{ Cosmic Queries by Neil DeGrasse Tyson - TLC Book Tour }

 

• Publisher: National Geographic (March 2, 2021)
• Hardcover: 312 Pages

In this thought-provoking follow-up to his acclaimed StarTalk book, uber astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson tackles the world’s most important philosophical questions about the universe with wit, wisdom, and cutting-edge science.

For science geeks, space and physics nerds, and all who want to understand their place in the universe, this enlightening new book from Neil deGrasse Tyson offers a unique take on the mysteries and curiosities of the cosmos, building on rich material from his beloved StarTalk podcast.

In these illuminating pages, illustrated with dazzling photos and revealing graphics, Tyson and co-author James Trefil, a renowned physicist and science popularizer, take on the big questions that humanity has been posing for millennia–How did life begin? What is our place in the universe? Are we alone?–and provide answers based on the most current data, observations, and theories.

Populated with paradigm-shifting discoveries that help explain the building blocks of astrophysics, this relatable and entertaining book will engage and inspire readers of all ages, bring sophisticated concepts within reach, and offer a window into the complexities of the cosmos.
For all who loved National Geographic’s StarTalk with Neil deGrasse Tyson, Cosmos: Possible Worlds, and Space Atlas, this new book will take them on more journeys into the wonders of the universe and beyond.

Purchase Links

National Geographic | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

About Neil deGrasse Tyson

Legendary astrophysicist NEIL DEGRASSE TYSON is the host of the popular podcast StarTalk Radio and Emmy award-winning National Geographic Channel shows StarTalk and Cosmos. He earned his BA in physics from Harvard and his Ph.D. in astrophysics from Columbia. The author of more than a dozen books, including the best-selling Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, Tyson is the first Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium. He lives in New York City with his wife and two children.

Follow him on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and TikTok.

 

REVIEW:

My husband and I are huge, and I mean HUGE science nerds.  If there is a science related documentary, we watch it.  If there is a science fiction movie, series, special, book, you name it, we have probably watched it and read it.

 

We just love anything space related.

 

Watching Neil DeGrasse Tyson is something we became accustomed to.  Cosmos was one of our favorites to watch.

 

When I was given the opportunity to review his latest book, Cosmic Queries, I immediately jumped at it.  I could hardly wait for it to arrive, and when it did, I grabbed it out of the box and immediately showed my husband.  He stared at it (had no clue I was receiving it for review), and made a comment about how cool and how he couldn't wait to read it too.

𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳.

𝘜𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘱𝘭𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘌𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘨𝘺

- 𝘕𝘦𝘪𝘭 𝘥𝘦𝘎𝘳𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦 𝘛𝘺𝘴𝘰𝘯

This quote had me laughing so hard.  My kids thought I was crazy, but my husband got a good laugh out of it too.  I guess that's humor for nerds like us.  

Neil DeGrasse Tyson is a very well known astrophysicist, and he has delighted audiences with his knowledge of the universe, how it was made, how it exists and everything and anything related to black holes and stars, galaxies and nebulas, so forth, and so forth.

In Cosmic Queries we are privy to a one on one lesson with Neil, the book is stunning in an of itself, beautiful photography, and some very interesting topics.  

He tackles the tough questions that so many of us have had.  Or maybe it's just me and my nerdy family.  But I have stopped many times to think about our life on planet earth and wondered what would happen if the gravity pull were altered by a mere second?

What if another planet hurled into ours?

How old is the universe?  How will it all end?

Albeit scary to even imagine, he gives us a pretty detailed explanation of how it all will come to a halt.  Reading through his description of the Sun's trajectory, it's life, what is going to happen to it.

In five-billion years, as the Sun beings to die, it's outer layers of glowing plasma will expand stupendously, engulfing the orbits of Mercury, then Venus, as the charred ember that was once the oasis of the life called Earth vaporizes into the vacuum of space.

If that is not a scary thought, I don't know what is.  But it is something that physicists have looked into and studied for many years.

If we stop and really think about the planet we live in, where it is situated in space, what is around us, and how absolutely amazing God is to keep it all moving and rotating in precise ways, we can be amazed.  The other side of that is realizing that one little shift can throw it all into chaos.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson breaks the book into categories, namely:

What is our place in the universe?

How do we know what we know?

How did the universe get to be this way?

How old is the universe?

What is the universe made of me?

What is life?

Are we alone in the universe?

How did it all begin?

How will it all end?

What does nothing have to do with everything?

 

This book is amazing, and I honestly believe that everyone and anyone who is even slightly curious about space and our universe, needs to have this one in their library.

I had a lot of questions answered within the pages of this book, but many more remain to be answered, not because Neil DeGrasse Tyson forgot to mention things, but merely because as he likes to remind us,

many questions about our own humble universe, remain to be answered.  

That's not really a bad thing, because it pushes us to keep asking, to keep looking up to the stars, and to keep searching.

The book also contains many of his twitter posts, with tidbits here and there and fun facts from our universe.

And.....I got to learn about Tardigrades.

Do you know what a Tardigrade is?  Let me show you.

They are also known as water bears.  I had never heard of them, where they lived or what they did.  In the book, I learned that they tolerate extreme conditions.  They can live in frozen polar lakes, boiling hot deep-sea vents and can even survive high doses of radiation.

They can survive without water for decades.  Just think about that.  By the way, they are microscopic.  Wow!

Cosmic Queries is so well written and so filled with information, that you'll spend hours just completely immersed within it's pages.  

5/5 stars