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Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier
America’s space program is at a turning point. After decades of global primacy, NASA has ended the space-shuttle program, cutting off its access to space. No astronauts will be launched in an American craft, from American soil, until the 2020s, and NASA may soon find itself eclipsed by other countries’ space programs.
With his signature wit and thought-provoking insights, Neil deGrasse Tyson—one of our foremost thinkers on all things space—illuminates the past, present, and future of space exploration and brilliantly reminds us why NASA matters now as much as ever. As Tyson reveals, exploring the space frontier can profoundly enrich many aspects of our daily lives, from education systems and the economy to national security and morale. For America to maintain its status as a global leader and a technological innovator, he explains, we must regain our enthusiasm and curiosity about what lies beyond our world.
Provocative, humorous, and wonderfully readable, Space Chronicles represents the best of Tyson’s recent commentary, including a must-read prologue on NASA and partisan politics. Reflecting on topics that range from scientific literacy to space-travel missteps, Tyson gives us an urgent, clear-eyed, and ultimately inspiring vision for the future.
With his signature wit and thought-provoking insights, Neil deGrasse Tyson—one of our foremost thinkers on all things space—illuminates the past, present, and future of space exploration and brilliantly reminds us why NASA matters now as much as ever. As Tyson reveals, exploring the space frontier can profoundly enrich many aspects of our daily lives, from education systems and the economy to national security and morale. For America to maintain its status as a global leader and a technological innovator, he explains, we must regain our enthusiasm and curiosity about what lies beyond our world.
Provocative, humorous, and wonderfully readable, Space Chronicles represents the best of Tyson’s recent commentary, including a must-read prologue on NASA and partisan politics. Reflecting on topics that range from scientific literacy to space-travel missteps, Tyson gives us an urgent, clear-eyed, and ultimately inspiring vision for the future.
364 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
519 people are currently reading
15859 people want to read
About the author
Neil deGrasse Tyson
104 books285k followersNeil deGrasse Tyson was born and raised in New York City where he was educated in the public schools clear through his graduation from the Bronx High School of Science. Tyson went on to earn his BA in Physics from Harvard and his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia.
In 2001, Tyson was appointed by President Bush to serve on a twelve-member commission that studied the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry. The final report was published in 2002 and contained recommendations (for Congress and for the major agencies of the government) that would promote a thriving future of transportation, space exploration, and national security.
In 2004, Tyson was once again appointed by President Bush to serve on a nine-member commission on the Implementation of the United States Space Exploration Policy, dubbed the “Moon, Mars, and Beyond” commission. This group navigated a path by which the new space vision can become a successful part of the American agenda. And in 2006, the head of NASA appointed Tyson to serve on its prestigious Advisory Council, which guides NASA through its perennial need to fit ambitious visions into restricted budgets.
In addition to dozens of professional publications, Dr. Tyson has written, and continues to write for the public. From 1995 to 2005, Tyson was a monthly essayist for Natural History magazine under the title Universe. And among Tyson’s fifteen books is his memoir The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist; and Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution, co-written with Donald Goldsmith. Origins is the companion book to the PBS NOVA four-part mini-series Origins, in which Tyson served as on-camera host. The program premiered in September 2004.
Two of Tyson’s other books are the playful and informative Death By Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries, which was a New York Times bestseller, and The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet, chronicling his experience at the center of the controversy over Pluto’s planetary status. The PBS NOVA documentary The Pluto Files, based on the book, premiered in March 2010.
In February 2012, Tyson released his tenth book, containing every thought he has ever had on the past, present, and future of space exploration: Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier.
For five seasons, beginning in the fall of 2006, Tyson appeared as the on-camera host of PBS NOVA’s spinoff program NOVA ScienceNOW, which is an accessible look at the frontier of all the science that shapes the understanding of our place in the universe.
During the summer of 2009 Tyson identified a cadre of professional standup comedians to assist his effort in bringing science to commercial radio with the NSF-funded pilot program StarTalk. Now also a popular Podcast, for three years it enjoyed a limited-run Television Series on the National Geographic Channel. StarTalk combines celebrity guests with informative yet playful banter. The target audience is all those people who never thought they would, or could, like science. In its first year on television and in three successive seasons, it was nominated for a Best Informational Programming Emmy.
Tyson is the recipient of twenty-one honorary doctorates and the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest award given by NASA to a non-government citizen. His contributions to the public appreciation of the cosmos have been recognized by the International Astronomical Union in their official naming of asteroid “13123 Tyson.” And by zoologists, with the naming of Indirani Tysoni, a native species of leaping frog in India. On the lighter side, Tyson was voted “Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive” by People Magazine in 2000.
More recently, Tyson published Astrophysics for People In A Hurry in 2017, which was a domestic and international bestseller. This adorably readable book is an introduction to all that you’ve read and heard about that’s making news in the universe—consummated, in one plac
In 2001, Tyson was appointed by President Bush to serve on a twelve-member commission that studied the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry. The final report was published in 2002 and contained recommendations (for Congress and for the major agencies of the government) that would promote a thriving future of transportation, space exploration, and national security.
In 2004, Tyson was once again appointed by President Bush to serve on a nine-member commission on the Implementation of the United States Space Exploration Policy, dubbed the “Moon, Mars, and Beyond” commission. This group navigated a path by which the new space vision can become a successful part of the American agenda. And in 2006, the head of NASA appointed Tyson to serve on its prestigious Advisory Council, which guides NASA through its perennial need to fit ambitious visions into restricted budgets.
In addition to dozens of professional publications, Dr. Tyson has written, and continues to write for the public. From 1995 to 2005, Tyson was a monthly essayist for Natural History magazine under the title Universe. And among Tyson’s fifteen books is his memoir The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist; and Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution, co-written with Donald Goldsmith. Origins is the companion book to the PBS NOVA four-part mini-series Origins, in which Tyson served as on-camera host. The program premiered in September 2004.
Two of Tyson’s other books are the playful and informative Death By Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries, which was a New York Times bestseller, and The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet, chronicling his experience at the center of the controversy over Pluto’s planetary status. The PBS NOVA documentary The Pluto Files, based on the book, premiered in March 2010.
In February 2012, Tyson released his tenth book, containing every thought he has ever had on the past, present, and future of space exploration: Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier.
For five seasons, beginning in the fall of 2006, Tyson appeared as the on-camera host of PBS NOVA’s spinoff program NOVA ScienceNOW, which is an accessible look at the frontier of all the science that shapes the understanding of our place in the universe.
During the summer of 2009 Tyson identified a cadre of professional standup comedians to assist his effort in bringing science to commercial radio with the NSF-funded pilot program StarTalk. Now also a popular Podcast, for three years it enjoyed a limited-run Television Series on the National Geographic Channel. StarTalk combines celebrity guests with informative yet playful banter. The target audience is all those people who never thought they would, or could, like science. In its first year on television and in three successive seasons, it was nominated for a Best Informational Programming Emmy.
Tyson is the recipient of twenty-one honorary doctorates and the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest award given by NASA to a non-government citizen. His contributions to the public appreciation of the cosmos have been recognized by the International Astronomical Union in their official naming of asteroid “13123 Tyson.” And by zoologists, with the naming of Indirani Tysoni, a native species of leaping frog in India. On the lighter side, Tyson was voted “Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive” by People Magazine in 2000.
More recently, Tyson published Astrophysics for People In A Hurry in 2017, which was a domestic and international bestseller. This adorably readable book is an introduction to all that you’ve read and heard about that’s making news in the universe—consummated, in one plac
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 552 reviews
June 30, 2012
This book is a collection of fascinating essays. Each essay is a gem; Tyson has excellent points of view about a number of subjects related to space exploration. The main theme of the book, is that NASA's funding should be increased, in order to allow manned space flights beyond low-Earth orbit. Tyson has some very good reasons for this; perhaps the chief reason is that only manned space flights will generate enthusiasm among young people, sufficient to encourage them to become scientists and engineers. And the missions need to go beyond low-Earth orbit, because satellites and manned missions in low-Earth orbit are "old hat". They have been done many times, and do not generate enthusiasm any longer. Tyson is a fantastic spokesperson for the space program, and his common-sense approach and his sense of humor come through on every page.
So, why only three stars? There is no underlying structure to the book. The essays become very repetitive. Each essay discusses the space program from a slightly different point of view--over and over and over again. The last third of the book is an appendix containing the legislation that created NASA. Hmmmm....not that interesting, to tell the truth. There really isn't enough material here to make a book--the appendix seems like filler. This is disappointing, because Tyson's message is right on the mark, and his writing style is...fun!
So, why only three stars? There is no underlying structure to the book. The essays become very repetitive. Each essay discusses the space program from a slightly different point of view--over and over and over again. The last third of the book is an appendix containing the legislation that created NASA. Hmmmm....not that interesting, to tell the truth. There really isn't enough material here to make a book--the appendix seems like filler. This is disappointing, because Tyson's message is right on the mark, and his writing style is...fun!
March 31, 2012
I really struggled with this book. I love space and space travel - I have lived through and been thrilled by the entire space race and the development of space science. I expected to love a book by a great astronomer and science populariser, but instead I pretty well had to give up, part way through.
There are two problems. The lesser one is the structure of the book. It consists of a collection of articles, interviews and such that Tyson has produced on the subject of space exploration. This inevitably means there is repetition. A lot of repetition. It's not that what he is saying is not interesting, but after you've heard it for the tenth time it loses its novelty. Perhaps the most interesting thing is the way Tyson is so obviously pulled in two directions. On the one hand he appreciates how superior unmanned satellites and explorers are from a bang-per-buck science viewpoint. On the other hand he believes manned missions are essential to raise interest levels. But of course manned missions are very expensive and almost purely political/military in role, so he really does have to go through some entertaining gymnastics to defend them.
But the thing that made me give up was the sheer jingoism of the book. If you aren't an American, I can guarantee this book will irritate you. Here's one example, the words of an interviewer speaking to Tyson (who Tyson doesn't argue with): 'If we land on Mars, how are we going to know if USA is number one if an American astronaut is standing next to a French guy? Are we going to say, "Go Earth!"? No, we're going to say, "Go USA!" Right?' So basically international cooperation like CERN is a waste of time and money - all that's important, all that space science is about, is knowing that USA is number one.
An even better example, as it is purely Tyson's own remarks is when he is talking about the aerospace industry, bemoaning the loss of US control. He says 'In the fifties, sixties, seventies, part of the eighties, every plane that landed in your city was made in America. From Aerolineas Argentinas to Zambian Airways, everybody flew Boeings.' I'm sorry? I worked for an airline in the 1970s, and I can tell you this is total baloney (which is apparently American for bilge). Remind me, for example, who built the Comet, the first jet airliner. Which American company? Oh, no, it was British. Of course Boeing was the biggest player in the period he describes, but there were plenty of others. (There were even a couple of other US manufacturers. Remember Lockheed?) Could I just point out also who made the only supersonic airliner flying back then. And come to think of it, the only one to fly ever since. The UK and France. And what did the US contribute to this amazing advance? They tied it up with red tape and objections so it was almost impossible to fly it.
