The Unknown Universe

A New Exploration of Time, Space and Cosmology

By: Stuart Clark

Narrated by: Stephen Hoye

Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

A groundbreaking guide to the universe and how our latest deep-space discoveries are forcing us to revisit what we know - and what we don't.

On March 21, 2013, the European Space Agency released a map of the afterglow of the big bang. Taking in 440 sextillion kilometers of space and 13.8 billion years of time, it is physically impossible to make a better map: We will never see the early universe in more detail. On the one hand, such a view is the apotheosis of modern cosmology; on the other, it threatens to undermine almost everything we hold cosmologically sacrosanct. The map contains anomalies that challenge our understanding of the universe. It will force us to revisit what is known and what is unknown, to construct a new model of our universe.

This is the first book to address what will be an epoch-defining scientific paradigm shift. Stuart Clark will ask if Newton's famous laws of gravity need to be rewritten, if dark matter and dark energy are just celestial phantoms. Can we ever know what happened before the big bang? What's at the bottom of a black hole? Are there universes beyond our own? Does time exist? Are the once immutable laws of physics changing?

©2016 Stuart Clark, PhD (P)2016 Audible, Inc.

Best Book on the Subject for the Casual Reader.

This book avoids the calculus, but is great at explaining questions I have had. For example, how do we know that Dark Matter could not be Jupiter-size bodies floating in a dark area of space? Why do they say the Universe looks the same where-ever you are in it and what-ever direction you look? These answers are within a chatty history of cosmology. I highly recommend it.

Different perspective

Written from the perspective of a journalist who has a pretty firm scientific background. Shines light on some of the current holes in physics. Interesting read.

Quantifiably Amazing

great read for a novice. Was afraid it would sound like a textbook. Quite entertaining and very informative.

Great Story / Meh Narration

Mr Hoye's end-of-word "radio voice" was slightly bothersome at first, though I got used to it. There were, though, a handful of times he used accents to "voice" certain characters, and he nailed those.

great book

Any additional comments?

This was a great book. Prior to listening I had a very elementary understanding of the universe. Although, about 25% was over my head the history and the theories were incredibly interesting. The performance was enjoyable as well. It took a minute, but once I got used to the voice, it was a perfect fit for this book. I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in learning about the history of how cosmology began.

Best science book of the year!!!!

This is the best science book I've ever read. The author is really good at explaining the complex, but that's not the only reason I loved this book. He does something that I haven't yet seen anyone else do so far. He knows how to talk about the holes that are in science but doesn't tear apart the science that allows us to see the holes in the first place, no mean task.

He'll make the statement that black holes mean that there are holes in the universe and that there are holes in our understanding of the universe because the mathematics breakdown there. The currently agreed upon consensus understanding of how really smart people understand the universe may not always be the correct way of seeing the world. Dark Matter, Dark Energy are place holders (as Neil deGrasse Tyson says they can just as easily be called Fred and Barney for all we know), and as the current debate raging in the latest "Scientific American" on Inflation Theory being a real scientific theory or being an amorphous blob there are good arguments for both perspectives. This book is written so that anyone can understand what the issues are and why they matter and what are some of the reasonable alternatives even if they might sound goofy.

The author is good at what he does. Observers of the universe want to know the why (the theory), and they also want to know the how (the model). Eddington (and Kepler) both built models. Newton (and Einstein) build a theory. Time to Newton is absolute to Einstein its an illusion (relative). He gets into all of these fine details, explains better than almost any one and makes me incredibly grateful to be alive now days when our understanding about the world is getting cooler and cooler every day. There is nothing more exciting than the Planck map of the universe, and for fellow geeks who can make that kind of statement this book will teach you something you didn't already know.

I really loved this book and would highly recommend it for anyone.

Mind expanding

Super informative and intense. I felt like i was i the middle of the galaxy spinning and swirling freely amongst the stars and planets

Highly Readable, Engaging Story. Robotic Delivery

I've listened to almost a dozen Audible books on cosmology. Many were excellent. This one, however, exceeds them all. Current and engaging, the author has a knack of taking complex concepts and communicating them in laymens terms.

If only Audible would have given it a better performance then the robotic one delivered. My children couldn't stop laughing at it and imitating it. However the content and writing style was so compelling, I was engaged through the whole book. Highly Recommended!

What you think is good science probably isn't

Clark has written a truly eye-opening book about how scientists actually work. Basic methodologies are called into question (such as computer modeling) as legitimate tools for advancing scientific knowledge. He broaches essential questions about specific issues in contemporary cosmology (and by inference about climate science). He illustrates his argument that falsification rather than verification is the basis for real science, with many detailed stories from the history of the physical sciences. This is a masterful tour-de-force.

How's performance strikes the write tone to match the author's skepticism.

Fun pop science, funeral dirge narrator

The book is a pop (history of the) science of our universe. It’s not ground breaking, it’s simply fun.

I saw someone call the narrator a parody of a sad Captain Kirk 😔 or something. They’re not wrong. The fix is to set the speed at around 1.5x. Listening...to him at...regular speed...hurts. His sadness inflection gets chopped off a bit, too, when you speed him up to a more normal human speech rate.
Do that and the book is an enjoyable bit of cosmology. Don’t and you’ll feel like the universe is a painful slog of a narrative dirge.