The End of Everything: (Astrophysically Speaking)
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- Create Date：2021-07-12 06:52:07
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Katie Mack
- ISBN：1982103558
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Summary
From one of the most dynamic rising stars in astrophysics， an “engrossing， elegant” （The New York Times） look at five ways the universe could end， and the mind-blowing lessons each scenario reveals about the most important concepts in cosmology。
We know the universe had a beginning。 With the Big Bang， it expanded from a state of unimaginable density to an all-encompassing cosmic fireball to a simmering fluid of matter and energy， laying down the seeds for everything from black holes to one rocky planet orbiting a star near the edge of a spiral galaxy that happened to develop life as we know it。 But what happens to the universe at the end of the story？ And what does it mean for us now？
Dr。 Katie Mack has been contemplating these questions since she was a young student， when her astronomy professor informed her the universe could end at any moment， in an instant。 This revelation set her on the path toward theoretical astrophysics。 Now， with lively wit and humor， she takes us on a mind-bending tour through five of the cosmos’s possible finales: the Big Crunch， Heat Death， the Big Rip， Vacuum Decay （the one that could happen at any moment！）， and the Bounce。 Guiding us through cutting-edge science and major concepts in quantum mechanics， cosmology， string theory， and much more， The End of Everything is a wildly fun， surprisingly upbeat ride to the farthest reaches of all that we know。
We know the universe had a beginning。 With the Big Bang， it expanded from a state of unimaginable density to an all-encompassing cosmic fireball to a simmering fluid of matter and energy， laying down the seeds for everything from black holes to one rocky planet orbiting a star near the edge of a spiral galaxy that happened to develop life as we know it。 But what happens to the universe at the end of the story？ And what does it mean for us now？
Dr。 Katie Mack has been contemplating these questions since she was a young student， when her astronomy professor informed her the universe could end at any moment， in an instant。 This revelation set her on the path toward theoretical astrophysics。 Now， with lively wit and humor， she takes us on a mind-bending tour through five of the cosmos’s possible finales: the Big Crunch， Heat Death， the Big Rip， Vacuum Decay （the one that could happen at any moment！）， and the Bounce。 Guiding us through cutting-edge science and major concepts in quantum mechanics， cosmology， string theory， and much more， The End of Everything is a wildly fun， surprisingly upbeat ride to the farthest reaches of all that we know。
Reviews
Megan
，
Eve now though this book was written in an easy format I still struggled with all the concepts。 Science I’m trying， I really am！
Rob
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Great primer on cosmologyI’ve read a lot of books on cosmology and this one stands out because the author is clearly having a lot of fun writing it。 I also love that she includes views and quotes of other scientists， especially towards the end of the book， as this is something I find a lot popular physics books lacking。 Highly recommend。
Rajen Anderson
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Great explanation and introduction to cosmology， and several possible scenarios for the fate of our universe based on the existing science。
Doug Cornelius
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My brain hurts。 A deep dive into the many theories about how the universe might end。 After all， there was a beginning。 So there must be an end。
John Miller
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As the title indicates， this is a book about endings。 In order to have an ending though， one must have a beginning。 So before exploring universe-destroying theories in depth， Katie Mack outlines what is believed to have happened during the Big Bang， based on the best currently available information。 This short piece， which reads like a long TED Talk in some ways， is of course fairly complex。 But I admire Mack’s ability to simplify it enough so that the average reader can basically follow its ten As the title indicates， this is a book about endings。 In order to have an ending though， one must have a beginning。 So before exploring universe-destroying theories in depth， Katie Mack outlines what is believed to have happened during the Big Bang， based on the best currently available information。 This short piece， which reads like a long TED Talk in some ways， is of course fairly complex。 But I admire Mack’s ability to simplify it enough so that the average reader can basically follow its tenets well enough to have some understanding of what she speaks。 I also enjoy the slight humor with which she peppers the book， suggesting airily that we might meet some sudden end， but “we should at least make it to chapter six，” for example。 This humor certainly helps to make the material more memorable and digestible。 