This really made me angry, I'm afraid. In another article, Tyson tells off a judge for inaccuracy because he referred to 1,700 milligrams rather than 1.7 grams. Okay, it wasn't a particularly sensible convention, but at least it wasn't wrong. Saying 'all planes were (US) Boeings' is just factual inaccuracy to put across your political position. A book on space travel must cover politics, but once it is so hugely politically biased towards one country, however significant it may have been to the aerospace business, it loses credibility. This isn't a book about space science, it's a rallying cry for Americans. That's something that has its place. I'm not knocking America, and it's good that Tyson is proud of his country. But a science book isn't the place for such sentiments.
Review first published on www.popularscience.co.uk and reproduced with permission
There are two problems. The lesser one is the structure of the book. It consists of a collection of articles, interviews and such that Tyson has produced on the subject of space exploration. This inevitably means there is repetition. A lot of repetition. It's not that what he is saying is not interesting, but after you've heard it for the tenth time it loses its novelty. Perhaps the most interesting thing is the way Tyson is so obviously pulled in two directions. On the one hand he appreciates how superior unmanned satellites and explorers are from a bang-per-buck science viewpoint. On the other hand he believes manned missions are essential to raise interest levels. But of course manned missions are very expensive and almost purely political/military in role, so he really does have to go through some entertaining gymnastics to defend them.
But the thing that made me give up was the sheer jingoism of the book. If you aren't an American, I can guarantee this book will irritate you. Here's one example, the words of an interviewer speaking to Tyson (who Tyson doesn't argue with): 'If we land on Mars, how are we going to know if USA is number one if an American astronaut is standing next to a French guy? Are we going to say, "Go Earth!"? No, we're going to say, "Go USA!" Right?' So basically international cooperation like CERN is a waste of time and money - all that's important, all that space science is about, is knowing that USA is number one.
An even better example, as it is purely Tyson's own remarks is when he is talking about the aerospace industry, bemoaning the loss of US control. He says 'In the fifties, sixties, seventies, part of the eighties, every plane that landed in your city was made in America. From Aerolineas Argentinas to Zambian Airways, everybody flew Boeings.' I'm sorry? I worked for an airline in the 1970s, and I can tell you this is total baloney (which is apparently American for bilge). Remind me, for example, who built the Comet, the first jet airliner. Which American company? Oh, no, it was British. Of course Boeing was the biggest player in the period he describes, but there were plenty of others. (There were even a couple of other US manufacturers. Remember Lockheed?) Could I just point out also who made the only supersonic airliner flying back then. And come to think of it, the only one to fly ever since. The UK and France. And what did the US contribute to this amazing advance? They tied it up with red tape and objections so it was almost impossible to fly it.
This really made me angry, I'm afraid. In another article, Tyson tells off a judge for inaccuracy because he referred to 1,700 milligrams rather than 1.7 grams. Okay, it wasn't a particularly sensible convention, but at least it wasn't wrong. Saying 'all planes were (US) Boeings' is just factual inaccuracy to put across your political position. A book on space travel must cover politics, but once it is so hugely politically biased towards one country, however significant it may have been to the aerospace business, it loses credibility. This isn't a book about space science, it's a rallying cry for Americans. That's something that has its place. I'm not knocking America, and it's good that Tyson is proud of his country. But a science book isn't the place for such sentiments.
Review first published on www.popularscience.co.uk and reproduced with permission
September 6, 2019
Nu jau labu laiku klausos Neil deGrasse Tyson Startalk Radio Show, un tādēļ šī autora domu gājiens man nav svešs. Reiz, kad man bija uznācis brīdis, kad nebija ko lasīt, nopirku šo grāmatu. Pirms tam bija nācies lasīt arī “Pluto files”, un tā man patika.
Grāmatā ir apkopoti dažādi autora raksti, kurus viņs publicējis laikrakstos un žurnālos. Tos vieno tēma: ASV kosmosa pētniecības pagātne un nākotnes perspektīva. Kad ASV valdībai atkal būs tehnoloģija, kas atļaus pašiem nogādāt kosmonautus orbītā? Kad beidzot mēs būsim uz Marsa? Tiek apskatīti arī zinātnes galvenie dzinuļi, tā ir konkurence un kara draudi. Tikai tādēļ ASV bija pirmā, kas nokļuva uz Mēness, bet no tā laika nekāda progresa vairs nav bijis. Uz šo progresa trūkumu autors sniedz atbildi, kādēļ tas tā noticis. Tiek analizēts arī kādēļ kosmosa izpēte ir nozīmīga ekonomikas, drošības un sabiedrības attīstībai un cik smieklīgi maz tas patiesībā maksā.
Ja esi cītīgs Startalk podkāsta klausītājs, tad es ieteiktu šo grāmatu nemaz nepirkt, jo visu šeit minēto būsi dzirdējis jau agrāk. Ir jabūt arī gatavam uz to, ka daudzos rakstos atkārtosies vieni un tie paši fakti un argumenti. Daži no tiem atkārtosies pat piecas sešas reizes. Tas var nedaudz lasītāju satracināt, sak, to jau es lasīju, kādēļ tu man to stāsti vēlreiz? Šeit nebūs arī nekā par lidojumiem uz zvaigznēm un dzinējiem, kas ļaus gaismas gadus pieveikt sekundēs. Te vairāk būs par ASV zūdošo lomu kosmosa izpētē, par to ka liela daļa no vadošajiem zinātniekiem ir importēt,i un liela daļa no tiem atgriežas savās tēvzemēs, jo ASV viņiem vairs nav ko darīt.
Ir arī skarbi fakti, kurus droši var attiecināt uz Latviju. Ja valsts neiegulda zinātnē, tad nav ko cerēt uz jauniem izgudrojumiem un tehnoloģiju attīstību valstī. Neviens komersants nekad neieguldīs naudu pasākumā, kurā nav acīmredzams nākotnes ieguvums. Tādu lietu dara tikai valsts. Neviens tak izdomājot radaru nedomāja, ka radīs pie reizes arī mikroviļņu krāsni. Tāpēc, katru reizi, kad mums pa TV kāds sāk muldēt par izcilo sagaidāmi Latvijas lēcienu tehnoloģiju jomā un zinot, cik daudz mēs patiesībā zinātnei atvēlam, es šo cilvēku ierindoju idiotu kategorijā. Tā turpinot mums tāpat kā ASV visi būs labi juristi, finansisti un mārketinga speciālisti. Ja valsts neiegulda zinātnē, ar laiku sāk pietrūkt dažādu nozaru speciālistu, sāk sabrukt infrastruktūra, un parādās lietas, kuras pati valsts nespēj uzražot. Izrādās, ka ASV tāda problēma jau pastāv.
Grāmatu vienā teikumā varētu izteikt kā, ja negribam zaudēt cilvēkus ar degsmi pētīt un atklāt, investējiet zinātnē! Grāmatai lieku 8 no 10 ballēm, autora humors ir labs un uz tīru moralizēšanu ar’ viņš nepavelkas. Ceru, ka viņš reiz saņemsies un uzrakstīs kādu nopietnu kosmosa izpētes vēsturei veltītu grāmatu, nepiemirstot sev piemītošo humoru.
Grāmatā ir apkopoti dažādi autora raksti, kurus viņs publicējis laikrakstos un žurnālos. Tos vieno tēma: ASV kosmosa pētniecības pagātne un nākotnes perspektīva. Kad ASV valdībai atkal būs tehnoloģija, kas atļaus pašiem nogādāt kosmonautus orbītā? Kad beidzot mēs būsim uz Marsa? Tiek apskatīti arī zinātnes galvenie dzinuļi, tā ir konkurence un kara draudi. Tikai tādēļ ASV bija pirmā, kas nokļuva uz Mēness, bet no tā laika nekāda progresa vairs nav bijis. Uz šo progresa trūkumu autors sniedz atbildi, kādēļ tas tā noticis. Tiek analizēts arī kādēļ kosmosa izpēte ir nozīmīga ekonomikas, drošības un sabiedrības attīstībai un cik smieklīgi maz tas patiesībā maksā.
Ja esi cītīgs Startalk podkāsta klausītājs, tad es ieteiktu šo grāmatu nemaz nepirkt, jo visu šeit minēto būsi dzirdējis jau agrāk. Ir jabūt arī gatavam uz to, ka daudzos rakstos atkārtosies vieni un tie paši fakti un argumenti. Daži no tiem atkārtosies pat piecas sešas reizes. Tas var nedaudz lasītāju satracināt, sak, to jau es lasīju, kādēļ tu man to stāsti vēlreiz? Šeit nebūs arī nekā par lidojumiem uz zvaigznēm un dzinējiem, kas ļaus gaismas gadus pieveikt sekundēs. Te vairāk būs par ASV zūdošo lomu kosmosa izpētē, par to ka liela daļa no vadošajiem zinātniekiem ir importēt,i un liela daļa no tiem atgriežas savās tēvzemēs, jo ASV viņiem vairs nav ko darīt.
Ir arī skarbi fakti, kurus droši var attiecināt uz Latviju. Ja valsts neiegulda zinātnē, tad nav ko cerēt uz jauniem izgudrojumiem un tehnoloģiju attīstību valstī. Neviens komersants nekad neieguldīs naudu pasākumā, kurā nav acīmredzams nākotnes ieguvums. Tādu lietu dara tikai valsts. Neviens tak izdomājot radaru nedomāja, ka radīs pie reizes arī mikroviļņu krāsni. Tāpēc, katru reizi, kad mums pa TV kāds sāk muldēt par izcilo sagaidāmi Latvijas lēcienu tehnoloģiju jomā un zinot, cik daudz mēs patiesībā zinātnei atvēlam, es šo cilvēku ierindoju idiotu kategorijā. Tā turpinot mums tāpat kā ASV visi būs labi juristi, finansisti un mārketinga speciālisti. Ja valsts neiegulda zinātnē, ar laiku sāk pietrūkt dažādu nozaru speciālistu, sāk sabrukt infrastruktūra, un parādās lietas, kuras pati valsts nespēj uzražot. Izrādās, ka ASV tāda problēma jau pastāv.
Grāmatu vienā teikumā varētu izteikt kā, ja negribam zaudēt cilvēkus ar degsmi pētīt un atklāt, investējiet zinātnē! Grāmatai lieku 8 no 10 ballēm, autora humors ir labs un uz tīru moralizēšanu ar’ viņš nepavelkas. Ceru, ka viņš reiz saņemsies un uzrakstīs kādu nopietnu kosmosa izpētes vēsturei veltītu grāmatu, nepiemirstot sev piemītošo humoru.
April 4, 2019
This was a middling read. I enjoyed the vignettes on Space and Astrophysics. This was an interesting foray into science. I listened to the book which worked out nicely with one or two magazine articles each commute trip direction. I confess I didn't retain much; but in reality, there isn't much meat here to digest. Superficial and a little repetitive; this was mildly educational, entertaining and amusing. A much needed primer and some well-earned cheer leading for NASA. Love de Grasse Tyson which inevitably influenced my rating.
3.5 Stars rounded up
Listened to the audiobook. Mirron Willis narrated. At times he sounded like a text-to-speech application.
3.5 Stars rounded up
Listened to the audiobook. Mirron Willis narrated. At times he sounded like a text-to-speech application.
August 30, 2012
“Space Chronicles”.
I like the topic. I like the author. I like his style, his insights, his humor (most of the time), and his enthusiasm for what lies beyond the wild blue yonder.
