Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries

by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Hardcover, 2007

Call number

523.8 T

Collection

Publication

W. W. Norton & Company (2007), Edition: First Edition, 384 pages

Description

Neil deGrasse Tyson has a talent for guiding readers through the mysteries of outer space with stunning clarity and almost childlike enthusiasm. This collection of his essays in "Natural history" magazine explores 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 what would happen to our bodies if we fell into one, examines the needless friction between science and religion, and notes 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.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member whitetara
I had the opportunity to take an intro to astrophysics course that was taught by Neil deGrasse Tyson and Charles Liu at the Museum of Natural History in NYC. Neil is a great teacher and this book reads exactly as he speaks - quick-witted and factually with plenty of easy to relate to references
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that help to bring the science to laymen. The book will be a quick read and a review for anyone that is well versed in the basic topics of astrophysics but for those that have an interest and have never read anything about it before, this would be great to start with. For those that have already delved into this arena, I feel they'll find it too basic. But well written.
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LibraryThing member melydia
A collection of essays by one of the best science popularizers of our time. It's not just about black holes; it's about a lot of different science topics, including astronomy, skepticism, and history of science. It's all very informative and accessible, and each essay is short enough that it's not
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overwhelming. Recommended.

A note on the audio: Dion Graham is a fantastic narrator, but I really wish Tyson had read his own book. Ever since watching Cosmos I've wanted him to read me bedtime stories about the marvels of the universe.
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LibraryThing member AudrieClifford
This book is simply super. I know very little about astronomy, physics and advanced math. I ordered the book on the recommendation of my son but would have been unable to retain any interest if the book had presented the information in the ordinary dry scientific manner. Mr. Tyson doesn't do that.
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His funny comments actually had me laughing out loud. Because of that, I stayed with the book and now understand black holes (kind of).
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LibraryThing member susanadewey
Great book. Worth reading more than once.
LibraryThing member meggyweg
I had never read a book about astrophysics before, and I'm pretty illiterate in the hard sciences in general. In spite of those facts, I could sort of understand this one. I think Dr. Tyson does a good job of illuminating his specialty for the lay reader. The book had many surprising and intriguing
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facts, it was often funny, and I completely agree with Dr. Tyson's views on "intelligent design."
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LibraryThing member readermom
A great title for a book, that alone made me want to read it. Of course, this is the type of book I will almost always pick up from the library. It is a collection of essays on science for the magazine Natural History. It covers a wide range of topics, usually relating to physics, from particle
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physics to astrophysics. I love this stuff and I only wish I retained enough math to be able to read more technical discussions than these rather general essays.
The essays are informative and entertaining. A lot has changed in the 17 years since I took my particle physics class at BYU, so I am always interested to learn more. Not only does he describe what is happening in science, he describes the edges very well. By edges I mean the places where scientists are not sure what is happening and are actively searching for answers. That is always the most interesting part of any science. The problem today is that to get to that edge, you have to take years of schooling to understand what they are looking for. Once the edge could be explored in your home lab or a field (if you were Benjamin Franklin) now you need millions of dollars and a space telescope.
The book is a bit repetitive, though that often happens with collections of essays because each one had to be self contained and couldn't refer to last month's issue. There has been a bit of editing to smooth out the sequencing and to make it an easier read.
While I enjoyed all the essays, I took exception to the last one, entitled, The Perimeter of Ignorance. Here is the author's basic premise,

Writing in centuries past, many scientists felt compelled to wax poetic about cosmic mysteries and God's handiwork. Perhaps one should not be surprised at this: most scientists back then, as well as many scientists today, identify themselves as spiritually devout.
But a careful reading of older texts, particularly those concerned with the universe itself, shows that the authors invoke divinity only when they reach the boundaries of their understanding. They appeal to a higher power only when staring at the ocean of their own ignorance. They call on God only from the lonely and precarious edge of incomprehension. Where they feel certain about their explanations, however, God hardly gets a mention.