In the audio form， Mack chooses to read the introduction so that we will have a sense of who has created this almost paper like construction， then she turns it over to a professional narrator。 The narrator does a good job in tailoring her voice to respond to the author’s intentions and giving it as much of a novelistic feel as something like this could have。 I would suggest not reading this prior to bedtime， unless you want to have frightening dreams of suddenly being left adrift in Space as the planet falls from under you， and observing as all organized matter ceases to exist （though of course I should note that any such happening would occur so quickly that you wouldn’t even recognize it。 I picked this book up， because the subject matter was intriguing to me， as we often wonder what will happen in the far future that we will never see。 I guess I felt like the ending was a little dragged out， as things got pretty philosophical， but then how do they not after composing such a treatise。 Overall though， it’s a pretty fun read if you’re into such things。 。。。more
Cassie Rivard
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Great book， but I tried to listen to the audiobook at first but had to switch。 The narrator sounds like she’s crying the entire time she’s reading。 Don’t recommend。
Tracy
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（Won this book on Goodreads）。 I guess I read the description wrong or I completely misunderstood it。 This book seemed way over my head for me to enjoy。 As some information was interesting， I just could not get in to it completely。 The sense of humor was great and helped move the pages along。 What I did get out of it is that it is interesting how the scientists try and create/recreate how the Universe or Earth could be destroyed。 However， it is scary to know they are replicating these events for （Won this book on Goodreads）。 I guess I read the description wrong or I completely misunderstood it。 This book seemed way over my head for me to enjoy。 As some information was interesting， I just could not get in to it completely。 The sense of humor was great and helped move the pages along。 What I did get out of it is that it is interesting how the scientists try and create/recreate how the Universe or Earth could be destroyed。 However， it is scary to know they are replicating these events for study。 I would be so afraid of that oops moment and we are approaching the end of times way earlier then we expected。 This was not a bad book， just not my cup of tea。 。。。more
Michael
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I’m very glad I read this book。 It is fascinating。 The author explains complained ideas in terms that are for the most part easy enough to follow。 And it is an idea I haven’t run across before。 How will “the end of everything happen？” She offers some different scenarios from the world of physics。 It really made me think - about practical things， but also about bigger picture things too。 I loved it。
Aaron
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Explores the five possible finales of the universe: the big crunch （The reversal of the big bang）， heat death （The eternally expanding universe with everything decaying to nothingness）， the big rip （The accelerating universe in which phantom dark energy literally rips the universe apart）， the ekpyrotic universe （A cyclic universe in which there's eternally expanding and contracting phases of the universe）， and the vacuum decay （A universe that can potentially end at any moment because we are tem Explores the five possible finales of the universe: the big crunch （The reversal of the big bang）， heat death （The eternally expanding universe with everything decaying to nothingness）， the big rip （The accelerating universe in which phantom dark energy literally rips the universe apart）， the ekpyrotic universe （A cyclic universe in which there's eternally expanding and contracting phases of the universe）， and the vacuum decay （A universe that can potentially end at any moment because we are temporarily living in a false vacuum and all it needs is some huge trigger that would transition our universe from its false vacuum state to its true vacuum state）。 A highly enjoyable read。 I definitely recommend it to those who love to tread in the unknown。 。。。more
Erin I
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Current theories about eschatology are good fun and all， but my favorite parts were the explanations of phenomena as we currently understand them that have led to these theories。 This book contains the most digestible descriptions of dark matter， how physics changes depending on energy state， and how astrophysics research is conducted that I've encountered to date。 It doesn't hurt that Mack is a star （pun intended） in her field and her genuine excitement about cosmology is contagious。 Current theories about eschatology are good fun and all， but my favorite parts were the explanations of phenomena as we currently understand them that have led to these theories。 This book contains the most digestible descriptions of dark matter， how physics changes depending on energy state， and how astrophysics research is conducted that I've encountered to date。 It doesn't hurt that Mack is a star （pun intended） in her field and her genuine excitement about cosmology is contagious。 。。。more
