Astrophysics for People in a Hurry |Review

When Astrophysics for People in a Hurry came out, I knew I had to get it. Like with many things in life, however, I talked myself out of spending that money for a long time. I finally bought it back in November and promptly put it on my reading list.

I must admit that it took me longer than expected to finish reading it, but I’m glad I did.

Others questioned why I was reading a science book. I suppose it seemed out of character, but I love learning about outer space, Neil Degrasse Tyson is amazing, and I simply love learning new things.

Tone

The first thing I noticed upon beginning this book was the tone. The conversational and passionate voice of Neil Degrasse Tyson emanates through the page. It was as if he was speaking directly to me, or, through some miracle, I was attending a lecture of his.

Quite frankly, I wish every textbook I’ve had to read would have been written like this. I would have been more engaged and most likely would have retained more information.

Length

As it is Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, I was expecting a quick read. The book is a manageable size- roughly 200 pages- and anyone who is an avid reader will be able to breeze through this.

Knowledge Gained

In other words, after the laws of physics, everything else is opinion.

The amount of information that is jam packed into those 200 pages is unbelievable. Chapter by chapter, there is so much to take in. It’s never difficult, however. When there are concepts that you would think are difficult to explain or grasp, Tyson comes in with the perfect analogy or a great joke to get the point across.

There were a few times that I needed to google search a term, but I took that simply as a sign of my learning. This book has left me with a much deeper understanding of the universe and the curiosity to want to learn more.  The amount of work that scientists have historically put in to discovering new facts about our universe is humbling and inspiring.

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry is one of those rare books that I look forward to rereading. It is impossible to leave it without learning about the universe, the author himself, and yourself.

If you would like to order the book, I have included the link here, along with some of my other favorites.

Have you already read it? What were your thoughts?

Happy reading,

TheWritingSol