He goes on from this hypothesis to give some quotes from Newton and other scientists, who do indeed see an explanation for the unexplainable in the presence of God. He then links this tendency to the current vogue for intelligent design. That also follows, more or less. I have my own issues with intelligent design, at least how it is being explained and used in the public sphere, but I won't go into all that here. The problem I have is that the author considers an appeal to deity as an admission of failure and the mental equivalent of throwing up your hands and saying, "Heck if I know, only God could figure that out, I will just go find something easier to study, like Paris Hilton." He says, in talking about intelligent design and the dangers of it,

I don't want students who could make the next major breakthrough in renewable energy sources or space travel to have been taught that anything they don't understand, and that nobody yet understands, is divinely constructed and therefore beyond their intellectual capacity.

Since when is saying something is divinely designed the same as saying we are not capable of understanding it? As a devout person, but one who would have been a scientist, if not for a few chance decisions and a problem with basic arithmetic, I find everything divinely inspired, even those things we do understand. Too many people equate religion with ignorance, without considering the fact that the intelligent people who believe, must have a valid reason for doing so. And similarly, there are many ignorant people who have no religion. I cringe whenever a particularly proud, ignorant and Christian person is on the news saying something stupid because that just reinforces this ignorance=religion stereotype. I'm here to say intelligence=true religion. Believing in ignorance is just superstition whatever belief it may be. The more you understand your own beliefs, the more you want to learn. Our brains are designed to increase in knowledge, anything that does that helps all of us, no matter what the information may be.
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LibraryThing member ccavalli
Great collection of his essays on astronomical topics in all their vastness! Tyson is information, understandable, and funny which makes the book enjoyable for anyone interested in astronomy, from those just learning to those who already know a lot. Great read!
LibraryThing member KApplebaum
What's not to love about a book with a name like this? Yeah, just more proof that I'm a science geek. (Don't mess with me - I have a slide rule, and I'm not afraid to use it!)
LibraryThing member cmbohn
I just found this one hard going. I don't know if it was the writing or if it was me, but I found myself losing interest and putting it aside again and again. Finally gave up. My favorite essay was "Goldilocks and the Three Planets" about Venus, Mars, and Earth and how earth is "just right."
LibraryThing member Phyrexicaid
Fantastic! What a great set of essays, highly enjoyable.
LibraryThing member plenilune
If you love astronomy, but have never had much of a mind for math or complex theory (like myself), this is the perfect book for you. Tyson never underestimates his reader; he manages to write about complicated things in every day language without making you feel like he's dumbed them down. Note
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that it is a collection (originally these were online essays) so there's some occasional repetition. Still, I found the book downright fascinating.
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LibraryThing member jefware
Entertaining but not real coherent.
LibraryThing member coffyman
Excellent essays! Fascinating insight and very informative. Couldn't put it down.
LibraryThing member Devil_llama
This book is a rarity - a book about astrophysics that is very readable and easy to understand. The author has a sense of humor, and mixes in pop culture references with high quality prose, offering lucid explanations for hard to understand science that bring much needed clarity to a much abused
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subject. The book is easy to read, and it's fun. I do wish, however, that scientists writing about this topic (or any biological topic, too) would not take on the question of Science and God. That's better left for books dealing specifically with that topic, and while Tyson did not give the religious much to feel good about, there are some words or phrases that could easily be pulled out of context and used (gleefully) by those who seek to persuade the easily persuadable that scientists are finding God (Tyson never said anything of the sort, and was quite unequivocal on the fact that there is no compatibility between religion and science as they are currently being done). In addition, it does tend to give the religious the idea that there is something about their obsessions that make them worthy of discussion in a serious science book. However, this book is a truly fine book, and carping aside, I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to understand what really is "out there" and "bigger than ourselves". (I'll give you a hint: it's known as the universe).
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LibraryThing member lewiscunningham
Neil deGrasse Tyson is a fascinating guy. He is one of the people that should be held up as a hero before sports stars, celebrities and politicians.

