Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries

Neil deGrasse Tyson presents this complex subject in a clear and gripping way. The reader,Dion Graham, has just the right pace and inflection to keep your attention. Normally, this subject requires diagrams to clarify what is being said but this presentation is clear without them.

An absorbing book that I look forward to hearing again.

Tyson is an authoratative television personality who also has a great grasp of physics and the universe. This book had such a catchy title, how could I have even passed it up?

While being much more approachable in terms of use of analogy to explain very complex scientific concepts, it is also a sounding board for Tyson to rant on a few topics that drive him crazy about popular culture's views of science.

That said, it was a very fun book and well worth the money. Tyson is fun to listen to and his thoughts travel smoothly from point to point. He introduced me to some new information that I, even as an avid reader of all things science, had not known.

The only thing that could have made this book even stronger, perhaps, would be expansion on some of the scientific thoughts for those of us more versed in science. But Tyson's strength is reaching the common man, and so I wasn't surprised that occasionally very in-depth accounting of scientific preceps didn't meet my voracious appetite's needs.

I'll definitely be re-listening to this every now and again, though. It's wonderful for sitting outside and staring at the amazing sky. Bravo :)

I read a lot of popular science and I really appreciate a well read, well written, presentation of the information. The author, a good choice for reading his own book, gives flavor and enthusiasm to his reading. He knows where he wants the emphasis and conveys his own excitement of the subject with his voice.
This is a basic introduction to the subject of astrophysics, and thus presents no mind-boggling discoveries to those who read or watch this subject closely. He does, however, answer many questions, sometime with speculation, which he freely admits, which I have been asking most of my life.
I listened to this book while I worked around the house, and my reluctance to stop listening gave me the opportunity to get lots of work done in the yard.
I highly recommend the book.

This is a great read for those looking to get an introduction to Space and Astronomy. The presentation bounces around lots of fascinating space facts and theories that keep you captivated. Even if you are not new to space, astronomy and the solar system, this is a great read. I found myself enjoying the many things I didn't know before and discovering space a new.

I found it personally amazing at how I found the book enjoyable. I am an engineer and numbers and science come easy for me to understand, so maybe that has something to do with it. I had just finished reading "Einstein" so my mind was insync with the story of this book. I enjoyed the descriptions of how early thinkers went about proving their theories of the cosmos and heavens. I learned that my falling into a "black hole" would not involved my being compressed to death but rather it would involve my being pulled apart or disassembled atom by atom (or was it molecule by molecule). I have been enriched by this piece of knowledge and will find some way to use it in future conversations with my friends. I recommend the book.

Very enjoyable, offers brief explanations the sciences behind the objects which we use in everyday life as well as understandable clarifications of the findings in todays scientific frontiers. The author has a gift for making humorous and enlightening analogies and the narrator has an engaging voice. This is an audible offering I shall listen to many times.

Easy to understand for an astrophysics book! Neil does a great job of writing for the average person (I have a bachelor's in Chemistry, but I knew very little astrophysics). I never felt talked down to. It was a lot of fun to read! I especially enjoyed his description of a death by black hole as spaghettification. If you want to learn more about astrophysics, this is a great way to start!

The author communicates beautifully, to the laymen and scientifically-minded alike, a cosmologists perspective on our place in the universe, as well as the places where others might inhabit.
Due to the way this book was compiled, of the content is a bit redundant, but that helps it sink in better, I guess.

Of the scientific book I listened to lately, this one was probably one of the best. Not just did it provide a comprehensible excursion through astrophysics, it also provided insights into other areas of the physical world and was intellectually quite stimulating...to the point where I had to write an E-mail to the author to ask a question about something I did not understand in the book...and the E-mail was promptly answered by a member of his lab...well worth the read!

For anyone interested in getting an informative and entertaining ride through the history of science and cosmology, this is the book for you.

From Aristotle to Einstein to Hollywood and the multiverse, this book is a refreshing view on the history of cosmic research and theories. And yes, there is a whole chapter about what happens if you fall into a black hole.