This would have been a great book at one-quarter length. Why do I say that? Because there is so much repetition of themes: to the point where whole sentences and even passages are identical in multiple places. Not that the specific places where these statements get re-used are inappropriate or just “filler”. No, they are logically part of the “article” (i.e. chapter). But because this book is taken from a large number of short articles and interviews over a few years, the same topics are addressed and the same facts and issues are raised. It’s a by-product of how the book was created.
If the author had set forth to write a book that touched on his experiences over the same time frame he could (and I’m sure would have) created an informative, amusing, and insightful look at the prospects of the US Manned and unmanned (i.e. robotic) Space Programs, NASA itself, the technology and it’s successes (e.g. Hubble Space Telescope) and failures (e.g. Challenger, Columbia, various probes), and the challenges ahead. It would have gotten at least a four-star rating.
Taken individually, each article is very good. If I isolated a few key chapters in “Space Chronicles”, then I could write glowingly of this and that, but even 50 pages in I was getting annoyed by the repetition. Maybe I had expectations that were too high. In the past I read collections of columns from authors such as Isaac Asimov and I did not feel that way. Perhaps because the range of topics was more varied and there was less repetition.
If you are a fan of space & space exploration, then there is good, frankly-reported material here. If you like Neil deGrasse Tyson from other writings or from seeing him on PBS (or other shows where he is a talking head, which I have not), then maybe you will not mind the recycling of his views. I like his appearances on PBS and I understand the way the book came about. I’m giving the book a moderate score only because I could not ignore the boredom of reading the same stuff. I still recommend it, though and I will keep looking for more original material from him.
I like the topic. I like the author. I like his style, his insights, his humor (most of the time), and his enthusiasm for what lies beyond the wild blue yonder.
This would have been a great book at one-quarter length. Why do I say that? Because there is so much repetition of themes: to the point where whole sentences and even passages are identical in multiple places. Not that the specific places where these statements get re-used are inappropriate or just “filler”. No, they are logically part of the “article” (i.e. chapter). But because this book is taken from a large number of short articles and interviews over a few years, the same topics are addressed and the same facts and issues are raised. It’s a by-product of how the book was created.
If the author had set forth to write a book that touched on his experiences over the same time frame he could (and I’m sure would have) created an informative, amusing, and insightful look at the prospects of the US Manned and unmanned (i.e. robotic) Space Programs, NASA itself, the technology and it’s successes (e.g. Hubble Space Telescope) and failures (e.g. Challenger, Columbia, various probes), and the challenges ahead. It would have gotten at least a four-star rating.
Taken individually, each article is very good. If I isolated a few key chapters in “Space Chronicles”, then I could write glowingly of this and that, but even 50 pages in I was getting annoyed by the repetition. Maybe I had expectations that were too high. In the past I read collections of columns from authors such as Isaac Asimov and I did not feel that way. Perhaps because the range of topics was more varied and there was less repetition.
If you are a fan of space & space exploration, then there is good, frankly-reported material here. If you like Neil deGrasse Tyson from other writings or from seeing him on PBS (or other shows where he is a talking head, which I have not), then maybe you will not mind the recycling of his views. I like his appearances on PBS and I understand the way the book came about. I’m giving the book a moderate score only because I could not ignore the boredom of reading the same stuff. I still recommend it, though and I will keep looking for more original material from him.
February 15, 2018
3,5/5
Hace bastante que tenía este libro descargado en mi eReader y no me decidía a leerlo pero finalmente el otro día lo vi, lo abrí y acabé haciéndolo. Sorpresivamente no tardé tanto tiempo como yo esperaba así que estoy bastante contenta.
Básicamente este libro es una compilación de artículos, charlas, entrevistas y notas escritas por el famoso astrofísico estadounidense Neil deGrasse Tyson (le dejo una mini biografía abajo de todo), sobretodo conocido por haber aparecido en varios programas de televisión. En ellas nos habla de un poco de todo, obvio siempre relacionado con el espacio; el objetivo de llevar humanos a Marte, el futuro de la NASA, los logros obtenidos hasta el momento, la llegada a la Luna en 1969 y demás cosas. Como ven, un poco de todo.
Lo mejor de esto es que la forma que tiene de escribir este señor es muy fresca y ligera, lo que hace una lectura muy entretenida. No es el típico libro de ciencia escolar que posiblemente se estén imaginando, sino todo lo contrario. Imagínense a un Rick Riordan hablando de ciencia espacial, bueno, así. Entretenido, haciendo comparaciones con cosas actuales, con humor, en fin, todo eso hace que leerlo sea algo divertido y no un plomo. Otra cosa es que en general los capítulos son cortitos, por lo que se pueden leer rápido y si justo hay uno que no te interesa especialmente se puede saltear o algo así sin pasar demasiadas páginas. En general todos me interesaron, pero los que más me gustaron definitivamente fueron "Carta de cumpleaños a la NASA", en el que habla justamente de la trayectoria de la agencia espacial desde su creación, que coincide también con la fecha de nacimiento de Tyson, y "Los próximos cincuenta años en el espacio", en el que escribe sobre la cooperación entre países y organizaciones para lograr mejores cosas en el futuro.
Sin embargo, también hubo un par de cosas que no me gustaron demasiado.
Continuación: https://mirinconentreloslibros.blogsp...
Hace bastante que tenía este libro descargado en mi eReader y no me decidía a leerlo pero finalmente el otro día lo vi, lo abrí y acabé haciéndolo. Sorpresivamente no tardé tanto tiempo como yo esperaba así que estoy bastante contenta.
Básicamente este libro es una compilación de artículos, charlas, entrevistas y notas escritas por el famoso astrofísico estadounidense Neil deGrasse Tyson (le dejo una mini biografía abajo de todo), sobretodo conocido por haber aparecido en varios programas de televisión. En ellas nos habla de un poco de todo, obvio siempre relacionado con el espacio; el objetivo de llevar humanos a Marte, el futuro de la NASA, los logros obtenidos hasta el momento, la llegada a la Luna en 1969 y demás cosas. Como ven, un poco de todo.
Lo mejor de esto es que la forma que tiene de escribir este señor es muy fresca y ligera, lo que hace una lectura muy entretenida. No es el típico libro de ciencia escolar que posiblemente se estén imaginando, sino todo lo contrario. Imagínense a un Rick Riordan hablando de ciencia espacial, bueno, así. Entretenido, haciendo comparaciones con cosas actuales, con humor, en fin, todo eso hace que leerlo sea algo divertido y no un plomo. Otra cosa es que en general los capítulos son cortitos, por lo que se pueden leer rápido y si justo hay uno que no te interesa especialmente se puede saltear o algo así sin pasar demasiadas páginas. En general todos me interesaron, pero los que más me gustaron definitivamente fueron "Carta de cumpleaños a la NASA", en el que habla justamente de la trayectoria de la agencia espacial desde su creación, que coincide también con la fecha de nacimiento de Tyson, y "Los próximos cincuenta años en el espacio", en el que escribe sobre la cooperación entre países y organizaciones para lograr mejores cosas en el futuro.
Sin embargo, también hubo un par de cosas que no me gustaron demasiado.
Continuación: https://mirinconentreloslibros.blogsp...
September 20, 2014
I'm starting to think and hope that Neil DeGrasse Tyson is our generation's version of Carl Sagan. In that he not only writes and speak about space with such energy and passion, but he shares Sagan's ability to explain the universe in humurous, elegant and easy to understand ways, that make his work accessible to the laymen, as well as the passionate science and space geeks out there.
I watched Tyson give an interview the other night and he had me shouting "yes!" at the television as he systematically debunked superstious nonsense with such ease, and like all good scientists concentrated on revealing the beauty of the natural world and the process of evolution, from exploding stars through to the elements wich make up our beautiful planet and bodies. We are only star-matter after all :)
This is the first book I've read of his, and I'm too early in to give any kind of critical review, but I can say that 50 pages in and I already love it. I'll write more about it layer, but as for Neil DeGrasse Tyson, he's already in my book of legends.
I watched Tyson give an interview the other night and he had me shouting "yes!" at the television as he systematically debunked superstious nonsense with such ease, and like all good scientists concentrated on revealing the beauty of the natural world and the process of evolution, from exploding stars through to the elements wich make up our beautiful planet and bodies. We are only star-matter after all :)
This is the first book I've read of his, and I'm too early in to give any kind of critical review, but I can say that 50 pages in and I already love it. I'll write more about it layer, but as for Neil DeGrasse Tyson, he's already in my book of legends.
July 11, 2012
One has to be careful in writing about science. Dumb it down and you risk losing your main audience who'll think it was written for grade schoolers but make it too advanced and people tend to get bored with all the technical jargon.
The author's approach is just right. What I liked best was he correctly points out that there are other reasons besides exploration for having a space program. There are scientific discoveries that can be applied for the benefit of all. It will interest kids so they might choose science or engineering as a career. As he says about the number of lawyers graduating college compared to scientists: " It tells me we are going into the future fully prepared to litigate over the crumbling of our infrastructure."
He makes his points without getting redundant. Well, most of the time. Which brings us to the one little drawback in this book. This is a compilation of previous writings so there are places where points of view get repeated. (Just half a cent of the budget goes for space exploration folks, for those of you up there in the cheap seats that's right, half a cent.)
This book raises valid questions and more importantly supplies workable answers and backs it up with data. A fun and informative read.
The author's approach is just right. What I liked best was he correctly points out that there are other reasons besides exploration for having a space program. There are scientific discoveries that can be applied for the benefit of all. It will interest kids so they might choose science or engineering as a career. As he says about the number of lawyers graduating college compared to scientists: " It tells me we are going into the future fully prepared to litigate over the crumbling of our infrastructure."
He makes his points without getting redundant. Well, most of the time. Which brings us to the one little drawback in this book. This is a compilation of previous writings so there are places where points of view get repeated. (Just half a cent of the budget goes for space exploration folks, for those of you up there in the cheap seats that's right, half a cent.)
This book raises valid questions and more importantly supplies workable answers and backs it up with data. A fun and informative read.
April 2, 2017
Space Chronicles is a compilation of essays, interviews and even tweets by everyone's favorite astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson. They all discuss the history of space travel, how it came to be and what can be expected in the future.
It is divided in three parts.
Part one: Why
It talks about why we are so fascinated with space. It discusses everything from what the requirements for life are to the probabilities of been killed by an asteroid (which, spoiler alert, is the same as dying on an airplane).
Part two: How
Talks about how space travel became possible. It discusses how the technology for space was invented, how flying was started and it talks about the evolution from the Space Race era and the Space Shuttle era.
Part three: Why not
Neil Tyson very candidly talks about the lack of progress during the past few decades, his disappointment and the reasons behind why there has been no progress. And how even other countries see space as a commercial enterprise and no longer look forward to space exploration.
Neil Tyson initially wanted to name this book, Failure to Launch: The Dreams and Delusions of Space Enthusiasts, which is a way more fitting name than Space Chronicles.
The purpose of this book is to educate people about space and how little progress there has been since NASA's budget nowadays doesn't allow much.
It is a cry for people to remember how small we are compared to the rest of the universe and we need to do something or we will become extinguished.
