The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-14 03:19:38
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Moiya McTier
- ISBN：1538754150
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Summary
Astrophysicist and folklorist Dr。 Moiya McTier channels The Milky Way in this approachable and utterly fascinating autobiography of the titular galaxy， detailing what humans have discovered about everything from its formation to its eventual death， and what more there is to learn about this galaxy we call home。
After a few billion years of bearing witness to life on Earth， of watching one hundred billion humans go about their day-to-day lives， of feeling unbelievably lonely， and of hearing its own story told by others， The Milky Way would like a chance to speak for itself。 All one hundred billion stars and fifty undecillion tons of gas of it。
It all began some thirteen billion years ago， when clouds of gas scattered through the universe's primordial plasma just could not keep their metaphorical hands off each other。 They succumbed to their gravitational attraction， and the galaxy we know as the Milky Way was born。 Since then， the galaxy has watched as dark energy pushed away its first friends， as humans mythologized its name and purpose， and as galactic archaeologists have worked to determine its true age （rude）。 The Milky Way has absorbed supermassive （an actual technical term） black holes， made enemies of a few galactic neighbors， and mourned the deaths of countless stars。 Our home galaxy has even fallen in love。
After all this time， the Milky Way finally feels that it's amassed enough experience for the juicy tell-all we've all been waiting for。 Its fascinating autobiography recounts the history and future of the universe in accessible but scientific detail， presenting a summary of human astronomical knowledge thus far that is unquestionably out of this world。
After a few billion years of bearing witness to life on Earth， of watching one hundred billion humans go about their day-to-day lives， of feeling unbelievably lonely， and of hearing its own story told by others， The Milky Way would like a chance to speak for itself。 All one hundred billion stars and fifty undecillion tons of gas of it。
It all began some thirteen billion years ago， when clouds of gas scattered through the universe's primordial plasma just could not keep their metaphorical hands off each other。 They succumbed to their gravitational attraction， and the galaxy we know as the Milky Way was born。 Since then， the galaxy has watched as dark energy pushed away its first friends， as humans mythologized its name and purpose， and as galactic archaeologists have worked to determine its true age （rude）。 The Milky Way has absorbed supermassive （an actual technical term） black holes， made enemies of a few galactic neighbors， and mourned the deaths of countless stars。 Our home galaxy has even fallen in love。
After all this time， the Milky Way finally feels that it's amassed enough experience for the juicy tell-all we've all been waiting for。 Its fascinating autobiography recounts the history and future of the universe in accessible but scientific detail， presenting a summary of human astronomical knowledge thus far that is unquestionably out of this world。
Reviews
Eden
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My cheeks are so warm after finishing this one。 RTC。
Andrea Wenger
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This book tells the story of the Milky Way in "autobiographical" form。 It's smart， savvy， and easy to read。 If you like science books with a heavy dose of snark， you might want to give this one a try。Thanks， NetGalley， for the ARC I received。 This book tells the story of the Milky Way in "autobiographical" form。 It's smart， savvy， and easy to read。 If you like science books with a heavy dose of snark， you might want to give this one a try。Thanks， NetGalley， for the ARC I received。 。。。more
KitStitches
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Have you ever wanted to get dommed by the universe？ Have you ever felt an overwhelming urge to ship her with Andromeda？ Have you looked at your own black holes of despair and felt alone？ Moiya McTier has crafted what you are searching for。 I needed this。
Bailey
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The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy by Moya McTier tells the story of the Milky Way in a unique and playful structure。 Instead of an academic attempting to inform the reader about scientific concepts and ancient myths and legends about the Milky Way， Moya McTier writes as if the Milky Way is telling their own story — thus， an autobiography。 Honestly， the Milky Way is kind of bitchy — but in the best way possible。 Some readers may find the Galaxy’s arrogance tiring after a few chapters， The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy by Moya McTier tells the story of the Milky Way in a unique and playful structure。 Instead of an academic attempting to inform the reader about scientific concepts and ancient myths and legends about the Milky Way， Moya McTier writes as if the Milky Way is telling their own story — thus， an autobiography。 