‘Death by Black Hole (And other cosmic quandaries)’, by Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Do you have your coffee ready? I hope you like science, because this time it is not the fictional world I’m writing about. It is just as amazing, though: this book was written about our wonderful universe!

Discovery:

I discovered Tyson with my boyfriend when we stumbled upon his (relatively) new Cosmos epsiodes (a tribute to Carl Sagan). We watched it as though we were kids, even though we already knew many of the things he was talking about. We actually wanted to buy his new book, but ended up getting this one. It’s the first in line, isn’t it? It is also the first book that belongs to both of us!

Brainstorm:

I enjoyed this book from beginning to end! It is a fantastic read, really funny and a good summary of what astrophysicists care about and do. There are little fun facts and stories about late scientists as well as mentions of current researches. (The book was written a little more than a decade ago, yet I had a new copy with footnotes that explained what has been changed and discovered since 2007. It was actually very uplifting to see many of his predictions came true over these years!) He starts his trains of thought at about the level of science everyone studied in school, so it’s not very hard to follow him on this journey. He wants to teach the Universe to the everyday people, he wants discoveries to belong to everyone. This is not at all a boring, complicated science textbook! Tyson is not only a great scientist, but also a talented writer.

Let’s give it a grade!

1. Topic unfolding: 5/5
2. Style: 5/5
3. The Subjective Factor: 5/5

• GPA: 5

Uniqueness:

What makes this book (and honestly, everything Tyson does) special is his style! He has a wonderful sense of humor, a perfect measure of sarcasm, yet the utmost respect for every scientist (may they have lived hundreds of years ago, or work these days). Every unimaginable scientific fact he mentions is made understandable and seemingly easy by him. It’s a wonderful, funny ride all the way!

Recommend to:

Everyone who cares even a little about science/(astro)physics! If you are a professional or a very informed amateur, this book is a very fun distraction from your everydays. Basically every page contained at least one thing that made me laugh out loud, an expression, a sarcastic note, a great fun fact or a straight-out joke. If you are a complete lay(wo)man, and only now try to get some knowledge about astrophysics, it is the perfect read for you as well! He explains things very simply, without making you feel dumb or ignorant. His imagery and metaphors make all complicated and complex workings of our world tangible. He makes you feel like the Universe is yours to discover!

Drink tip:

Raspberry syrup + soda.

Music room:

One would think weird relax musics from YouTube would be a match for this book, but somehow I have 60s’-70s’ rock music going around in my head. Or epic movie soundtracks. Like anything written by John Williams.

Either of them.

Future:

I’m about to buy Tyson’s newest book, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry (Sounds awesome, right?). Like… right now.

 

I hope you liked my review and enjoyed a coffee with it. I also hope you don’t mind I wrote about non-fiction. This book became one of my favorites, I couldn’t help recommending it!

If you have any comments, questions, suggestions of any kind, don’t keep it in! 😉

Hugs 🙂