Madeline
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Really good， I’m still thinking about future aliens and starless skies， unable to determine there was a beginning and expansion of the universe。
Eliza
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Katie Mack is so effortlessly charismatic and her explanations of intrinsically heavy topics are so easily digestible making her writing such a breath of fresh air。 I truly enjoy how she links groundbreaking scientific discoveries to mundane topics， and her words make Intersteller slightly less terrifying。。。 or reality even more。 Either way， this book really makes you think about subjects that indisputably would remain overlooked- i。e。 we all know that it takes 8 minutes for the Sun's light to r Katie Mack is so effortlessly charismatic and her explanations of intrinsically heavy topics are so easily digestible making her writing such a breath of fresh air。 I truly enjoy how she links groundbreaking scientific discoveries to mundane topics， and her words make Intersteller slightly less terrifying。。。 or reality even more。 Either way， this book really makes you think about subjects that indisputably would remain overlooked- i。e。 we all know that it takes 8 minutes for the Sun's light to reach Earth， but have you ever thought about the fact that everything you see， thus， is in the past？ And we all have a vague understanding of infinity， but why haven't I ever thought about the fact that nothing finite （us） can't *ever* comprehend something that's not。。 All in all， it's definitely a book everyone should read。 I promise you the ultimate destruction of the cosmos is something that will interest you。 。。。more
Allison Hurd
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This was fascinating， but it did miss one important possible way for the cosmos to end: the explosion of my brain trying to picture all of this。 She goes through the current models for what our universe might be， why it acts the way it does， the stumbling blocks they're trying to figure out， and what each model would look like if they were true。 It's in layman's terms， short， sweet and funny even about absolute destruction。I had to listen to some parts multiple times all the same because trying This was fascinating， but it did miss one important possible way for the cosmos to end: the explosion of my brain trying to picture all of this。 She goes through the current models for what our universe might be， why it acts the way it does， the stumbling blocks they're trying to figure out， and what each model would look like if they were true。 It's in layman's terms， short， sweet and funny even about absolute destruction。I had to listen to some parts multiple times all the same because trying to understand phantom particles and dark energy and the rest makes me cognitively sea sick。 Definitely recommended。 。。。more
Michael
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The theoretical physicist explains the five most likely endings for our expanding universe， hopefully an unimaginably long time from now （once we start measuring in the trillions of years you can afford to put it on the back burner of your existential anxieties and go and put the kettle on）。 Clear and upbeat。
Liz
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I love weird physics and， for a hot second， I considered creating a shelf entitled "speculative nonfiction" for this， but it would mess with my sorting scheme and so I refrained。Look， I packed so many boxes listening to this book。 It was exactly the kind of interesting content without characters making appalling life choices that I needed while packing。And I learned a fair amount too。 What more could one ask？ I love weird physics and， for a hot second， I considered creating a shelf entitled "speculative nonfiction" for this， but it would mess with my sorting scheme and so I refrained。Look， I packed so many boxes listening to this book。 It was exactly the kind of interesting content without characters making appalling life choices that I needed while packing。And I learned a fair amount too。 What more could one ask？ 。。。more
mark
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A pleasantly easy， conversational read about a very difficult topic。 Dr。 Mack takes on a very sensitive subject with beautiful， poetic metaphors and with reassuring directness as she candidly and poignantly explains what is both a technically challenging and sad subject: the end of the universe and all it contains--including all of us。
Cat
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A quick but deep primer into the simple profound and stupefying astrophysical phenomena surrounding the inevitable heat death of the universeAudiobook accessed through the libro。fm bookseller program， via my place of work， Oxford Exchange bookstore in Tampa， FL。 A quick but deep primer into the simple profound and stupefying astrophysical phenomena surrounding the inevitable heat death of the universeAudiobook accessed through the libro。fm bookseller program， via my place of work， Oxford Exchange bookstore in Tampa， FL。 。。。more
Sstweedle