Space Chronicles' greatest fault is mainly that it is a bit repetitive since it is a compilation of works and they sometimes overlap.
But it is very interesting and very important subject that everyone needs to be aware of.
If you are a space enthusiast I would recommend you read this book because it will teach you a bit more of space.
And if you're not that this is the perfect book for you to start!
It is divided in three parts.
Part one: Why
It talks about why we are so fascinated with space. It discusses everything from what the requirements for life are to the probabilities of been killed by an asteroid (which, spoiler alert, is the same as dying on an airplane).
Part two: How
Talks about how space travel became possible. It discusses how the technology for space was invented, how flying was started and it talks about the evolution from the Space Race era and the Space Shuttle era.
Part three: Why not
Neil Tyson very candidly talks about the lack of progress during the past few decades, his disappointment and the reasons behind why there has been no progress. And how even other countries see space as a commercial enterprise and no longer look forward to space exploration.
Neil Tyson initially wanted to name this book, Failure to Launch: The Dreams and Delusions of Space Enthusiasts, which is a way more fitting name than Space Chronicles.
The purpose of this book is to educate people about space and how little progress there has been since NASA's budget nowadays doesn't allow much.
It is a cry for people to remember how small we are compared to the rest of the universe and we need to do something or we will become extinguished.
Space Chronicles' greatest fault is mainly that it is a bit repetitive since it is a compilation of works and they sometimes overlap.
But it is very interesting and very important subject that everyone needs to be aware of.
If you are a space enthusiast I would recommend you read this book because it will teach you a bit more of space.
And if you're not that this is the perfect book for you to start!
September 15, 2016
In short: a number of essays where deGrasse Tyson argues that America needs to spend more on NASA and its science and research. Many good arguments that people might not be thinking about. Some history on space travels and their impacts on science, culture, and more. He goes on arguing that America needs more space travels, but he's arguing that while space travels without humans (only robots) is cheaper, astronauts become symbols, almost celebrities and can cause the general population to take a greater interest in space travels, something robots won't.
All in all, the arguments are all well and good, but with the endless repetition that comes out of the fact that this is just a collection of essays, many are repeated (often the ones with least impact), and they lose their "punch" after the third time they're are repeated.
All in all, the arguments are all well and good, but with the endless repetition that comes out of the fact that this is just a collection of essays, many are repeated (often the ones with least impact), and they lose their "punch" after the third time they're are repeated.
February 19, 2012
Space Chronicles: Facing The Ultimate Frontier by Neil deGrasse Tyson
“Space Chronicles" is the inspirational plea of why NASA matters to America and what space exploration means to our species. Renowned astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson dissects the politics of space and also enlightens the reader of the sense of awe that comes from space exploration and discovery. This book selections represent commentary, interviews, thought-provoking quotes reflecting a spectrum of fascinating topics from one of our icons of science. I share the love and awe of science that radiates from Mr. Tyson; this book arouses such emotions in witty, lucid fashion while stressing the importance of America retaining its global leadership in space.
This 384-page book is composed of thirty-six chapters and broken it in three Parts: Part I. Why, Part II. How, and Part III. Why Not. The first part of the book (Why) has to do with why we want to explore space. It appeals to emotions and wonder and the politics involved. The second part of the book (How), is of more practical science. The last third of the book (Why Not) wraps everything together and is the most passionate.
Positives:
1. A passionate, engaging prose that reflects the love of science of Mr. Tyson.
2. Fascinating topic in the hands of an icon of astrophysics.
3. Witty and humorous tone.
4. Profound without being unintelligible. An accessible book for the masses.
5. The politics involved. The author stresses the need to eliminate partisan politics.
6. Sixty-seven space tweets interspersed throughout the book. A clever way of injecting topical space wisdom.
7. The allure of space evidence by the most popular museum of the world, the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
8. Mr. Tyson is a thinker and educator and uses his prodigious knowledge and skill to enlighten the masses like few scientists can. He makes use of popular science and movies to convey concepts: The Movie Contact to illustrate how radio waves attempt to make "contact".
9. The author's view on fascinating topics like extraterrestrial life and some really interesting views from Stephen Hawking.
10. The reality of killer asteroids and the justification to pursue space. Chart that illustrates impact on Earth.
11. Is China the new Sputnik? And our we losing our scientific edge? Find out...
12. NASA and Mr. Tyson share a birthday. Diverging paths that ultimately converged. Some insights into the interesting life of Mr. Tyson and kudos.
13. The history of NASA, the great Apollo ere and the next fifty years in space.
14. Tidbits of knowledge throughout the book! Love that...there is so much that the universe wants to tell us that doesn't reach Earth's surface. I will not spoil it...
15. The three drivers to justify spending large quantities of state wealth. Find out...a recurring theme. Find out what really drove America to space travel.
16. Find out why the Super Collider budget was canceled.
17. A brief but fascinating account of space discovery. Find out the most important single discovery in astrophysics.
18. The turning point in human understanding of our place in the cosmos.
19. The future of discovery.
20. The greatest achievement of flight is...
21. The great Isaac Newton .
22. The solution to the many-body problem of the solar system.
23. The understanding of the achievements of the Soviets. Many firsts...
24. Facts and fictions of space travel. The greatest challenge to human exploration besides money is...
25. Astronauts...the super models of space travel.
26. The many new technologies that resulted from space travel. An interesting list...
27. The Hubble Space Telescope...the most productive scientific instrument of all kind. The discoveries associated with it.
28. Apollo 11 and the great late Walter Cronkite.
29. Mr. Tyson's absolute admiration for the Saturn V design that launched Apollo astronauts.
30. Very interesting look at the future of propulsion for deep space. Topics include the use of the sun (solar sails) and the difficulty with an anti-matter drive.
31. The points of Lagrange.
32. Star Trek lovers rejoice...Mr. Tyson adds a couple of interesting tidbits.
33. The future of US space travel and the challenges. Money is a recurring theme...the actual cost of NASA.
34. Wisdom, "A review of history's most ambitious projects demonstrates that only defense, the lure of economic return, and the praise of power can garner large fractions of a nation's gross domestic product".
35. One of my favorite chapters, "America and the Emergent Space Powers".
36. One of my favorite quotes, "the greatest conflicts in the world are not between religion and science; they're between religion and religion".
37. How some religious forces have quenched scientific endeavors. Great stuff.
38. The delusions of space enthusiasts.
39. Witty and humorous...projectile dysfunction. Let me leave it at that.
40. By using numbers, Mr. Tyson really puts in perspective how tiny we are...mesmerizing. "More bacteria live and work in one centimeter of my colon than the number of people who have ever existed in the world".
41. Pioneer anomaly...case and point, why science is awesome and the quest to know drives us.
42. The best justification for why we need to spend money on space travel.
43. Practical appendices and charts.
Negatives:
1. The book tends to be repetitive. A lot of the stories and interviews overlap so some concepts and thoughts are repeated.
2. It is not an in depth look at the science of astrophysics. It is more about educating the public of why it's important to funds NASA appropriately. So those looking for an in depth look at the science of astrophysics will surely be disappointed.
3. This book is a plea to fund NASA. Politics is involved but the author treats the topic with utmost respect and care. He is clearly appreciated and respected by both parties as evidenced by being appointed by both parties to important position. That being said, he does make it clear that he is left of liberal.
4. No bibliography or extended notes of references. I would have been interested in reading some recommendations.
5. No colorful illustrations of space, so this is not a cocktail table book.
6. Having to wait for the author's next book and/or Cosmos series!
In summary, I loved this book. It spoke to my love and passion for knowledge and the value to our culture of new voyages. No one makes a better case for the need of space exploration and the drive of discovery than Neil deGrasse Tyson. Space travel is not just an emotional frontier, it is the frontier of all sciences. That being said, some readers may be disappointed that the book focuses more the emotional appeal to fund NASA than the hardcore science. That aside, if you want to rekindle your love for space exploration and discovery by all means read this highly recommended book!
“Space Chronicles" is the inspirational plea of why NASA matters to America and what space exploration means to our species. Renowned astrophysicist, Neil deGrasse Tyson dissects the politics of space and also enlightens the reader of the sense of awe that comes from space exploration and discovery. This book selections represent commentary, interviews, thought-provoking quotes reflecting a spectrum of fascinating topics from one of our icons of science. I share the love and awe of science that radiates from Mr. Tyson; this book arouses such emotions in witty, lucid fashion while stressing the importance of America retaining its global leadership in space.
This 384-page book is composed of thirty-six chapters and broken it in three Parts: Part I. Why, Part II. How, and Part III. Why Not. The first part of the book (Why) has to do with why we want to explore space. It appeals to emotions and wonder and the politics involved. The second part of the book (How), is of more practical science. The last third of the book (Why Not) wraps everything together and is the most passionate.
Positives:
1. A passionate, engaging prose that reflects the love of science of Mr. Tyson.
2. Fascinating topic in the hands of an icon of astrophysics.
3. Witty and humorous tone.
4. Profound without being unintelligible. An accessible book for the masses.
5. The politics involved. The author stresses the need to eliminate partisan politics.
6. Sixty-seven space tweets interspersed throughout the book. A clever way of injecting topical space wisdom.
7. The allure of space evidence by the most popular museum of the world, the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
8. Mr. Tyson is a thinker and educator and uses his prodigious knowledge and skill to enlighten the masses like few scientists can. He makes use of popular science and movies to convey concepts: The Movie Contact to illustrate how radio waves attempt to make "contact".
9. The author's view on fascinating topics like extraterrestrial life and some really interesting views from Stephen Hawking.
10. The reality of killer asteroids and the justification to pursue space. Chart that illustrates impact on Earth.
11. Is China the new Sputnik? And our we losing our scientific edge? Find out...
12. NASA and Mr. Tyson share a birthday. Diverging paths that ultimately converged. Some insights into the interesting life of Mr. Tyson and kudos.
13. The history of NASA, the great Apollo ere and the next fifty years in space.
14. Tidbits of knowledge throughout the book! Love that...there is so much that the universe wants to tell us that doesn't reach Earth's surface. I will not spoil it...
15. The three drivers to justify spending large quantities of state wealth. Find out...a recurring theme. Find out what really drove America to space travel.
16. Find out why the Super Collider budget was canceled.
17. A brief but fascinating account of space discovery. Find out the most important single discovery in astrophysics.
18. The turning point in human understanding of our place in the cosmos.
19. The future of discovery.
20. The greatest achievement of flight is...
21. The great Isaac Newton .
22. The solution to the many-body problem of the solar system.
23. The understanding of the achievements of the Soviets. Many firsts...
24. Facts and fictions of space travel. The greatest challenge to human exploration besides money is...
25. Astronauts...the super models of space travel.
26. The many new technologies that resulted from space travel. An interesting list...
27. The Hubble Space Telescope...the most productive scientific instrument of all kind. The discoveries associated with it.
28. Apollo 11 and the great late Walter Cronkite.
29. Mr. Tyson's absolute admiration for the Saturn V design that launched Apollo astronauts.
30. Very interesting look at the future of propulsion for deep space. Topics include the use of the sun (solar sails) and the difficulty with an anti-matter drive.