Honestly， the Milky Way is kind of bitchy — but in the best way possible。 Some readers may find the Galaxy’s arrogance tiring after a few chapters， but I couldn’t get enough。 The pretentious tone was funny and playful， and I was more interested in learning the dense， scientific details of this book that I might have otherwise skipped through。 The Milky Way keeps is relatable for us mere mortals， often name-dropping celebrities like Beyonce and referencing popular media like Rick and Morty。McTier’s passion for our universe and the ancient legends surrounding it is evident。 For the most part， her scientific explanations are clear， accessible， and interesting。 As someone who loves looking at the stars but hates the science and math involved in astronomy， this was a huge win for me。 With that said， some concepts were confusing， and I found myself rereading several passages before I truly understood what was being discussed。 McTier included plenty of ancient stories and myths， but she really only scratched the surface of the folklore aspect。 I wish she had included more discussion of the legends！ I learned a lot about the night sky， both in a scientific sense as well as how our ancestors viewed the night sky。 I also appreciate that Moya McTier taught me that a parsec is not， in fact， a unit of time （I’m looking at you， Han Solo）。 This quick read will have you developing a greater appreciation for the stars， and you’ll even laugh along the way as well。 Thanks to Grand Central Publishing for this ARC！ 。。。more
Kris Tyler
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*I received this book as an ARC from work #booksellerlifeI have mixed feelings on this book。 As a person who knows slightly more than an average layman about astronomy， I found the content interesting and easy to follow。 There were parts that I found so over simplified， that I had to stop and think about it。 There were a few references that were not so simplified， i。e。， distances （parsecs。。） and abbreviations。 The overall， the idea of the narrator being the Galaxy itself was different， fun twist *I received this book as an ARC from work #booksellerlifeI have mixed feelings on this book。 As a person who knows slightly more than an average layman about astronomy， I found the content interesting and easy to follow。 There were parts that I found so over simplified， that I had to stop and think about it。 There were a few references that were not so simplified， i。e。， distances （parsecs。。） and abbreviations。 The overall， the idea of the narrator being the Galaxy itself was different， fun twist on an often dry subject。 The execution was so-so。 The wittiness of the narrator was enjoyable。 Until it wasn't。 The tone got overly snarky to the point of condescending。 Yes， I get that the Galaxy is represented as omnipotent， but sometimes the put downs were a bit unneeded to get the point across。 The bits of folklore and mythology added to the plusses of this book。 Finally， it was a good book。 Better suited to a "newer to the subject" audience。 Perhaps even a high school or YA reader interested in astronomy would be an ideal audience。 。。。more
Carmen
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Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book。The way this book is written is deeply enjoyable。 The narrator is the Milky Way which I found to be a different form of science communication。 Almost immediately， it gave me the same vibes as the Tears in the Rain speech from Blade Runner 。However， there were moments when the writing made the science hard to understand。 At those moments， I wish there were illustrations with labels so I could understand what the Milky Way was tellin Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book。The way this book is written is deeply enjoyable。 The narrator is the Milky Way which I found to be a different form of science communication。 Almost immediately， it gave me the same vibes as the Tears in the Rain speech from Blade Runner 。However， there were moments when the writing made the science hard to understand。 At those moments， I wish there were illustrations with labels so I could understand what the Milky Way was telling us。I found myself enjoying the folklore sections/chapters over the science ones。 I found myself liking the folklore bits over the science bits。 I know it’s supposed to be more science-based storytelling， but folklore makes my heart sing。 I think the writing style lends more toward storytelling （folklore） than science communication。 If the author decided to write another book with its focus being on folklore， I would LOVE to read that。Even though I avoid audiobooks， it would be really interesting to see how that version would work with this。 It would almost sound like a fairy tale with the right voice actor。 。。。more
Kelly
