Scan barcode
outtoexist's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
5.0
I did not expect this to be as fantastic as it was!! I only understood & internalized maybe half of it, but it was fantastically funny & inspiring all at the same time!
zachnachazel's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not sure if I'm slightly smarter after listening to this book, or if I have just fully come to terms with how dumb I am. Even at a basic level, most of this went way over my head, but I did learn a lot of new interesting things. Not my normal genre, which is why I was so interested in giving it a try, and am glad I broke up the current grind of school books I've been reading with something fun and different. My only comment in this book, is I wish Tyson put a few more comparisons in the text to help me understand the complexity of the topics discussed.
lizzycatslibrary's review against another edition
3.0
I did like this book but for me it was definitely a struggle trying to wrap my mind around what Neil DeGrasse Tyson was talking about. For a little book there is a LOT in here and I would argue that it is nearly impossible to fully understand astrophysics in a hurry, lol. If I would make a suggestion for this book it would be to read it one chapter a day allowing yourself time to really understand and digest. Don't try to rush through the book, especially as it appears small. Would I recommend it? Yes. Just make sure you take the time to get something out of it.
jbackfire's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.0
My experience reading this book can be summed up in two overarching moments:
An enjoyable and informative, fast-paced reading experience and an absolute slog to read that nearly made me break my, until now, no DNF streak.
Midway through the 5th Chapter, "Dark Matter", I almost stopped outright. It made me question my own intelligence, because for a book that was created for people not necessarily already in the field of STEM (at least that is what I gathered from the title).
As it stands, the chapters 4, 5 and 6 felt too complex and loaded with terms that weren't really explained but rather treated like common knowledge.
Eventually, I buckled down and forced myself to continue and slowly got through to the 7th Chapter "The Cosmos on the Table" and afterwards my experience returned to that first moment.
All in all, the book was fine. It might be that I'm just not the right audience for this type of book or that I shouldn't have started on this topic with this book but regardless, I feel like 3 stars is fair.
An enjoyable and informative, fast-paced reading experience and an absolute slog to read that nearly made me break my, until now, no DNF streak.
Midway through the 5th Chapter, "Dark Matter", I almost stopped outright. It made me question my own intelligence, because for a book that was created for people not necessarily already in the field of STEM (at least that is what I gathered from the title).
As it stands, the chapters 4, 5 and 6 felt too complex and loaded with terms that weren't really explained but rather treated like common knowledge.
Eventually, I buckled down and forced myself to continue and slowly got through to the 7th Chapter "The Cosmos on the Table" and afterwards my experience returned to that first moment.
All in all, the book was fine. It might be that I'm just not the right audience for this type of book or that I shouldn't have started on this topic with this book but regardless, I feel like 3 stars is fair.