery, and being pelted by tons of information that isn't explained in a way that helps you understand or retain it. However I listened to the audiobook which was ready by LaVar Burton, who is a national treasure. That is its only redeeming quality. Can't get over all the ableism at the very end of the book where he preaches that seeing how vast the universe is shouldn't make you feel sad, and if it does you're too full of yourself. You ever heard of mental illness, pal? Look it up some time.

Danielle Raymond 

Ecem Unal

Full of brief and to the point information. Gives enough to understand the bigger picture, and leaves enough to do our own research.

Nour sabrine

A great read for teens and people who are not essentially experts at astrophysics.

This book is a great introduction for amateurs and people fascinated with the sky and beyond that. It traces back the first atoms of the world all the way to the big bang. 

Explanations about common physics, nuclear science and chemistry to understand everything from atoms to materials and stars. 

Now for the experts, it's definitely not the book to go for. It's quite surface level even for intermediate amateurs. 

Still it was quite entertaining and informative at the same time.

Yasser Yahia

A simple enjoyable read literally for people in a hurry :)

Guillermo Rodas

It's an excellent book to start understanding the universe and some basic concepts about astrophysics.

Jordan /

This is a really cool book, and is perfect for people who don’t know much about astrophysics.

Beatriz Baptista

Fácil de ler, comparações acessíveis, cultura geral e o humor único do Neil deGrasse, o que querem mais?

Skye Sherman

I gotta be honest... about 90% of this book went wayyy over my head. Maybe it’s because I listened to it on audio (maybe not). But the 10% I did grasp was phenomenal, inspiring, and gripping. A super quick read!

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

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