31. The points of Lagrange.
32. Star Trek lovers rejoice...Mr. Tyson adds a couple of interesting tidbits.
33. The future of US space travel and the challenges. Money is a recurring theme...the actual cost of NASA.
34. Wisdom, "A review of history's most ambitious projects demonstrates that only defense, the lure of economic return, and the praise of power can garner large fractions of a nation's gross domestic product".
35. One of my favorite chapters, "America and the Emergent Space Powers".
36. One of my favorite quotes, "the greatest conflicts in the world are not between religion and science; they're between religion and religion".
37. How some religious forces have quenched scientific endeavors. Great stuff.
38. The delusions of space enthusiasts.
39. Witty and humorous...projectile dysfunction. Let me leave it at that.
40. By using numbers, Mr. Tyson really puts in perspective how tiny we are...mesmerizing. "More bacteria live and work in one centimeter of my colon than the number of people who have ever existed in the world".
41. Pioneer anomaly...case and point, why science is awesome and the quest to know drives us.
42. The best justification for why we need to spend money on space travel.
43. Practical appendices and charts.
Negatives:
1. The book tends to be repetitive. A lot of the stories and interviews overlap so some concepts and thoughts are repeated.
2. It is not an in depth look at the science of astrophysics. It is more about educating the public of why it's important to funds NASA appropriately. So those looking for an in depth look at the science of astrophysics will surely be disappointed.
3. This book is a plea to fund NASA. Politics is involved but the author treats the topic with utmost respect and care. He is clearly appreciated and respected by both parties as evidenced by being appointed by both parties to important position. That being said, he does make it clear that he is left of liberal.
4. No bibliography or extended notes of references. I would have been interested in reading some recommendations.
5. No colorful illustrations of space, so this is not a cocktail table book.
6. Having to wait for the author's next book and/or Cosmos series!
In summary, I loved this book. It spoke to my love and passion for knowledge and the value to our culture of new voyages. No one makes a better case for the need of space exploration and the drive of discovery than Neil deGrasse Tyson. Space travel is not just an emotional frontier, it is the frontier of all sciences. That being said, some readers may be disappointed that the book focuses more the emotional appeal to fund NASA than the hardcore science. That aside, if you want to rekindle your love for space exploration and discovery by all means read this highly recommended book!
January 21, 2017
Can't do it man. Just can't keep reading this thing. It's not interesting. It's too disjointed for me to enjoy, and too much stuff about NASA's policy and things like that. I wanted to read something like "packing for mars" I guess.
So, even though I love Neil and his mustache and everything, I will have to stop reading this book right here.
So, even though I love Neil and his mustache and everything, I will have to stop reading this book right here.
July 26, 2016
I never thought reading about science can be easy and fun. I like the style of Neil deGrasse Tyson. He is now officially my favorite author. I did not understand why the appendices at the end were added, but, apart from that, in my opinion this is a 5-star book.
April 22, 2012
I can't remember anymore how or where I first came across Neil deGrasse Tyson. What I do remember is taking an instant liking to the man. I first started reading one of his earlier books, Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries, though I never got through the entire thing because I ended up giving it to my grandfather who took it back to India. With so many books on my reading list, I haven't had a chance to get another copy.
Around that time, I also saw Dr. Tyson speak at an event at Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC. He has so much energy and so much passion that you just fall under the spell.
This is me super excited to meet Dr. Tyson and he's just chillin', signing my book.
When I first heard about this book, I knew I had to read it. This is probably more up my alley than Death by Black Hole, because I have trouble wrapping my mind around physics, especially astrophysics, and that book is much more physics-heavy. There is a bit of physics and such in this but definitely nothing too complicated. Bottom line is that anyone can read this.
Space Chronicles outlines the past and present (and potential future) of space exploration and in particular, discusses why NASA is so important. The book is definitely focused on the United States and its place in this arena. In fact, it's very "USA, USA!" so that's something to keep in mind. I do see why he puts it in this light, because this is an appeal to the people of the US to not let our space program die.
Another potential criticism is that there is a lot of repetitiveness throughout. This is because this book is composed of a variety of essays, speeches, interviews, etc. from various sources so you tend to see a lot of his ideas repeated. I didn't really mind this as much because it helped to cement the ideas in my head. However, I can see where this would become annoying for others.
Other than these criticisms, I think this is a very important book and should be widely read. I learned so much, not just about space exploration but just how stuff works, especially politically. For example, why did we get to the moon? Because humans - Americans? - value exploration, dreaming, curiosity? No! It was because we were trying to beat the Soviet Union during the Cold War, to show our might. That's the only reason all that money could be justified. Were it not for the Sputnik and the subsequent "firsts" made by the Soviet Union, maybe we would never have reached the moon.
I wasn't born during moon landings and I was barely 4 when the Challenger disaster happened. [Fun fact! The development I grew up in had streets named after the Challenger and all the people who died in it.] But growing up, I always had a deep interest in space and even wanted to be an astronaut at one point. (Although who didn't want to be an astronaut when they were little?) This book really opened my eyes and made me think - we did these huge things back in the 60s and 70s, but where are we now? How come humans are not going back into space anymore? (Dr. Tyson explains the different between low earth orbit (LEO) and actually going into space.)
Another major discussion point in the book is the cost of going into space (often mentioned is that NASA's yearly budget is on average half a penny per dollar of the federal budget) vs. the benefits and justifications. I think his arguments are solid and make sense.
One criticism I have about all the space cheerleading is this:
Throughout the book, the viewpoint is that space is the only exciting thing left. This is how it comes off to me. That we - kids especially - need the lure of space travel to be excited about going into science. But there is still so much left on Earth to explore too. So much that we don't know. A big example is the oceans. I might be a bit biased here because I love the oceans and am really into marine biology but still. I absolutely understand that we need excitement about space to get our program (in the US) going again and get students willing to go in that direction. But that doesn't mean it's the only thing left or that there aren't compelling things left on Earth to explore.
I could probably go on and on but I'll try to wrap it up. I really loved the characteristic humor infused throughout the book and there were places where I literally laughed out loud. Especially the chapter America and the Emergent Space Powers. This was the funniest in the book, in my opinion. I also liked the tweets from Dr. Tyson that were sprinkled throughout the book. Some of them added to the text and some of them were funny asides, like this one:
"At a fine Italian restaurant this evening. Served grappa at meal's end. NASA should study it as a replacement rocket fuel"
I would recommend this book to everyone!
Around that time, I also saw Dr. Tyson speak at an event at Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in NYC. He has so much energy and so much passion that you just fall under the spell.
This is me super excited to meet Dr. Tyson and he's just chillin', signing my book.
When I first heard about this book, I knew I had to read it. This is probably more up my alley than Death by Black Hole, because I have trouble wrapping my mind around physics, especially astrophysics, and that book is much more physics-heavy. There is a bit of physics and such in this but definitely nothing too complicated. Bottom line is that anyone can read this.
Space Chronicles outlines the past and present (and potential future) of space exploration and in particular, discusses why NASA is so important. The book is definitely focused on the United States and its place in this arena. In fact, it's very "USA, USA!" so that's something to keep in mind. I do see why he puts it in this light, because this is an appeal to the people of the US to not let our space program die.
Another potential criticism is that there is a lot of repetitiveness throughout. This is because this book is composed of a variety of essays, speeches, interviews, etc. from various sources so you tend to see a lot of his ideas repeated. I didn't really mind this as much because it helped to cement the ideas in my head. However, I can see where this would become annoying for others.
Other than these criticisms, I think this is a very important book and should be widely read. I learned so much, not just about space exploration but just how stuff works, especially politically. For example, why did we get to the moon? Because humans - Americans? - value exploration, dreaming, curiosity? No! It was because we were trying to beat the Soviet Union during the Cold War, to show our might. That's the only reason all that money could be justified. Were it not for the Sputnik and the subsequent "firsts" made by the Soviet Union, maybe we would never have reached the moon.
I wasn't born during moon landings and I was barely 4 when the Challenger disaster happened. [Fun fact! The development I grew up in had streets named after the Challenger and all the people who died in it.] But growing up, I always had a deep interest in space and even wanted to be an astronaut at one point. (Although who didn't want to be an astronaut when they were little?) This book really opened my eyes and made me think - we did these huge things back in the 60s and 70s, but where are we now? How come humans are not going back into space anymore? (Dr. Tyson explains the different between low earth orbit (LEO) and actually going into space.)
Another major discussion point in the book is the cost of going into space (often mentioned is that NASA's yearly budget is on average half a penny per dollar of the federal budget) vs. the benefits and justifications. I think his arguments are solid and make sense.
One criticism I have about all the space cheerleading is this:
Throughout the book, the viewpoint is that space is the only exciting thing left. This is how it comes off to me. That we - kids especially - need the lure of space travel to be excited about going into science. But there is still so much left on Earth to explore too. So much that we don't know. A big example is the oceans. I might be a bit biased here because I love the oceans and am really into marine biology but still. I absolutely understand that we need excitement about space to get our program (in the US) going again and get students willing to go in that direction. But that doesn't mean it's the only thing left or that there aren't compelling things left on Earth to explore.
I could probably go on and on but I'll try to wrap it up. I really loved the characteristic humor infused throughout the book and there were places where I literally laughed out loud. Especially the chapter America and the Emergent Space Powers. This was the funniest in the book, in my opinion. I also liked the tweets from Dr. Tyson that were sprinkled throughout the book. Some of them added to the text and some of them were funny asides, like this one:
"At a fine Italian restaurant this evening. Served grappa at meal's end. NASA should study it as a replacement rocket fuel"
I would recommend this book to everyone!
March 9, 2012
A collection of essays written by Tyson over the years. Essays describe America's history in space and our current aimlessness in space exploration. The essays are consistent: we went to Moon to beat the Russians - essentially a Cold War endeavor; a nation that does not dream and think about tomorrow is doomed; other nations will pass us by; with NASA's share of the US budget less than 1/2 of 1% we can do great things if only we'd look up and dream. As someone who once dreamed of being an astronaut and who even now spends time looking up at the stars and planets (check out Venus and Jupiter this week), this book ends up being a disappointment because it is both repetitive and rambling. Tyson could have taken a quarter of his essays and gotten the same point across in an even stronger way. Too bad because Tyson's message is right on the mark.
October 25, 2018
My favorite part of the book was Tyson's keynote speech at the Goddard Memorial Dinner in 2005:
"One day I was reading the newspaper--a dangerous thing to do, always--and I saw a headline complaining, 'HALF OF SCHOOLS IN DISTRICT SCORED BELOW AVERAGE.' Well, that's kind of what an average is! You get about half below and half above...
I've got another example. It's often said that the state lottery is a tax on the poor, because people with low incomes spend a disproportionate amount of their money on lottery tickets. It is not a tax on the poor. It's a tax on the people who never studied mathematics." -203-4
"Some people want to put warning stickers on biology textbooks, saying that the theory of evolution is just one of many theories, take it or leave it. Now, religion long predates science; it'll be here forever. That's not the issue. The problem comes when religion enters the science classroom. There's no tradition of scientists knocking down the Sunday school door, telling preachers what to teach. Scientists don't picket churches. By and large--though it may not look this way today--science and religion have achieved peaceful coexistence for quite some time. In fact, the greatest conflicts in the world are not between religion and science; they're between religion and religion.