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Fascinating and supposedly written in a light and breezy manner for such a heavy subject， but not very easy for laymen without much of a science background to ultimately make much sense of。 I may have to take a second shot at it for anything to really sink in。
Chelsie
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4。5 stars
Allison
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Good analogies to bring complex concepts to commoners。 Well crafted to teach while entertaining。
Sven
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An immaculate book explaing。。。 well the end of everything。 Even without a physics background， this was a truly fascinating read。 I highly recommended if cosmology is even a slight interest。
JoЯge Gomez
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Witty。 Engaging。 Crystal clear。 Loved it。 I didn’t think it was possible， but Katie writes about the end of all things in a way that doesn’t leave me with existential dread。
Sam Barton
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A good and often funny cosmological look at the end of the universe in its many potential ways。 Read if you want that sharp kick of existential dread！
Kathleen
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Mack's enthusiasm and patience in explaining theoretical concepts made this an enjoyable read。 However it also made me wonder if humans will ever be able to admit that there are things in our universe that we cannot know and understand 。。。 Mack's enthusiasm and patience in explaining theoretical concepts made this an enjoyable read。 However it also made me wonder if humans will ever be able to admit that there are things in our universe that we cannot know and understand 。。。 。。。more
Luke Spooner
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Very interesting stuff， but like most physics books it went over my head， and the little brain it contains。
Collyn
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Every chapter starts with a quotation from a novel， and the first one is from one of my favorites！ Also， it's a great book that explains big concepts clearly and engagingly。 Every chapter starts with a quotation from a novel， and the first one is from one of my favorites！ Also， it's a great book that explains big concepts clearly and engagingly。 。。。more
Terence
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Rating: 3。5+ starsDespite a folksy writing style that I find hard to take in my general science books， Katie Mack's The End of Everything overcame that handicap， and I enjoyed this book。Dr。 Mack provides an easy-to-grasp-for-the-general-reader overview of what we know about the birth of the universe and several ways by which it might end。 In fact， Chapter 2 "Big Bang to Now，" is one of the clearest explanations I've read about the universe's origins - what we know and what we speculate happened Rating: 3。5+ starsDespite a folksy writing style that I find hard to take in my general science books， Katie Mack's The End of Everything overcame that handicap， and I enjoyed this book。Dr。 Mack provides an easy-to-grasp-for-the-general-reader overview of what we know about the birth of the universe and several ways by which it might end。 In fact， Chapter 2 "Big Bang to Now，" is one of the clearest explanations I've read about the universe's origins - what we know and what we speculate happened - that I've ever read。Highly recommended。 。。。more
Arun Jeevaraj
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One of the best books I read this year， thanks a lot for the author Katie Mack for writing the intricacies of physics and esoteric concepts in a simple to understand words and with a hint of fun wrapped tortillas of wisdom。 It brings you closer to some of the latest trends in physics and explains about how the universe started， will continue to and how it will end。 This is a definite recommended and must read book。
Anthony
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I have read better Astrophysics books。 This book also didn’t meet my expectation as to explaining the different possible endings and instead seemed to focus more on various intricacies of general relativity and quantum physics。 （Which I find and found fascinating） I just wanted more about end of world theories and less of everything else。 All in all it was an ok book on a hard subject matter。 I can’t really promote this book or recommend to anyone I know because of the difficult subject matter。 I have read better Astrophysics books。 This book also didn’t meet my expectation as to explaining the different possible endings and instead seemed to focus more on various intricacies of general relativity and quantum physics。 （Which I find and found fascinating） I just wanted more about end of world theories and less of everything else。 All in all it was an ok book on a hard subject matter。 I can’t really promote this book or recommend to anyone I know because of the difficult subject matter。 However， even if they were into the subject matter， I would recommend other books that relate to the subject long before recommending this one。 Though I do believe this book has potential to be interesting conversation starter with a very select few。 。。。more
Potato
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