Review of 'Astrophysics for People in a Hurry' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Excellent selection of essays. Together they spark wonder.
208 pages
English language
Published Dec. 4, 2017
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
4 stars
(31 reviews)
Review of 'Astrophysics for People in a Hurry' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
If you’ve been looking for an introduction to Astrophysics, you could do worse. Maybe I just don’t want a basic introduction to astrophysics? The book wanders around a lot, meandering through several topics related to the field and explaining them in an entertaining way that goes deeper than an article you might read in a magazine or a newspaper concerning the subject. I felt some more complicated ideas were hand waved at, which I found curious as it would take only a moment to indicate how much more there is to know while admitting cursory knowledge is plenty. Still it was a pleasant enough read and I would recommend it to friends who feel intimidated by science. It’s at least well rounded and does engage with some higher level concepts.
Review of 'Astrophysics for People in a Hurry' on 'Goodreads'
2 stars
Wasn’t in a hurry, but also wasn’t smart enough. It doesn't take long to realize that NDT gets in the weeds and assumes the reader is proficient in the prerequisites of physics and chemistry. He skips a lot of the basics to discuss complex topics like dark matter and dark energy, presenting more questions than answers.
I appreciate any attempt to make difficult subjects more accessible. But after looking up scientific terms every other page and glossing over sentences like "If you take the matter-energy density of the universe and divide it by the matter-energy density required to just barely halt the expansion (known as the “critical” density), you get omega”, I felt like NDT wasn’t really writing for the uninitiated reader. And that’s ok, except that the book's title and description make it seem much more accessible.
I thought Hawking’s “The Universe in a Nutshell” was much more organized …
Wasn’t in a hurry, but also wasn’t smart enough. It doesn't take long to realize that NDT gets in the weeds and assumes the reader is proficient in the prerequisites of physics and chemistry. He skips a lot of the basics to discuss complex topics like dark matter and dark energy, presenting more questions than answers.
I appreciate any attempt to make difficult subjects more accessible. But after looking up scientific terms every other page and glossing over sentences like "If you take the matter-energy density of the universe and divide it by the matter-energy density required to just barely halt the expansion (known as the “critical” density), you get omega”, I felt like NDT wasn’t really writing for the uninitiated reader. And that’s ok, except that the book's title and description make it seem much more accessible.
I thought Hawking’s “The Universe in a Nutshell” was much more organized and easier to understand, which is saying a lot. NDT’s Cosmos series was great—having something to visualize probably helps. There’s a lot here, but my comprehension and retention rate was very low.
Some highlights of words used casually without explanation, to give an idea of expected proficiency:
transmogrifications
cyanogen
phrenological
flotsam
coagulate
neutrinos
corona
exobiologists
crystal lattice
cyclotron
radioisotope thermoelectric generators
sesquipedalian
* extremophiles
Review of 'Astrophysics for People in a Hurry' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
A quick yet informative survey of many topics related to astrophysics, infused with Neil deGrasse Tyson's passion and humor. Highly recommended!
Review of 'Astrophysics for People in a Hurry' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
A very fascinating and accessible book for the non-astrophysicist type (i.e. me). Also an excellent listen on Audible, with NGT narrating.
Review of 'Astrophysics for People in a Hurry' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
To w zasadzie zbiór esejów. Wydawałoby się, że książka krótka, więc nie znajdę tam nic, czego już bym nie wiedział. Nic bardziej mylnego - przypomniałem sobie parę faktów, o których kiedyś czytałem, ale zapomniałem - pojawiło się też parę ciekawostek, których nigdy nie poznałem.
Książka przeprowadza czytelnika przez powstanie wszechświata, historię astrofizyki, poznajemy lambdę Einsteina, omegę, pierwiastki chemiczne odkryte w kosmosie, na końcu autor "zmiękcza ego" czytelnika.
Książka krótka, ładnie wydana, podobnie dobre tłumaczenie, lekturę można przeczytać w jeden dzień. Polecam dla amatorów astro/fizyki, osób niezaznajomionych z tą tematyką (choć są lepsze do tego celu książki), ale najlepiej upolować w cenie przynajmniej 10 zł niższej. Osoba dość głęboko zaznajomiona z tymi tematami nie znajdzie nic dla siebie.
Dobrze, że ją wygrałem, bo tak bym raczej nie kupił. Pozory mylą :)
Review of 'Astrophysics for People in a Hurry' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry does not mean Astrophysics for dummies (me). Fortunately, I read this with my husband, who had a good time explaining (as best he could) the parts that were flying way over my head. Neil deGrasse Tyson does jump right in, so hold on! This short tome is exactly what it promises.
For me, this was a departure, or a different path from my normal read, and I'm glad to have taken this inspiring journey.
Review of 'Astrophysics for People in a Hurry' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Neil deGrasse Tyson loves science and loves making science easier to understand. I read this as an audio book with the author narrating (of course). Definitely an entertaining read and aimed at the person who might be interested in astrophysics a dating astronomy but is daunted by the complexity of the subject.
Review of 'Astrophysics for People in a Hurry' on 'Goodreads'
3 stars
The first part, on the big bang and how the universe got started was really good. It was a good overview of a bunch of stuff I'd heard snippets of before.
The rest of the book seemed disorganized and didn't flow as well.