This is not simply an academic point. Let's go back a millennium. Between A.D. 800 and A.D. 1200 the intellectual center of the Western world was Baghdad. Why? It's leaders were open to whoever wanted to think stuff up: Jews, Christians, Muslims, doubters. Everybody was granted a seat at the debating table, maximizing the exchange of ideas. Meanwhile, the written wisdom of the world was being acquired by the libraries of Baghdad and translated into Arabic. As a result, the Arabs made advances in farming, commerce, engineering, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, navigation. Do you realize that two-thirds of all the named stars in the night sky have Arabic names? If you do something first and best, you get naming rights. The Arabs got naming rights to the stars twelve hundred years ago because they charted them better than anybody had done before. They pioneered the fledgling system of Hindu numerals in the new field of algebra, itself an Arabic word--which is how the numerals came to be called 'Arabic numerals.' 'Algorithm,' another familiar word, derives from the name of the Baghdad-based mathematician who also gave us the basics of algebra.
So what happened? Historians will say that with the sack of Baghdad by Mongols in the thirteenth century, the entire nonsectarian intellectual foundation of that enterprise collapsed, along with the libraries that supported it. But if you also track the cultural and religious forces at play, you find that the influential writings of the eleventh-century Muslim scholar and theologian Al-Ghazali shaped how Islam viewed the natural world. By declaring the manipulation of numbers to be the work of the devil, and by promoting the concept of Allah's will as the cause of all natural phenomena, Ghazali unwittingly quenched scientific endeavor in the Muslim world. And it has never recovered, even to this day. From 1901 to 2010, of the 543 Nobel Prize winners in the sciences, two were Muslim. Yet Muslims comprise nearly one-fourth of the world's population.
Today among fundamentalist Christians as well as Hassidic Jews, there is a comparable absence. When societies and cultures are permeated by nonsecular philosophies, science and technology and medicine stagnate." -205-6.
He chides people who think science is about comfort with answers: "But you can't be a scientist if you're uncomfortable with ignorance, because scientists live at the boundary between what is known and unknown in the cosmos. This is very different from the way journalists portray us. So many articles begin, 'Scientists now have to go back to the drawing board.' It's as though we're sitting in our offices, feet up on our desks--masters of the universe--and suddenly say, 'Oops, somebody discovered something!' No. We're always at the drawing board. If you're not at the drawing board, you're not making discoveries. You're not a scientist; you're something else." -183
UFOs: "Do I believe in UFOs or extraterrestrial visitors? Where shall I begin? There's a fascinating frailty of the human mind that psychologists know all about, called 'argument from ignorance.' This is how it goes. Remember what the 'U' stands for in "UFO"? . . . The 'U' stands for 'unidentified.'
But then you say, 'I don't know what it is; it must be aliens from outer space, visiting from another planet.' The issue here is that if you don't know what something is, your interpretation of it should stop immediately. You don't then say it must be X or Y or Z. That's argument from ignorance. It's common. I'm not blaming anybody; it may relate to our burning need to manufacture answers because we feel uncomfortable about being steeped in ignorance." -182. Of course, all scientific hypotheses start as "arguments from ignorance" -- you don't know why or how something is happening, so you make an educated guess, then test that guess. That is, I don't agree that we should stop interpreting stimulus immediately if we can't identify it. Unidentified lights in the sky could be lots of things, including an alien spacecraft -- it's just not the most likely hypothesis, and it's not terribly test-able.
On the government misunderstanding the metric system, and Tyson's dislike of rhetoric/spin: "A few years later, jury duty again. The judge states that the defendant is charged with possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine. It was found on his body, he was arrested, and he is now on trial. This time, after the Q&A is over, the judge asks us whether there are any questions we'd like to ask the court, and I say, 'Yes, Your Honor. Why did you say he was in possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine? That equals 1.7 grams. The 'thousand' cancels with the 'milli-' and you get 1.7 grams, which is less than the weight of a dime.' Again, I'm out on the street." -204
Early on, he dabbles with politics:
"[N]obody, especially a Republican, wants to be thought of as someone who sees NASA as a government jobs program, although that comment has been made before--not by a politician, but by a comedian. ... 'NASA is a billion dollar welfare program for really smart dorks. Where else are they going to work? They're too smart to do anything else.'" -17 (quoting Wanda Sykes)
He writes about people who think we'll naturally get to the stars without investment or effort: "A line of reasoning within the ranks of the hopeful might be: 'We invented flight when most people thought it was impossible. A mere sixty-five years later, we went to the Moon. It's high time we journeyed among the stars. People who say it isn't possible are ignoring history.'
My rebuttal is borrowed from a legal disclaimer of the investment industry: 'Past performance is not an indicator of future returns.'" -191
"One day I was reading the newspaper--a dangerous thing to do, always--and I saw a headline complaining, 'HALF OF SCHOOLS IN DISTRICT SCORED BELOW AVERAGE.' Well, that's kind of what an average is! You get about half below and half above...
I've got another example. It's often said that the state lottery is a tax on the poor, because people with low incomes spend a disproportionate amount of their money on lottery tickets. It is not a tax on the poor. It's a tax on the people who never studied mathematics." -203-4
"Some people want to put warning stickers on biology textbooks, saying that the theory of evolution is just one of many theories, take it or leave it. Now, religion long predates science; it'll be here forever. That's not the issue. The problem comes when religion enters the science classroom. There's no tradition of scientists knocking down the Sunday school door, telling preachers what to teach. Scientists don't picket churches. By and large--though it may not look this way today--science and religion have achieved peaceful coexistence for quite some time. In fact, the greatest conflicts in the world are not between religion and science; they're between religion and religion.
This is not simply an academic point. Let's go back a millennium. Between A.D. 800 and A.D. 1200 the intellectual center of the Western world was Baghdad. Why? It's leaders were open to whoever wanted to think stuff up: Jews, Christians, Muslims, doubters. Everybody was granted a seat at the debating table, maximizing the exchange of ideas. Meanwhile, the written wisdom of the world was being acquired by the libraries of Baghdad and translated into Arabic. As a result, the Arabs made advances in farming, commerce, engineering, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, navigation. Do you realize that two-thirds of all the named stars in the night sky have Arabic names? If you do something first and best, you get naming rights. The Arabs got naming rights to the stars twelve hundred years ago because they charted them better than anybody had done before. They pioneered the fledgling system of Hindu numerals in the new field of algebra, itself an Arabic word--which is how the numerals came to be called 'Arabic numerals.' 'Algorithm,' another familiar word, derives from the name of the Baghdad-based mathematician who also gave us the basics of algebra.
So what happened? Historians will say that with the sack of Baghdad by Mongols in the thirteenth century, the entire nonsectarian intellectual foundation of that enterprise collapsed, along with the libraries that supported it. But if you also track the cultural and religious forces at play, you find that the influential writings of the eleventh-century Muslim scholar and theologian Al-Ghazali shaped how Islam viewed the natural world. By declaring the manipulation of numbers to be the work of the devil, and by promoting the concept of Allah's will as the cause of all natural phenomena, Ghazali unwittingly quenched scientific endeavor in the Muslim world. And it has never recovered, even to this day. From 1901 to 2010, of the 543 Nobel Prize winners in the sciences, two were Muslim. Yet Muslims comprise nearly one-fourth of the world's population.
Today among fundamentalist Christians as well as Hassidic Jews, there is a comparable absence. When societies and cultures are permeated by nonsecular philosophies, science and technology and medicine stagnate." -205-6.
He chides people who think science is about comfort with answers: "But you can't be a scientist if you're uncomfortable with ignorance, because scientists live at the boundary between what is known and unknown in the cosmos. This is very different from the way journalists portray us. So many articles begin, 'Scientists now have to go back to the drawing board.' It's as though we're sitting in our offices, feet up on our desks--masters of the universe--and suddenly say, 'Oops, somebody discovered something!' No. We're always at the drawing board. If you're not at the drawing board, you're not making discoveries. You're not a scientist; you're something else." -183
UFOs: "Do I believe in UFOs or extraterrestrial visitors? Where shall I begin? There's a fascinating frailty of the human mind that psychologists know all about, called 'argument from ignorance.' This is how it goes. Remember what the 'U' stands for in "UFO"? . . . The 'U' stands for 'unidentified.'
But then you say, 'I don't know what it is; it must be aliens from outer space, visiting from another planet.' The issue here is that if you don't know what something is, your interpretation of it should stop immediately. You don't then say it must be X or Y or Z. That's argument from ignorance. It's common. I'm not blaming anybody; it may relate to our burning need to manufacture answers because we feel uncomfortable about being steeped in ignorance." -182. Of course, all scientific hypotheses start as "arguments from ignorance" -- you don't know why or how something is happening, so you make an educated guess, then test that guess. That is, I don't agree that we should stop interpreting stimulus immediately if we can't identify it. Unidentified lights in the sky could be lots of things, including an alien spacecraft -- it's just not the most likely hypothesis, and it's not terribly test-able.
On the government misunderstanding the metric system, and Tyson's dislike of rhetoric/spin: "A few years later, jury duty again. The judge states that the defendant is charged with possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine. It was found on his body, he was arrested, and he is now on trial. This time, after the Q&A is over, the judge asks us whether there are any questions we'd like to ask the court, and I say, 'Yes, Your Honor. Why did you say he was in possession of 1,700 milligrams of cocaine? That equals 1.7 grams. The 'thousand' cancels with the 'milli-' and you get 1.7 grams, which is less than the weight of a dime.' Again, I'm out on the street." -204
Early on, he dabbles with politics:
"[N]obody, especially a Republican, wants to be thought of as someone who sees NASA as a government jobs program, although that comment has been made before--not by a politician, but by a comedian. ... 'NASA is a billion dollar welfare program for really smart dorks. Where else are they going to work? They're too smart to do anything else.'" -17 (quoting Wanda Sykes)
He writes about people who think we'll naturally get to the stars without investment or effort: "A line of reasoning within the ranks of the hopeful might be: 'We invented flight when most people thought it was impossible. A mere sixty-five years later, we went to the Moon. It's high time we journeyed among the stars. People who say it isn't possible are ignoring history.'
My rebuttal is borrowed from a legal disclaimer of the investment industry: 'Past performance is not an indicator of future returns.'" -191
July 24, 2016
Target audience: Common people, anyone passionate about space, astronomy, the Universe and the future of space exploration.
About the author: According to Wikipedia, Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, and science communicator. Since 1996, he has been the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York City. The center is part of the American Museum of Natural History, where Tyson founded the Department of Astrophysics in 1997 and has been a research associate in the department since 2003. Tyson's research has focused on observations in cosmology, stellar evolution, galactic astronomy, bulges, and stellar formation. He has held numerous positions at institutions including the University of Maryland, Princeton University, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Hayden Planetarium.
Structure of the book: The book has 384 pages, divided in an Editor’s Note, Prologue, Part I – containing 12 chapters, Part II – containing 15 chapters, Part III – containing 9 chapters, Epilogue, Appendices from A to F, Acknowledgments, Index, Biographical Notes, Praise for Space Chronicles, and Praise for Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Overview: Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier is not a book in the real sense of the word; it was not composed as a book. It is a collection of fascinating essays written by Tyson over the years and originally published separately.
