Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
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- Create Date：2021-03-25 10:24:41
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Neil deGrasse Tyson
- ISBN：0393609391
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Summary
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。
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。
Reviews
Ryan Bailey
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This was a pretty good way for people to be brought quickly up to speed on the basics of a lot of the areas of astrophysics that are hot and progressing right now。 It did not strike me as overly technical， as other commenters are saying， which would have surprised me from the guy who has devoted his career to making science accessible to the regular public。 However， it does assume some very basic knowledge of fundamental science concepts; it is not a high school earth science course， you probabl This was a pretty good way for people to be brought quickly up to speed on the basics of a lot of the areas of astrophysics that are hot and progressing right now。 It did not strike me as overly technical， as other commenters are saying， which would have surprised me from the guy who has devoted his career to making science accessible to the regular public。 However， it does assume some very basic knowledge of fundamental science concepts; it is not a high school earth science course， you probably need to already know that to understand what he's talking about or you may get lost。 Writing this now， a year later， nothing from the book struck me enough to stick with me; so I think it didn't reveal anything new or revolutionary to me on the subjects it contains。 I did listen to it pretty quickly， probably over a day or two。 。。。more
L
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Had to let this one go。 I may try it again on a long drive。
Fiki Mochamad A
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Buku yg bagus。 Sesuai judul， ringkas， dan mudah dipahami untuk orang awam。
Liza Johnson
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4 star writing but 2 stars because I had no idea what was going on“The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you”And make sense it did NOT。 I learned from this book is that astrophysics is indeed not FOR people in a hurry。 I couldn’t fake a coherent conversation about astrophysics with Neil DeGrasse Tyson even if he were deep in REM sleeptalking and my life depended on it。 This book was humbling not because we are so small and the universe is so vast blah blah blah but because while I 4 star writing but 2 stars because I had no idea what was going on“The universe is under no obligation to make sense to you”And make sense it did NOT。 I learned from this book is that astrophysics is indeed not FOR people in a hurry。 I couldn’t fake a coherent conversation about astrophysics with Neil DeGrasse Tyson even if he were deep in REM sleeptalking and my life depended on it。 This book was humbling not because we are so small and the universe is so vast blah blah blah but because while I knew most of the words in this book I had absolutely no idea what he was talking about the entire time。 Reading about the universe did not give me a crushing bout of existential dread as I expected - this is likely due to Tyson’s exhaustive and oddly adorable convincing argument on why aliens probably won’t find us here on earth。 All that being said， this review is a reflection of my own ineptitude and NOT about Tyson as an author or thinker。 I think I have a “Theory of Everything” style nerd crush on this man and I would sorely like to have a cup of tea with him or have him read me a bedtime story。 。。。more
Nickole Gilliam
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As an A+ student in The Magic of Physics at UofT， I found this book right up my alley。 It’s not too complicated and not too basic。 This is not my normal genre of book， but I’ve recently become fascinated with outer space so I figured I had nothing to lose。 Could I ace a pop quiz on this book？ Absolutely not！ Do I now know what a black hole is？ Nope， not at all！ CAN I SAY WITHOUT A DOUBT THAT THERE ARE SOME REALLY SMART PEOPLE IN THIS FIELD AND I AM NOT ONE OF THEM？ Absolutely！！！！Until next time， As an A+ student in The Magic of Physics at UofT， I found this book right up my alley。 It’s not too complicated and not too basic。 This is not my normal genre of book， but I’ve recently become fascinated with outer space so I figured I had nothing to lose。 Could I ace a pop quiz on this book？ Absolutely not！ Do I now know what a black hole is？ Nope， not at all！ CAN I SAY WITHOUT A DOUBT THAT THERE ARE SOME REALLY SMART PEOPLE IN THIS FIELD AND I AM NOT ONE OF THEM？ Absolutely！！！！Until next time， dream big space cadets。 And if you ever feel lost， just remember that 10 billion things happened in the first second of the universe。 Thinking about that makes your little paper cut feel just a little insignificant！ 。。。more
Gail Koornick
