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thetbrstack's review against another edition
4.0
Above all, read the footnotes in this witty, educational, and entertaining book of science.
danoreading's review against another edition
3.0
5 stars for writing, humor, and audio narration. 2.5 stars for my understanding of astrophysics.
bobmcbobson's review against another edition
2.0
Fascinating topic, but the writing just didn’t do it for me. I felt like it lacked the narrative punch of other books that popularize complex science, and thus I found it to be a slog, but YMMV.
raygersh's review against another edition
2.0
The End of Everything is billed as an accessible look at the five ways the universe could theoretically end. Although it may be for the layperson, it is still a deep dive into cosmology and astrophysics. I think one of the core issues here is that Mack is writing to simultaneously appeal to a crowd of cosmological theorists and interested laypeople not in the scientific community. This makes it dense but overexplained. I wanted to walk away from it several times but my pride wouldn’t let me.
Unfortunately, I felt it took Mack far too long to get to the point. We spent several chapters examining the Big Bang. I came for the end, not the beginning. I get it, the beginning informs the end, but it seems like we could have used a quick overview, rather than spending the first fourth of the book on it. Then, when we finally made it to the highly anticipated five ways the universe could theoretically end, the writing jumped around and wandered from point to point with uneven pacing.
The other big problem with Mack’s meandering writing is she tried to take on existential philosophy, along with theoretical astrophysics, cosmology, quantum physics, and string theory. Yeah, it was a bit much. Mack’s attempt to make the reader feel less of the pull of existential dread just made me sad. It felt tacked on, like she had to add it on as an after-thought.
Overall: Let me save you some time – in several trillions of years, the universe could (1) be overcome by the force of gravity and pulled into itself in a singularity called The Big Crunch, (2) expand continuously to the point of stars decaying and black holes melting until time becomes meaningless and there’s nothing left except Heat Death, (3) continue expanding at an exponential rate until the dark energy literally rips it apart in The Big Rip, (4) be sucked in to a vacuum bubble where the laws of physics are drastically different and would likely destroy everything instantaneously in Vacuum Decay*, or (5) inflate to the point of collapse, creating a Big Bang-like singularity, becoming part of an ekpyrotic cyclic universe in a constant state of expansion and destruction into singularity after singularity, universe after universe, in a Big Bounce. 2.5 stars
*This one could really happen at any time, yippee.
Unfortunately, I felt it took Mack far too long to get to the point. We spent several chapters examining the Big Bang. I came for the end, not the beginning. I get it, the beginning informs the end, but it seems like we could have used a quick overview, rather than spending the first fourth of the book on it. Then, when we finally made it to the highly anticipated five ways the universe could theoretically end, the writing jumped around and wandered from point to point with uneven pacing.
The other big problem with Mack’s meandering writing is she tried to take on existential philosophy, along with theoretical astrophysics, cosmology, quantum physics, and string theory. Yeah, it was a bit much. Mack’s attempt to make the reader feel less of the pull of existential dread just made me sad. It felt tacked on, like she had to add it on as an after-thought.
Overall: Let me save you some time – in several trillions of years, the universe could (1) be overcome by the force of gravity and pulled into itself in a singularity called The Big Crunch, (2) expand continuously to the point of stars decaying and black holes melting until time becomes meaningless and there’s nothing left except Heat Death, (3) continue expanding at an exponential rate until the dark energy literally rips it apart in The Big Rip, (4) be sucked in to a vacuum bubble where the laws of physics are drastically different and would likely destroy everything instantaneously in Vacuum Decay*, or (5) inflate to the point of collapse, creating a Big Bang-like singularity, becoming part of an ekpyrotic cyclic universe in a constant state of expansion and destruction into singularity after singularity, universe after universe, in a Big Bounce. 2.5 stars
*This one could really happen at any time, yippee.
two_hats's review against another edition
challenging
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
I can not imagine a better tour guide for the end of all things, nor perhaps a trip more worth taking than from where it all started to where it all may end. The opportunity to glimpse the poetry of the cosmos through the eyes of the incredible people who have dedicated their lives to understanding it, is not one you should pass up lightly.
Content Warnings
Honestly, you might not be the same afterwards. That just means you read it right.
auntiepasto's review against another edition
funny
informative
mysterious
5.0
Katie Mack is a master of science communication. This book is so cool and funny and interesting, and she explains wild astrophysics and cosmology concepts better and more clearly than anyone else I have read. This book was a total joy to read.