The primary theme of the book is the importance of space exploration. This is our future as a species, this is our destiny and this is what we must do, as quickly as possible. If we want to avoid a possible extinction, we must follow our multi-millenary dream, reach the stars and become a multi-planetary species. But, in order to achieve this, we must channel our efforts, energy and resources in the right way, both at individual level and collective level.
So, the secondary theme of the book is a call for more funding and resources to be allocated for space exploration. But the call is not addressed to the leaders or experts of the developed countries of the world (mainly USA); the call is addressed to the common people, the voters who decide every 4 years the course of their country (and of the world) and the parents who educate and raise the future citizens of the Earth.
Each essay presents America's history in space, covering the two themes from different points of view, with different examples and with different arguments. For example, Tyson condemns our indifference for space exploration given the opportunities we have compared to past generations. But he also says that manned space flights will generate enthusiasm among young people, sufficient to encourage them to become scientists and engineers. The world needs much more scientists and engineers, not entertainers. Science is the answer to all our problems, and new generations of scientists, more enlightened and more in number, must rise to lead humanity towards new heights of knowledge and prosperity. Unlike religions or myths, the language of science is universal. Science transcends all barriers and all over the world, no matter the language or cultural background, scientists manage to understand each other and work together for a common goal. Tyson illustrates very well throughout the essays how he traveled around the world and worked together with people from different countries, even USSR.
Quote: You need to live in a nation whose government values the search to understand humanity’s place in the universe. You need a society in which intellectual pursuit can take you to the frontiers of discovery, and in which news of your discoveries can be routinely disseminated.
Strong points: Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier follows the philosophy of the author. Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of my favorite scientists and I watched many of his public speeches on Youtube. Not only he, despite being one of the great thinkers of our time, manages to make himself understood to the masses, but he also makes complex things look simple and science look fun. His goal is not only to expand knowledge, but also to educate the public and keep them interested in science. And so far he is doing a fantastic job.
Weak points: The essays become very repetitive and reading the same ideas over and over again in different forms is a little annoying. There is also no underlying structure to the book. The last third of the book is an appendix containing the legislation that created NASA, which is not interesting at all. I believe that there was no material left to make a book in the real sense of the word and the appendix plus the praises to the author and the book were added only to increase the number of the pages in order to look like a serious book. It is a little disappointing because Tyson’s style is fun.
_______________
★★★ Follow us on Goodreads
★★★ Visit our website www.reasonandreligion.org
About the author: According to Wikipedia, Neil deGrasse Tyson is an American astrophysicist, cosmologist, author, and science communicator. Since 1996, he has been the Frederick P. Rose Director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Rose Center for Earth and Space in New York City. The center is part of the American Museum of Natural History, where Tyson founded the Department of Astrophysics in 1997 and has been a research associate in the department since 2003. Tyson's research has focused on observations in cosmology, stellar evolution, galactic astronomy, bulges, and stellar formation. He has held numerous positions at institutions including the University of Maryland, Princeton University, the American Museum of Natural History, and the Hayden Planetarium.
Structure of the book: The book has 384 pages, divided in an Editor’s Note, Prologue, Part I – containing 12 chapters, Part II – containing 15 chapters, Part III – containing 9 chapters, Epilogue, Appendices from A to F, Acknowledgments, Index, Biographical Notes, Praise for Space Chronicles, and Praise for Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Overview: Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier is not a book in the real sense of the word; it was not composed as a book. It is a collection of fascinating essays written by Tyson over the years and originally published separately.
The primary theme of the book is the importance of space exploration. This is our future as a species, this is our destiny and this is what we must do, as quickly as possible. If we want to avoid a possible extinction, we must follow our multi-millenary dream, reach the stars and become a multi-planetary species. But, in order to achieve this, we must channel our efforts, energy and resources in the right way, both at individual level and collective level.
So, the secondary theme of the book is a call for more funding and resources to be allocated for space exploration. But the call is not addressed to the leaders or experts of the developed countries of the world (mainly USA); the call is addressed to the common people, the voters who decide every 4 years the course of their country (and of the world) and the parents who educate and raise the future citizens of the Earth.
Each essay presents America's history in space, covering the two themes from different points of view, with different examples and with different arguments. For example, Tyson condemns our indifference for space exploration given the opportunities we have compared to past generations. But he also says that manned space flights will generate enthusiasm among young people, sufficient to encourage them to become scientists and engineers. The world needs much more scientists and engineers, not entertainers. Science is the answer to all our problems, and new generations of scientists, more enlightened and more in number, must rise to lead humanity towards new heights of knowledge and prosperity. Unlike religions or myths, the language of science is universal. Science transcends all barriers and all over the world, no matter the language or cultural background, scientists manage to understand each other and work together for a common goal. Tyson illustrates very well throughout the essays how he traveled around the world and worked together with people from different countries, even USSR.
Quote: You need to live in a nation whose government values the search to understand humanity’s place in the universe. You need a society in which intellectual pursuit can take you to the frontiers of discovery, and in which news of your discoveries can be routinely disseminated.
Strong points: Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier follows the philosophy of the author. Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of my favorite scientists and I watched many of his public speeches on Youtube. Not only he, despite being one of the great thinkers of our time, manages to make himself understood to the masses, but he also makes complex things look simple and science look fun. His goal is not only to expand knowledge, but also to educate the public and keep them interested in science. And so far he is doing a fantastic job.
Weak points: The essays become very repetitive and reading the same ideas over and over again in different forms is a little annoying. There is also no underlying structure to the book. The last third of the book is an appendix containing the legislation that created NASA, which is not interesting at all. I believe that there was no material left to make a book in the real sense of the word and the appendix plus the praises to the author and the book were added only to increase the number of the pages in order to look like a serious book. It is a little disappointing because Tyson’s style is fun.
_______________
★★★ Follow us on Goodreads
★★★ Visit our website www.reasonandreligion.org
August 25, 2013
oh...did i ever love this book!! so much. i am already a big fan of mr. neil degrasse tyson and this book just helped cement that love for me. dude is just awesome-sauce deluxe! i really like him because he just seems to OOZE passion for and in his work and he also seems to always be having a good time and able to poke a bit of fun at himself (hello big bang theory appearance. HA!).
when i finished this read a little bit ago, i began reading some reviews here on GR, to see what people thought. two things jumped out at me:
1) complaints about the repetition in the book. there was a bit of it, i agree. but it didn't bother me at all. in fact, when some things were mentioned a 2nd or 3rd time, it only served to help cement an idea in my brain. i am not a dumb-dumb...but NdGT is a super-smart guy and he could easily talk or write in a manner that would only work for people in his same field of work or other really, really smart people. i didn't feel like he dumbed anything down, just to be clear, but i think the repetition was helpful. i like the way he can take very complicated information and make it digestible and interesting!!
2) complaints about this being very america-centric and an accusation of 'jingoism'. sigh. i am canadian. we just had a wonderful astronaut in space, in charge of the I.S.S - commander chris hadfield. WOOT! canada, though not a superpower on the space frontier has made some great contributions through technology, invention and its people. the fact we didn't get much notice in the book? WHO CARES? NdGT is american. NASA and the space program are solidly rooted american creations. the work NdGT does is in the efforts of american progress. he has a global understanding and respect for other nations and their space programs, this was obvious. but of course the perspective is going to be american and enthusiastic. NdGT also mentions often the idea that space is non-partisan and the future will be about international cooperation.
i made a gushy post within a group i belong to, earlier today, so i am going to copy it here because there was a link i shared that i really liked:
okay, so i mentioned i am reading Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier already. i am now about halfway through and i am really digging it. the book is a collection of essays and interviews Neil deGrasse Tyson has given over the years. this morning i sampled a few reviews and the one thing i noticed was that people complained about there being repetition. i did notice this while i was reading, but for me, when the repetition has happened, it only served to reinforce and idea or solidify information into my brain. it doesn't happen a lot (or hasn't to the point i am at, anyway).
one of the ides NdGT touches on is the issue of manned space flight versus robots. he clearly states he doesn't see it as an either/or scenario and while the cost to send a person into space is up to 50 times more expensive than sending robotics...you cannot program for certain things. one being the quest to explore. i have loved the essays dealing with this subject.
i also like one part where he weighs in on his personal experiences growing up. he was very interested in sciences and space from a young age, but being young and black in brooklyn in the 60s did not cry out "PATH OF AN ASTROPHYSICIST!!" to him. he pointed out issues that of course, we know about given what was going on in society at that time. but reading his thoughts and feelings on how the politics of race and segregation affected him...was really moving. (a letter was sent to NASA demanding they recruit black students from alabama and tuskageee into their programs, and bringing them onto staff, as one example.)
so i was really interested when i came across this piece on brain pickings about how to be an explorer.
when i finished this read a little bit ago, i began reading some reviews here on GR, to see what people thought. two things jumped out at me:
1) complaints about the repetition in the book. there was a bit of it, i agree. but it didn't bother me at all. in fact, when some things were mentioned a 2nd or 3rd time, it only served to help cement an idea in my brain. i am not a dumb-dumb...but NdGT is a super-smart guy and he could easily talk or write in a manner that would only work for people in his same field of work or other really, really smart people. i didn't feel like he dumbed anything down, just to be clear, but i think the repetition was helpful. i like the way he can take very complicated information and make it digestible and interesting!!
2) complaints about this being very america-centric and an accusation of 'jingoism'. sigh. i am canadian. we just had a wonderful astronaut in space, in charge of the I.S.S - commander chris hadfield. WOOT! canada, though not a superpower on the space frontier has made some great contributions through technology, invention and its people. the fact we didn't get much notice in the book? WHO CARES? NdGT is american. NASA and the space program are solidly rooted american creations. the work NdGT does is in the efforts of american progress. he has a global understanding and respect for other nations and their space programs, this was obvious. but of course the perspective is going to be american and enthusiastic. NdGT also mentions often the idea that space is non-partisan and the future will be about international cooperation.
i made a gushy post within a group i belong to, earlier today, so i am going to copy it here because there was a link i shared that i really liked:
okay, so i mentioned i am reading Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier already. i am now about halfway through and i am really digging it. the book is a collection of essays and interviews Neil deGrasse Tyson has given over the years. this morning i sampled a few reviews and the one thing i noticed was that people complained about there being repetition. i did notice this while i was reading, but for me, when the repetition has happened, it only served to reinforce and idea or solidify information into my brain. it doesn't happen a lot (or hasn't to the point i am at, anyway).
one of the ides NdGT touches on is the issue of manned space flight versus robots. he clearly states he doesn't see it as an either/or scenario and while the cost to send a person into space is up to 50 times more expensive than sending robotics...you cannot program for certain things. one being the quest to explore. i have loved the essays dealing with this subject.
i also like one part where he weighs in on his personal experiences growing up. he was very interested in sciences and space from a young age, but being young and black in brooklyn in the 60s did not cry out "PATH OF AN ASTROPHYSICIST!!" to him. he pointed out issues that of course, we know about given what was going on in society at that time. but reading his thoughts and feelings on how the politics of race and segregation affected him...was really moving. (a letter was sent to NASA demanding they recruit black students from alabama and tuskageee into their programs, and bringing them onto staff, as one example.)
so i was really interested when i came across this piece on brain pickings about how to be an explorer.
