The Order of Time

By: Carlo Rovelli

Narrated by: Benedict Cumberbatch

One of TIME’s Ten Best Nonfiction Books of the Decade

"Meet the new Stephen Hawking . . . The Order of Time is a dazzling book." --The Sunday Times

From the bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, Reality Is Not What It Seems, Helgoland, and Anaximander comes a concise, elegant exploration of time.

Why do we remember the past and not the future? What does it mean for time to "flow"? Do we exist in time or does time exist in us? In lyric, accessible prose, Carlo Rovelli invites us to consider questions about the nature of time that continue to puzzle physicists and philosophers alike.

For most readers this is unfamiliar terrain. We all experience time, but the more scientists learn about it, the more mysterious it remains. We think of it as uniform and universal, moving steadily from past to future, measured by clocks. Rovelli tears down these assumptions one by one, revealing a strange universe where at the most fundamental level time disappears. He explains how the theory of quantum gravity attempts to understand and give meaning to the resulting extreme landscape of this timeless world. Weaving together ideas from philosophy, science and literature, he suggests that our perception of the flow of time depends on our perspective, better understood starting from the structure of our brain and emotions than from the physical universe.

Already a bestseller in Italy, and written with the poetic vitality that made Seven Brief Lessons on Physics so appealing, The Order of Time offers a profoundly intelligent, culturally rich, novel appreciation of the mysteries of time.

Pretty spectacular - narration & content

I don't often write reviews but this one warrants it for me. Carlo Rovelli, one of modern physics best communicators, writes this exceptionally written book, our latest take on the nature of time. It is frequently mind-blowing and yet not impossible to understand. It's even quite moving, personal, and poetic at times. It's one of the rare books that has really altered the way I can look at the world unfolding around me.

Then there's the narration which makes this piece really special. Narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch, you get the feeling like Sherlock Holmes is explaining to you the intimate mysteries of the universe. It works splendidly. Cumberbatch's voice is clear and kept me riveted. I would really love to see more audiobooks produced this way, where the narration is done by someone with some real acting chops.

A must read

This book should be mandatory on highschools , university jr years and any other basic educational system.

Thought-Provoking

I enjoyed the delivery and the way in which the material was made accessible to someone like myself who has no background on the subject.

Must listen. Beautiful, poignant and thoughtful

Written by a poet and read by a master. Will have to listen again soon. Certainly worth your “time”

Excellent perspectives with an amazing performance

Loved the incredible perspectives described within by an amazing narrator. This book will change they way you see reality.