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Because this book was written for "people in a hurry" I assumed， wrongly， that it would be something of a breeze to understand。 Well not necessarily。 I found the first few chapters very difficult。 Afterwards things fell more into place。 The author is excellent， with some humor， but that did not help me recall any high school or college physics class info。 The easiest chapter was more chemistry oriented （not my best subject back in high school） but who knew？ I enjoyed the book but I seem to ident Because this book was written for "people in a hurry" I assumed， wrongly， that it would be something of a breeze to understand。 Well not necessarily。 I found the first few chapters very difficult。 Afterwards things fell more into place。 The author is excellent， with some humor， but that did not help me recall any high school or college physics class info。 The easiest chapter was more chemistry oriented （not my best subject back in high school） but who knew？ I enjoyed the book but I seem to identify more with things in the small world: biological cells， cats， birds， horses， trees （yes they are comparatively tiny compared to the universe！）， buildings， the sea， so I found it extremely difficult to comprehend that very massive and ever expanding world of the universe and all those things in it。 I feel it did give me overall look at things: a very general background knowledge helpful to all of us。 。。。more
Genevieve B
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4。5The start of this read was a bit rocky for me。 Quantum physics was the main topic at first， but math and I are like oil and water。 I stuck with it though and it quickly paid off！ As it continues I found myself keeping up with Neil's pace and enjoying this read。 If you ever need a humbling reminder about how small or insignificant we are， here is your solution！ Neil De Grasses Tyson bats with the facts and theories that will have you mesmerizing by the vastness of the universe （or universes） t 4。5The start of this read was a bit rocky for me。 Quantum physics was the main topic at first， but math and I are like oil and water。 I stuck with it though and it quickly paid off！ As it continues I found myself keeping up with Neil's pace and enjoying this read。 If you ever need a humbling reminder about how small or insignificant we are， here is your solution！ Neil De Grasses Tyson bats with the facts and theories that will have you mesmerizing by the vastness of the universe （or universes） that seroundes us。 A very good and informative read for anyone casually interested in Astrophysics :） 。。。more
Chichi Lalescu
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Good， but I think it could have been better。Content is fine， presentation is sometimes unclear。
Michiel Mennen
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That was quick。An interesting fast read， with NDT’s signature quips making the narrative lively。 The second to last chapter suffers from poor editing and is quite messy， but overall indeed a good read for when you are in a hurry or want to brush up on Astrophysics 101。Some prior knowledge on the topic is advisable though。
Cynn Mustaine Dzul
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Ame este libro。 Es un deleite de ciencia。
Amélie
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A great book on astrophysics！ Having some knowledge on the subject or even on astronomy before reading it would be helpful， but there's still enough content in the book that's easy to understand， that it makes it an enjoyable read！ A great book on astrophysics！ Having some knowledge on the subject or even on astronomy before reading it would be helpful， but there's still enough content in the book that's easy to understand， that it makes it an enjoyable read！ 。。。more
Anna Jastrzębska
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very easy to understand and interesting， i had a lot of fun reading it
Grace Gibney
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Fantastical， humble， and brilliant。 I appreciated Tyson’s explanation of the universe without “dumbing it down” in a poor way。 I am not much for science but I can honestly say this read helped me understand it a bit better。
Kelly Mcquiston
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I listened to the audiobook narrated by the author。 The narration was excellent and the content was more or less understandable。
Alona
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More than a school course of astronomy in one 200-page book。
Deece de Paor
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Neil deGrasse Tyson's book opens with a quote from。。。Neil deGrasse Tyson， "The universe is in no way obliged to make sense to you。" The quote is memorable and funny and is weakened because it's from himself， even though he is a prolific writer and expert on this subject。 He takes us， the layperson， through Einstein's theory of relativity - known as GR to those in the know - and it's never patronising or too difficult。 The pitch is the goldilocks effect - it's just right。 He is fearless in showin Neil deGrasse Tyson's book opens with a quote from。。。Neil deGrasse Tyson， "The universe is in no way obliged to make sense to you。" The quote is memorable and funny and is weakened because it's from himself， even though he is a prolific writer and expert on this subject。 He takes us， the layperson， through Einstein's theory of relativity - known as GR to those in the know - and it's never patronising or too difficult。 The pitch is the goldilocks effect - it's just right。 