This Way to the Universe

A Theoretical Physicist's Journey to the Edge of Reality

By: Michael Dine

Narrated by: Michael Dine

Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins

Publisher's summary

For fans of Sean Carroll, Brian Greene, Katie Mack, and anyone who wants to know what theoretical physicists actually do.

This Way to the Universe is a celebration of the astounding, ongoing scientific investigations that have revealed the nature of reality at its smallest, at its largest, and at the scale of our daily lives. The enigmas that Professor Michael Dine discusses are like landmarks on a fantastic journey to the edge of the universe.

Asked where to find out about the big bang, dark matter, the Higgs boson particle - the long cutting edge of physics right now - Dine had no single book he could recommend. This is his accessible, authoritative, and up-to-date answer. Comprehensible to anyone with a high-school-level education, with almost no equations, there is no better author to take you on this amazing odyssey.

Dine is widely recognized as having made profound contributions to our understanding of matter, time, the big bang, and even what might have come before it. This Way to the Universe touches on many emotional, critical points in his extraordinary career while presenting mind-bending physics like his answer to the dark matter and dark energy mysteries as well as the ideas that explain why our universe consists of something rather than nothing. People assume string theory can never be tested, but Dine intrepidly explores exactly how the theory might be tested experimentally, as well as the pitfalls of falling in love with math. This book reflects a lifetime pursuing the deepest mysteries of reality, by one of the most humble and warmly engaging voices you will ever hear.

©2022 Michael Dine (P)2022 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“This Way to the Universe is an accessible and impressively complete account of the history and current state of research in theoretical physics. Dine’s infectious enthusiasm about the quest for nature’s underlying truths is obvious on every page. Fellow science enthusiasts will enjoy this book and its unusual peek into the journey of a theoretical physicist.” —Physics Today

This Way to the Universe an ideal primer for new graduate students who want to get a qualitative overview of the current state of fundamental physics, before delving into the more mathematical texts specific to their research. And even if you’re not an active physicist, the book will be perfect if you’re after some thought-provoking holiday reading. —Physics World

“A comprehensive and uncompromising tour de force of literally all of fundamental physics.” —BBC Sky At Night Magazine

Fantastic

Great book. Did a great job of covering basics and not so basic ideas. 10/10

Thorough

A great history and exposition of modern physics. Appropriate for all levels of science and math background.

Well Done

A good summary of the state of our knowledge about the biggest and smallest parts of our world. Excellent stories on how the scientists figured it all out. Well narrated by the author.

I Want More!

The ideas I’m this book are very well explained, easier to understand when it’s read by the actual author. I enjoyed the dark matter and dark energy sections the most with updated information on gravity waves. Although it gets exhausting listening to the same Einstein and Newton recaps that every theoretical physics book drowns so much time on, but I’m sure that stuff is more helpful for beginner level readers. This is a great book I would recommend it to anyone interested in astrophysics and wish it was longer. Great job Michael Dine

I Lost My Way

The general tone of this book was good and it was a good overview of the Universe. However, I thought it was little repetitive of many of the same explanatios I have heard in several other similar books. I would say this is good and shows I have learned a fair amount of the Cosmos. However I did feel the use of quarts and anti this and that was beyond my understanding. Many explanations of the size or time with 10 to the 100 power, with plus or minus factors,etc. eventually made these uses meaningless except to mean these items were so small or big to be irrelevant or unprovable. If I knew more about some of these below atom sizes I would have understood more of the book. Still I would have I listened to this extremely intelligent scientist.

Interesting but far above my intellect

I enjoyed listening to this book even though I couldn’t understand most of it.
I am calmed and gratified to be part of the human race where such knowledge is created by such people.
This book has been my companion for a couple weeks on my commute and ended just now exactly as I pulled in my driveway. A nice way to finish,with the odds of that happening surely a number much smaller than many I’ve heard in this book.

An Understandable Summary of the Current Understanding of the Physical Universe

This Way to the Universe gives a non-mathematical summary of the current state of high energy physics theory and the grand structure of the universe. It is easy to understand for someone with a an interest in science, who wants to know more. It is at the level of the articles in Scientific American. It spends a lot of time discussing the standard model of particle physics and string theory. It relates this physics to our latest understanding of the structure of the universe including dark matter and dark energy. I enjoyed it throughly. Hope you do too.

Captivating and enjoyable

I loved reading this book! It is easy to understand yet thought-provoking, and it inspires a sense of wonder at our universe. It was a very enjoyable read, even for someone whose background and education are not in science (my background is in theatre and linguistics). I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys pondering the cosmos.

Hire a pro

While Professor Dine’s tale is fascinating, listening to him read it was excruciating. In the dulcet tones of Benedict Cumberbatch or Neil Gaiman or even Stephen Fry, this book coulda bin a contenda. Next time, hire a pro.