Audiobook Review: Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson

I’m not a science guy.

It’s interesting stuff, but I was always terrible at maths and sciences. I liked art, drama, and english.

Despite all that, I really looked forward to listening to this one. I’ve never had much of a clue about the universe and its amazing secrets, but I want to. And what better place to start than a book written in “lamens terms.”

That being said, a lot of this was still over my head. Which made me feel real SMRT.

I started listening at work. I’m almost always listening to an audiobook at work. But with this book I found that anything could pull my attention away from it. 20 minutes would go by before I realized I didn’t retain a single word. Just like science class all over again.

I had to stop listening at work, and reserved it specifically for walking the dog. There was nothing else to do except walk the dog. Nothing to distract me. Just pure learning potential. It was perfect. I started thinking about the day I’ll build my own spaceship and fly to Uranus (sorry! Had to!)

Well, even a stray thought was enough to send me down a rabbit hole and, again, I would find that I hadn’t been listening to the book for some time. I did a lot of rewinding.

To be fair, I don’t blame the book for my inability to focus. The few things I did retain were fascinating.

For example, astrophysicists believe that there are more than 40,000 Earth-like planets in the Milky Way alone. That many planets that could potentially sustain life similar to us!

Also, our galaxy, as it was before the big bang, could have fit on the head of a pin. Actually, probably more like the point of a pin.

If I was trying to write some science-fiction with the craziest ideas I could possibly think of, they wouldn’t even come close to how crazy the truth is.

I’m going to leave this book without a rating. It wouldn’t be fair. What I can tell you is that I plan on listening to this audiobook again, at which time I hope to retain a lot more.

P.S. – In the audiobook version, Neil deGrasse Tyson himself reads the book, and he does a great job. He even manages to say ‘Uranus’ in a way that immature people like me can’t giggle.

Fun fact about this post: Neil deGrasse Tyson has also done some voice work for a little show called Gravity Falls. Look it up. Especially if you have kids. You’ll thank me.