He is fearless in showing what we still don't know about the universe - the longtime confusion about antimatter， and how things in space are named for Roman gods （planets） and Greek gods （moons） and in some cases， literature。 （Uranus and quarks）。 Even though this is a short book， it's not very unified。 Some pieces don't slot well together and you can see that they've just been lifted from magazine articles。 However， it does answer a number of questions well about the universe。 At any rate， for research purposes， I'm interested in the complexity of academic inequality and specifically: astrophysicists that engage in scandal and in this， Tyson is no different。 This book published in 2017， in 2018 he was accused of sexual misconduct by four separate women。 One accusation was of rape， by a fellow black student while they were both undergrads。 Even though they were the only two black students at the time， Tyson said of it: I only noticed afterwards that she had dropped out of the program。 This is all part of the narrative， the narrative where women stay silent to protect men of the crimes that they commit against us， and also part of the narrative that we somehow feel if someone is say， a talented scientist the other misdemeanours they commit are ignored。 That said， the level of hate levelled at Tyson at the time was borderline racist and not something other offending astronomers received， such as Geoff Marcy， Christian Ott， and Lawrence Krauss。And he won't be as protected as they were when the investigation， launched by Fox （dubious） and National Geographic （strange institutions to launch allegations） is completed。 It does dampen his "enlightened humanity" speech at the end somewhat but not enough to rob it of a star。 。。。more
David Pulliam
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I listened to this book in a day while holding a new baby。 A lot of it I had learned in astronomy class in college and since forgotten。 This was a wonderful review。 I confess I have already forgotten all of it。 Again。
ᵃˡᵉˣ
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Gdyby nie "Wszechświat w twojej dłoni"， który niedawno przeczytałam， byłoby mi ciężko ze zrozumieniem tej książki。 Jednak ostatni rozdział przyprawił mnie o dreszcze。 Dla niego warto zaznajomić się z tą pozycją。 Gdyby nie "Wszechświat w twojej dłoni"， który niedawno przeczytałam， byłoby mi ciężko ze zrozumieniem tej książki。 Jednak ostatni rozdział przyprawił mnie o dreszcze。 Dla niego warto zaznajomić się z tą pozycją。 。。。more
Brooke
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Fun and fast。 To really take this in I could stand to reread several times， but it's so short， that's totally plausible Fun and fast。 To really take this in I could stand to reread several times， but it's so short， that's totally plausible 。。。more
Ana
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"To picture [Astrophysics for People in a Hurry]， imagine the mass of the Sun packed into a ball the size of Manhattan。 If that's hard to do， then maybe it's easier if you imagine stuffing about a billion elephants into a Chapstick casing。" -Neil deGrasse TysonThat was actually Neil deGrasse Tyson speaking on a pulsar in this book， but I think it applies to how I felt reading it。 So much information in such a short amount of time。 The information was extremely interesting and mind bending。。。 tha "To picture [Astrophysics for People in a Hurry]， imagine the mass of the Sun packed into a ball the size of Manhattan。 If that's hard to do， then maybe it's easier if you imagine stuffing about a billion elephants into a Chapstick casing。" -Neil deGrasse TysonThat was actually Neil deGrasse Tyson speaking on a pulsar in this book， but I think it applies to how I felt reading it。 So much information in such a short amount of time。 The information was extremely interesting and mind bending。。。 that is the information I actually retained which is about 1%。 It became a little preachy at the end for my tastes， but what he was preaching is important so I can't really complain。 But it is such a quick read （or roughly a three hour listen with an audio book where you get the experience of Neil himself explaining the wonders of the universe to you）， that I will probably read it again and hopefully gain another 1% of knowledge。 。。。more
Cori Jackson
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“We are stardust brought to life， then empowered by the universe to figure itself out—and we have only just begun。” I can think of no greater dose of cosmic perspective after a long year of earthly struggle。
Pat Pujolas
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Shelving this one alongside "A Brief History of Time" and "The Elegant Universe。" Meaning， I did not understand a single concept presented here。 I love science and science writing， but I'm just not smart enough to follow the brilliance of Neil deGrasse Tyson。 I enjoyed the book， sure。 Even found it funny at times。 But it's like taking an elevator ride with the author when you need a full semester of the material presented。 （And maybe a visual or two。） Shelving this one alongside "A Brief History of Time" and "The Elegant Universe。" Meaning， I did not understand a single concept presented here。 I love science and science writing， but I'm just not smart enough to follow the brilliance of Neil deGrasse Tyson。 I enjoyed the book， sure。 Even found it funny at times。 But it's like taking an elevator ride with the author when you need a full semester of the material presented。 （And maybe a visual or two。） 。。。more
