Death by Black Hole

And Other Cosmic Quandaries

By: Neil deGrasse Tyson

Narrated by: Dion Graham

Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

“[Tyson] tackles a great range of subjects…with great humor, humility, and—most important—humanity.” —Entertainment Weekly

Neil deGrasse Tyson has a talent for guiding readers through the mysteries of outer space with stunning clarity and almost childlike enthusiasm. Here, Tyson compiles his favorite essays that he wrote for Natural History magazine across a myriad of cosmic topics, from astral life at the frontiers of astrobiology to the movie industry’s feeble efforts to get its night skies right.

Tyson introduces us to the physics of black holes by explaining the gory details of what would happen to our bodies if we fell into one, examining the needless friction between science and religion in the context of historical conflicts, and noting Earth’s progression to “an insignificantly small speck in the cosmos.”

Renowned for his ability to blend content, accessibility, and humor, Tyson is a natural teacher who simplifies some of the most complex concepts in astrophysics while sharing his infectious excitement for our universe.

©2007 Neil deGrasse Tyson (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"Tyson takes readers on an exciting journey from Earth's hot springs...to the universe's farthest reaches....witty and entertaining." (Publishers Weekly)
"Smoothly entertaining, full of fascinating tidbits, and frequently humorous, these essays show Tyson as one of today's best popularizers of science." (Kirkus Reviews)
"[Tyson] demonstrates a good feel for explaining science in an intelligible way to interested lay readers; his rather rakish sense of humor should aid in making the book enjoyable." (Library Journal)

So much information packed in one book

Great book definitely something you need to take your time to absorb. I recommend it for anyone that wants to expand their knowledge on the basics of the universe.

Amazing book!

As a relative newbie to the study of (Astro)physics, this book was amazing. I found a number of attention-grabbing topics, clarity in misunderstandings about the universe, corrections for wrongly-held concepts of the universe (black holes aren’t gluttonous vacuums in space), and exploration into topics I already love and champion. An absolute must read for anyone interested in the topic. Not a boring moment!

Wow.

The reader selected fir this book sounds very similar to the author, both in his tone as well as his diction and style. At times I actually pictured Dr. Tyson reading it. Although much of the material can be heard in his lectures, this is still a new favorite of mine.

interesting topic

... a bit disjointed at times, but overall a good book packed with astronomical explains & historical points of view on our advancement in this area

dumb title, excellent book

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This is the perfect book for the person that starts asking WHY It's primarily focused on stars, our solar system, science literacy and science illiteracy. There is one chapter on black holes. If you really want more on that subject Leonard Suskind does an amazing job in the black hole wars book.

Any additional comments?

Dion Graham mispronounces so many important words. Many of them are not repeated over and over. Principia is one of those words. He pronounces it "prince-O-pee-a" over and over. Dion, audible, it's Prin-kip'-ee-a

great book! great narration!

great book with a lot of great information. The narrator did a great job, great tone great inflection!

Great Book, Great Listen

Neil DeGrasse Tyson has a unique skill at explaining the universe’s most complex concepts to those of us without advanced degrees in Astrophysics or Quantum Mechanics. I found this book to be very informative and just as entertaining.
Dion Graham’s narration was spot on. He delivered the content with a similar cadence and style as Dr. Tyson, making the listening experience even better.

Awesome read

This book is by far the most entertaining book I’ve read! Love the humor, the excellent explanation, and commentary of the universe. Very humble and mind opening, as the science and religion are both taken seriously.

Wonderful, Enlightening, and (yes) Entertaining

I have post-graduate degrees in literature and taught a wide variety of college level writing, literature, and humanities courses over a 35-year career. I took not a single math course as an undergraduate at a major university and three science classes. Obviously, astrophysics is not my specialty.

But I LOVE this book and plan on listening again.

First, the book’s organization is logical. Divided into “Parts,” each with several half-hour chapters, I learned what I needed to understand in Part 1 in order to understand the chapters in Part 2. Well, I learned enough not to be frustrated or mystified by the subsequent material. (There’s no reason why you have to listen to the whole book at once. I took a break and listened to a mystery halfway through.)

Second, Tyson is a terrific writer who loves his subject and makes the reader (listener) feel as though she’s having a cup of coffee with an enthusiastic, humane, outstanding teacher—one who can watch his student’s face and “see” when he needs to toss in a humorous, down-to-earth analogy to clarify a particularly difficult concept. Had we actually been talking in person, I would have laughed out loud several times during each of our half hour conversations. I suspect that I’m on the verge of understanding black holes and the concept of the “event horizon”! Who knew that astrophysics could make an English professor giddy?

Astrophysics is a relatively new and fast-changing field. Tyson is a scholar. He offers background information on historical astronomers (starting with the ancient Greeks) and gives credit to each scientist and mathematician who took the fields of astronomy and physics forward. He also—without malice—discusses those who took the wrong paths.

Here’s a quote that stood out as I listened: “…the more profoundly baffled you’ve been in your life, the more open your mind becomes. I have firsthand evidence of this.” This, he says, is the world he lives in. Just when he thinks we understand something, a new discovery blows his mind. I feel as though my mind has been blown.

Lastly, Dion Graham is the perfect narrator. He imbues each sentence with the perfect tone, whether he’s explaining a difficult concept or making fun of how idiotic film-makers are when it comes to creating extraterrestrials.

I WANT MORE!

Too arch

Much too cutesy poo for my taste. and the reader just emphasizes the problem. one more word.