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Moiya McTier utilizes her unique loves of astrophysics and folklore to tell the story of the Milky Way in sassy， snarky tones that make what can be a difficult subject to understand relatable to the casual space geek。 I can't remember ever laughing while reading an astronomy book， and there were points during this book where I howled with laughter。 McTier both anthropomorphizes the galaxy and its companions， including a long-festering distaste for Larry （aka the Large Magellanic Cloud）， the disc Moiya McTier utilizes her unique loves of astrophysics and folklore to tell the story of the Milky Way in sassy， snarky tones that make what can be a difficult subject to understand relatable to the casual space geek。 I can't remember ever laughing while reading an astronomy book， and there were points during this book where I howled with laughter。 McTier both anthropomorphizes the galaxy and its companions， including a long-festering distaste for Larry （aka the Large Magellanic Cloud）， the discomfort and shame of Sarge （aka the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy） and an adoration for Andromeda， while simultaneously pointing out how self-absorbed and puny humans can be。 McTier covers not just the science of the universe and the Milky Way， but also delves into astronomical discoveries over time， and the mythologies that early civilizations had about the galaxy and night sky， making the story feel even more comprehensive in nature。 Readers should take note that while this may look like a fiction book， it is non-fiction。 As someone who has always had a love for astronomy and outer space， this is a perfect book for the fun， conversational way it conveys information about space。 If you love the idea of space but find textbooks intimidating， this book is for you。 If you're a teenager and want to read a book about space that namechecks Beyonce and "those hunky brothers from Australia" this book is for you。 If you're uptight and think all books about astronomy should be dry， boring and only readable by people with a doctorate in astronomy or astrophysics this book probably isn't for you - but it wasn't meant to be， you stick-in-the-local neighborhood Larry！ I absolutely loved this fresh， fun take on the Milky Way， the universe and physics in general。 A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review。 。。。more
Dan
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My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Grand Central Publishing for an advanced copy of this biography and history on The Milky Way Galaxy。Everything has a story， a past a present， an uncertain future， and everything wants a chance to share that story。 Finding both a chronicler well that can be a problem， but who knew that the place we all call home has such a fascinating tale to share。 A tumultuous past， a more calm present， except for those humans and a future that looks cold and lonely My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Grand Central Publishing for an advanced copy of this biography and history on The Milky Way Galaxy。Everything has a story， a past a present， an uncertain future， and everything wants a chance to share that story。 Finding both a chronicler well that can be a problem， but who knew that the place we all call home has such a fascinating tale to share。 A tumultuous past， a more calm present， except for those humans and a future that looks cold and lonely until the end。 Doctor Moiya McTier in her book The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy lets the galaxy itself tell the story of its life， its science and inevitable end， in a story both funny profound and educational。 The book begins with a bit about Dr。 McTier， a life that actually sounds as interesting as the galaxy the Doctor is planning to tell。 Dr。 McTier tells of her upbringing ， the stars she saw and th knowledge that a future in the stars was much better than a life in a small not that exciting small town。 From there readers are introduced to The Milky Way， the creation and formation， and a semi- chronological history follows。 Humans appear， and discussions follow using myths and folklore， on how people thought the world came about。 Finally ending with the probable end of The Milky Way， and what might happen after that。 The book is written differently than most science books， which I am sure that some people will have a problem with。 I enjoyed it， though it did take me a chapter or two to go with the flow。 The science and especially the math was well explained， the narrative moved well and most questions， when there is an answer， as science can try but can't promise to answer everything， are answered and again make sense。 Plus the book is funny。 I like the idea of a quipy galaxy， and an intelligent one also is nice to contemplate。 The writing is very conversational， not teachy and you can feel the enjoyment that Doctor McTier has for the subject， and loves to share with others。 A science book that doesn't read like a science book， and for what seems like a joke idea， is probably one of the more thoughtful and interesting books that I have read this year。 I wanted to quote and read parts to my nephews as points are raised that I never thought of， or to be honest probably understood。 A book that leaves the reader with a good feeling， that maybe everything will be ok， or that maybe all this talk about an uncaring universe might be true， but this galaxy The Milky Way cares and is always willing to listen。 As long as we listen too。 。。。more
Thomas Lambe
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