2013 Reading: Death by Black Hole by Neil deGrasse Tyson

death by black holeDeath by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries by Neil deGrasse Tyson

This book was the September selection for my Reading Liberally Book Club. And while I guess there won’t be too much to discuss, I expect everyone will like it. I sure did.

The book was constructed from Tyson’s columns in Natural History. As a result, there is some repetition and there is no narrative thread that holds the book together. No matter, each chapter is a morsel of fascinating information about the cosmos. I still can’t say I really understand what a black hole is, and there were a number of other chapters that were difficult for me to comprehend, but on the whole (I almost said “hole”), Tyson’s approach makes this book valuable for anyone, no matter how limited your understanding of science is.

We recently also read Carl Sagan’s Varieties of Scientific Experience, which I also enjoyed. But this book is more up to date, and Tyson’s prose style is even clearer than Sagan’s.

A terrific read for anyone who wants to come closer to understanding the cosmos.

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