Dr. Neil DeGrasse Tyson is the current title-holder of America's most beloved scientist. He is a frequent guest on TV and radio shows explaining the universe in a way that is accessible to most, and he also has a knack for humor and embraces his celebrity with genuine modesty. Director of the famed Hayden Planetarium, Dr. Tyson continues the legacy left behind by astronomer Carl Sagan as the go to person for guiding the average person across all 13 Billion years of the history of our universe.
"Astrophysics for People in a Hurry" is a brief and breezy introduction to everything from astrophysics, to the laws of gravity and motion, general relativity to the origin of the periodic elements. He starts with an explanation of the big bang that was easy to digest for anyone with a moderate interest in science. As the book progresses he narrows down to the formation of gas clouds and early super massive stars. Then Dr. Tyson begins to explain how stars like our sun were formed and how scientists are able to measure distance between stars. He goes on to explain the various theories that have been suggested over the centuries about how the universe is constructed and behaves. Finally he delivers a narrative of how our planet was formed, how the solar system was slowly discovered by scientist over the last 250 years.
Dr. Tyson uses language that most people who made it through high school chemistry or physics would be able to understand. There is no high concept ideas that make most people's heads spin, or loose talk about string theory or multiverses; he keeps it relatively simple, only alluding to the many "exotic" theories about the universe and its origins. He often injects humor through his footnotes, and yes there is even one instance of a fart joke (for science!). Much in the vein of Bill Nye his passion for science and his desire for understanding comes through in a relatable and genuine way.
My reason for reading this book was based mostly on the fact that I have always shared Dr. Tyson's fascination with the cosmos and have asked myself the questions many people ask him when given the chance: What is our place in the universe? Are we alone? Is time travel possible? This book is useful because it makes big, huge, expansive ideas like these small enough to make sense, even if just for a few moments. It's both a guidebook to the universe, and a reference book to be called upon later. It's funny and awe-inspiring. Its author is both brilliant and an everyman. I was entertained and informed, and it only made me want to know more.
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
4.6 | 36,741 ratings
Price: 10.2
Last update: 01-10-2025
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Top reviews from the United States
HiBrief and breezy introduction to everything!
Ashish PExcellent read
Billy, Rachel & Fam…Greatly enjoyable…
Billy, Rachel & Fam…
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2023
Some low to middling reviews lament Mr. Tyson’s glazing over topics with less detail than would be preferred. Here I believe the brevity offered for each topic is exactly what the title promises: a quick, detailed read with an assumption that the reader has a basic understanding of math and science that informs astrophysics. And so the 12 chapters, each broken in to smaller, quick-burst summaries, provide history and present-day knowledge of the topics that explain mankind’s understanding of the universe.
Granted, I am not an astrophysicist, nor am I of much value to any form of science or math in general, being that I’m massively right-brained, more a musician, poet, satirist, writer, philosopher.
But I love the cosmos! I find a beauty in the universe that quickens my heart, inflates my lungs, consumes my mind, floods my spirit, and allows deep fascination to etch itself within my soul. The unfathomable expanse in which this little blue planet upon which we live exists, like a infinitesimal Lilliputian in a Brobdingnagian sea, is simultaneously mesmerizing and terrifying. In the beauty of what appears to be chaos is actually scientific principle governed by concrete, scientifically sound laws. I find peace and am stilled by the possibilities. Also, Neil deGrasse Tyson’s approach to the universe, and his intense interest in things which affect our daily lives on earth but aren’t particularly relevant to astrophysics, is unique, funny, easily interactive, and deeply moving.
So, yes, I read this book, I understood the basic principles of science, the bases of mathematical models, all concepts absorbed by my artistic lens which is informed by my penchant for learning as an autodidact. I’m greatly pleased! Our universe is gorgeous and the laws that govern its existence are enjoyably complex but herein adroitly explained.
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