This book is classic Tyson. Funny, easy to read and enlightening. The book itself is sort of a series of essays about the way nature can kill you.
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Just kidding. Well, in some places he does explain how nature can kill you.

Actually, this book is a set of essays that he wrote for a magazine, Nature. He covers a lot of topics. These cover some wide ranges like science and religion all the way to black holes.

Tyson has a great way of bringing a certain ease to scientific ideas. Not just the science itself but how to think about science. How to think rationally about life.

If you've never read Tyson before, this is a good place to start. You'll get a feel of the author's point of view as well as his enthusiasm for science and rational thought. Neil deGrasse Tyson is the kind of person I think of when I hear the word philosopher.

I recommend this book.
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LibraryThing member mimal
autumn-2013, nonfiction, essays, fraudio, astronomy, sciences
Read on September 02, 2013

rosado> walkies!

Apparently, this gentleman is often on the box in the corner (that isn't so funny anymore is it, now that the TV is never a box in the corner anymore.)

Not about this book, more along the mode of
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listening: have you got the 'find friend' app? Small things amuse us here, I try an get to a point as far away from the cabin by means of flair of imagination and then he comes to get me. I can watch his approach as a blinking purple bubble on the map. Same tech as Geo-Caching but I am the prize lol.
2 likes
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LibraryThing member dickmanikowski
Years ago and before life got so complicated, I used to subscribe to NATURAL HISTORY magazine. One of the highlights of each issue was the essay (usually on a topic related to biological evolution) by Stephen J. Gould. But after I found the magazines laying around unread, I eventually cancelled my
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subscription.
I knew that Dr. Gould had died. What I hadn't know was that Neil deGrasse Tyson (yeah, the guy who somehow took all the heat for Pluto being downgraded from planetary status to a mere planetoid) had succeeded Gould as a columnist.
This collection brings together Tyson's columns, They're delightful. I hadn't realized how out-of-date my knowledge of astrophysics and cosmology had become.
Kudos, Dr. Tyson.
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LibraryThing member nmarun
I have watched a few documentaries by Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson and he did a fantastic job of explaining Science concepts in them. He has done an equally exceptional work in this book as well.

We can call this as 'a Science book for the common man', since even people with basic knowledge will have an
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educating and entertaining experience going through the book. IMHO, this is a book for all ages.

Complicated topics like Quasars, Quantum Theory and Black holes are detailed with utmost simplicity. The book covers a wide range of subjects and takes a deep-dive on many of them.

In most chapters, I was able to paint a mental picture of the material I was reading. Such is the flair of the Author's presentation.
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LibraryThing member KRoan
Man I wish I were smarter and understood this better.
LibraryThing member bois3130
Opened my eyes to the wonders of the universe and learned a lot of interesting facts I would otherwise never unknown. My only complaint is the repetition throughout chapters about the same facts and theories, but an otherwise great book mixed with humour and intelligence.
LibraryThing member capewood
Pretty serious science here. I'm an engineer by training and astronomy has always been an interest so I was able to follow his essays. But deGrasse sprinkles in lots of humor especially in making comparisons. This I think will help the non-scientist in reading the book. I highly recommend it to
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anyone who looks up and wonders what's going on up there.
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LibraryThing member yakov.perelman
Superb, wonderful, this book is to Tyson what Cosmos was to Sagan. An absolute must-read for any science lover, either beginner or with formal education.
LibraryThing member Michael_Rose
One of the lessons I learned from this book is that you can learn a lot about the universe from a stick in the mud. Literally. If you enjoy watching Neil deGrasse Tyson, you'll probably enjoy reading him too.
LibraryThing member jrthebutler
A collection of essays on the cosmos, written by American Museum of Natural History astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson.
LibraryThing member mahsdad
a fablous collection of NdT's writings. I listened to this on audio and was barely hanging on but was continually entertained and enlightened. Only downside, it wasn't read by the author himself. 8/10

Pages

384

ISBN

0393062244 / 9780393062243
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