Kaushik
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Not that I'm in any sort of hurry， but I'm a sucker for anything cosmos。 I grew up watching tons and tons of space documentaries and if you're someone like me whose inner curiosity for science and the cosmos needs a little rekindling， there's nothing better than this book。 It's signature Neil De Grasse Tyson， the humor and arrogance， and the eventual humility of it all。 This book made me revisit the Hydrogen Spectrum， watch an entire youtube series of special relativity， and is the perfect launc Not that I'm in any sort of hurry， but I'm a sucker for anything cosmos。 I grew up watching tons and tons of space documentaries and if you're someone like me whose inner curiosity for science and the cosmos needs a little rekindling， there's nothing better than this book。 It's signature Neil De Grasse Tyson， the humor and arrogance， and the eventual humility of it all。 This book made me revisit the Hydrogen Spectrum， watch an entire youtube series of special relativity， and is the perfect launching pad for anyone to explore more on their own。 Loved it！ 。。。more
PRANISH SHRESTHA
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I really enjoy Neil Degrasse Tyson's contents whether it be a book， a podcast or a youtube video。 Enjoyed reading this book and will reread it again and again to grasp more of it。 In my opinion， as being in the hype of technology innovation， we should build interest in astrophysics as this is the fundamental field of study about the working of the universe that we live in。 I really enjoy Neil Degrasse Tyson's contents whether it be a book， a podcast or a youtube video。 Enjoyed reading this book and will reread it again and again to grasp more of it。 In my opinion， as being in the hype of technology innovation， we should build interest in astrophysics as this is the fundamental field of study about the working of the universe that we live in。 。。。more
Sydney
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Will add review later
Margarita Verdh
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I think this is a book everyone must read。 Not only to learn the basics of astrophysics， but also to understand how small we are。I don't agree with the title though。 It's not astrophysics for people in a hurry。 I could never read this book in the bus or in a noisy room。 You should be very concentrated， to understand what you are really reading。 So many facts in a very small number of pages。 I myself was reading and highlighting the facts and infos in order to be able to get the meaning。 But that I think this is a book everyone must read。 Not only to learn the basics of astrophysics， but also to understand how small we are。I don't agree with the title though。 It's not astrophysics for people in a hurry。 I could never read this book in the bus or in a noisy room。 You should be very concentrated， to understand what you are really reading。 So many facts in a very small number of pages。 I myself was reading and highlighting the facts and infos in order to be able to get the meaning。 But that's the reason I'm not an astrophysic。 Very intrigued of what I read， looking forward to discover a new book about the cosmos。 。。。more
Kasia
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Czasami miałam problem żeby zrozumieć o czym mowa i uważam， że ta książka jest dla osób， które mają jakąś wiedzę na ten astrofizyki
Jessica
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Warning: My 3 stars for this book is not the author’s fault。 Why did I read this？ Did I really read this？ Well， it looked fascinating and maybe like it could make me smarter， but I think it just proved how little I know about astrophysics in the first place。 Might have been an extraterrestrial talking to me because I probably understood just as much。 I did love the last chapter and how he puts life into perspective though！ Hopefully， some atomic particle of information was retained in my astroph Warning: My 3 stars for this book is not the author’s fault。 Why did I read this？ Did I really read this？ Well， it looked fascinating and maybe like it could make me smarter， but I think it just proved how little I know about astrophysics in the first place。 Might have been an extraterrestrial talking to me because I probably understood just as much。 I did love the last chapter and how he puts life into perspective though！ Hopefully， some atomic particle of information was retained in my astrophysically untrained brain。 。。。more
Joel Gilbertson-white
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Marvelously inspiring， and an excellent break from so many terrestrial concerns。 Also， an excellent chapter with his thoughts regarding astrophysics' place with regard to terrestrial concerns。 NdGT is an amazing person。 Marvelously inspiring， and an excellent break from so many terrestrial concerns。 Also， an excellent chapter with his thoughts regarding astrophysics' place with regard to terrestrial concerns。 NdGT is an amazing person。 。。。more
Sarah Becker
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