March 8, 2012
Space Chronicles is not a tough read like A Brief History of Time, nor is it an amazing look at how science will improve our lives like Micho Kaku's Physics of the Future. It's a collection of brief passages, most reprinted material from Neil deGrasse Tyson's many newspaper columns, interviews, and even some of his more poignant tweets. This makes for an incredibly easy read, and one that I was almost finished with in only a few hours' time.
And the more I read, the more I came to realize who this book was meant for: those busy, busy politicians who think that astrophysics, the science that connects us all to the universe, doesn't matter that much; in fact, it's worth less than half of one cent (the amount of money per taxpayer dollar that currently goes to NASA.)
This book is a cry for help. With the funding to NASA cut, space exploration is being touted off to the private sector. Let Google run space, Congress tells us. In a barrage of quick, poignant passages, Neil deGrasse Tyson lays out the many good reasons why that's a really bad idea.
I'm the first to tell you that I can get really, really touchy about politics. If someone would've told me that, yo, this book is just sort-of about politics, I wouldn't have touched it with a ten-foot pole. But the author is amazingly nonpartisan throughout, blaming no one, but instead passionately pushing for a restoration of the ol' American can-do attitude that started NASA in the first place.
Of course, America has overarching problems amid NASA's budget crisis that were very much glossed over in this book. By the time I was done reading, however, I wondered why the heck it all matters so much. All our petty Earthling problems seem trifling when you remember that our planet is only a mote of dust in the vast expanse of space.
And the more I read, the more I came to realize who this book was meant for: those busy, busy politicians who think that astrophysics, the science that connects us all to the universe, doesn't matter that much; in fact, it's worth less than half of one cent (the amount of money per taxpayer dollar that currently goes to NASA.)
This book is a cry for help. With the funding to NASA cut, space exploration is being touted off to the private sector. Let Google run space, Congress tells us. In a barrage of quick, poignant passages, Neil deGrasse Tyson lays out the many good reasons why that's a really bad idea.
I'm the first to tell you that I can get really, really touchy about politics. If someone would've told me that, yo, this book is just sort-of about politics, I wouldn't have touched it with a ten-foot pole. But the author is amazingly nonpartisan throughout, blaming no one, but instead passionately pushing for a restoration of the ol' American can-do attitude that started NASA in the first place.
Of course, America has overarching problems amid NASA's budget crisis that were very much glossed over in this book. By the time I was done reading, however, I wondered why the heck it all matters so much. All our petty Earthling problems seem trifling when you remember that our planet is only a mote of dust in the vast expanse of space.
April 20, 2014
Dr. Tyson is a genius. He is BRILLAINT. He is good hearted. He is observant. And he is a master of explaining anything and everything in an easy to understand manner.
I mean seriously, he could be explaining how paint dries and I would be completely enthralled and fascinated by the process.
This book is a collection of his wittings, speeches, and interviews over the years and revolves around man's journey into the universe. He talks about why we should make the effort to escape low orbit and how we should do it. Then he plays devils advocate and explains why we haven't, why it's difficult, and why we will never achieve sometimes at all.
It is completely well rounded and bipartisan. He explains that space is not for one person versus another. It doesn't matter what color, race, religion, or political follower you are. Space is for everyone. Plus ep his explanation of the cosmos really makes you see just how small humans are in the gist of it all. Most would find that depressing. Me? I find it amazing. We are small in the context of the universe and as such we are so alike compared to everything else out there. Thus we should be celebrating our similarities instead of our differences. I don't see our smallness in the universe as a reason to be sad, but instead I see it as a reason to come together. To hate one another a little less. Because maybe if we did we could get our shit together and explore Mars.
Seriously, do yourself a favor and read this book. Hell, read every book this man has written because he is a genius and it will better both your mind, your imagination, and you heart.
Geeze this review is barely coherent, but I guess the point of it is that even though you may not be interested in space you should still read this book! Dr Tyson is bettering our world one lecture, book, tv show at a time, and we should all experience it.
I mean seriously, he could be explaining how paint dries and I would be completely enthralled and fascinated by the process.
This book is a collection of his wittings, speeches, and interviews over the years and revolves around man's journey into the universe. He talks about why we should make the effort to escape low orbit and how we should do it. Then he plays devils advocate and explains why we haven't, why it's difficult, and why we will never achieve sometimes at all.
It is completely well rounded and bipartisan. He explains that space is not for one person versus another. It doesn't matter what color, race, religion, or political follower you are. Space is for everyone. Plus ep his explanation of the cosmos really makes you see just how small humans are in the gist of it all. Most would find that depressing. Me? I find it amazing. We are small in the context of the universe and as such we are so alike compared to everything else out there. Thus we should be celebrating our similarities instead of our differences. I don't see our smallness in the universe as a reason to be sad, but instead I see it as a reason to come together. To hate one another a little less. Because maybe if we did we could get our shit together and explore Mars.
Seriously, do yourself a favor and read this book. Hell, read every book this man has written because he is a genius and it will better both your mind, your imagination, and you heart.
Geeze this review is barely coherent, but I guess the point of it is that even though you may not be interested in space you should still read this book! Dr Tyson is bettering our world one lecture, book, tv show at a time, and we should all experience it.
April 23, 2017
Este libro me sorprendió. Me encantan los libros que me sorprenden y me dejan pensando. Al inicio, pensé que se trataría de un libro netamente científico; pero, definitivamente es una perspectiva distinta, desde varios ángulos.
Este libro cuestiona y llama a la reflexión sobre las verdaderas motivaciones del gobierno de Estados Unidos para decidir invertir o no en programas de la NASA. Habla con muchos detalles críticos los intereses políticos detrás del financiamiento de proyectos científicos a lo largo de la historia de esta institución.
También, critica mucho la postura actual del gobierno de poca la enseñanza y conocimiento científico de la población en general y el por qué esto es un verdadero problema no solo por un tema de egos, sino explica cómo el desarrollo científico en todas las áreas de las ciencias - no solo astrofísica- y la "polinización cruzada" de conocimiento lleva al descubrimiento y desarrollo de mejores tecnologías que terminan beneficiando a gran parte de la población.
Esto ha llevado, comenta, que Estados Unidos esté en la cola del desarrollo científico en lugar de a la cabeza, como lo estuvo en décadas pasadas. Sobre este punto, pone ejemplos muy concretos sobre los desarrollos que vienen realizando China, India y Rusia.
Sin embargo, este libro, no deja de tener contenido científico, explicaciones y ejemplos detallados necesarios para entender el contexto y las razones que plantea. Combinado con comentarios filosóficos y reflexivos sobre sobre soñar grandes sueños de logros tecnológicos.
Toda esta narrativa hecha con un toque de humor inteligente y sarcasmo genial; super geek. Me encantó.
Este libro cuestiona y llama a la reflexión sobre las verdaderas motivaciones del gobierno de Estados Unidos para decidir invertir o no en programas de la NASA. Habla con muchos detalles críticos los intereses políticos detrás del financiamiento de proyectos científicos a lo largo de la historia de esta institución.
También, critica mucho la postura actual del gobierno de poca la enseñanza y conocimiento científico de la población en general y el por qué esto es un verdadero problema no solo por un tema de egos, sino explica cómo el desarrollo científico en todas las áreas de las ciencias - no solo astrofísica- y la "polinización cruzada" de conocimiento lleva al descubrimiento y desarrollo de mejores tecnologías que terminan beneficiando a gran parte de la población.
Esto ha llevado, comenta, que Estados Unidos esté en la cola del desarrollo científico en lugar de a la cabeza, como lo estuvo en décadas pasadas. Sobre este punto, pone ejemplos muy concretos sobre los desarrollos que vienen realizando China, India y Rusia.
Sin embargo, este libro, no deja de tener contenido científico, explicaciones y ejemplos detallados necesarios para entender el contexto y las razones que plantea. Combinado con comentarios filosóficos y reflexivos sobre sobre soñar grandes sueños de logros tecnológicos.
Toda esta narrativa hecha con un toque de humor inteligente y sarcasmo genial; super geek. Me encantó.
February 6, 2017
Neil deGrasse Tyson has become one of my favorite people walking planet earth. His passion, intellect, knowledge, charisma and way with words is truly infectious!
SPACE CHRONICLES is a collection of essays and magazine articles that Dr.Tyson has written over the years, where he lays out his arguments for the importance of space exploration. It's about more than visiting the moon, potentially visiting Mars etc.. Many of our greatest inventions and things we take for granted in our everyday life, comes from experiments and studies done for, or because of, the cosmos. I had no idea all of the inventions that came about from space exploration until I read this book!
I have taken a huge interest in the cosmos, the origins of life etc. recently and this book has to be up there with the best I have read. If you have ever heard Neil talk, I think you can agree that his way with words and storytelling sucks you right into whatever subject he is discussing and that very tactic is present in this book. He very easily explains to you very hard subject matter for the lay person to understand and does it with such wit and charm that there is no way that you can't just love the guy!
Space is the ultimate frontier for man; there are countless discoveries and journeys just waiting for us to grasp and we must not let the dream of space exploration become a thing of the past! Read this book!!!
SPACE CHRONICLES is a collection of essays and magazine articles that Dr.Tyson has written over the years, where he lays out his arguments for the importance of space exploration. It's about more than visiting the moon, potentially visiting Mars etc.. Many of our greatest inventions and things we take for granted in our everyday life, comes from experiments and studies done for, or because of, the cosmos. I had no idea all of the inventions that came about from space exploration until I read this book!
I have taken a huge interest in the cosmos, the origins of life etc. recently and this book has to be up there with the best I have read. If you have ever heard Neil talk, I think you can agree that his way with words and storytelling sucks you right into whatever subject he is discussing and that very tactic is present in this book. He very easily explains to you very hard subject matter for the lay person to understand and does it with such wit and charm that there is no way that you can't just love the guy!
Space is the ultimate frontier for man; there are countless discoveries and journeys just waiting for us to grasp and we must not let the dream of space exploration become a thing of the past! Read this book!!!
March 17, 2012
I am a huge fan of NDT. I absolutely agree with basically everything I've heard him say on space and NASA. So I pretty much had to read this book just on general principle and in support of what he's doing.
That being said, I felt a little disappointed emotionally when reading this. I guess my expectations were too high. I would have devoured this as a teen, before starting at NASA. It is definitely geared toward the layman. Which is really as it should be. At the same time I didn't enjoy reading a rehash of basic physics and astronomy, and it gets repetitive at times.
All that being said, I think the content and overall message is fantastic. I found myself enjoying the very beginning and the final 3rd more than the other sections. (The book is organized into 3 parts: 1. How; 2. Why; 3. Why Not; and is largely a collection of NDT's previous writings and speeches regarding space).
I would whole-heartedly recommend this to those who have an interest in space but don't live it on a daily basis. For those who are well versed in NASA and astrophysics, I would recommend it with reservations.
That being said, I felt a little disappointed emotionally when reading this. I guess my expectations were too high. I would have devoured this as a teen, before starting at NASA. It is definitely geared toward the layman. Which is really as it should be. At the same time I didn't enjoy reading a rehash of basic physics and astronomy, and it gets repetitive at times.
All that being said, I think the content and overall message is fantastic. I found myself enjoying the very beginning and the final 3rd more than the other sections. (The book is organized into 3 parts: 1. How; 2. Why; 3. Why Not; and is largely a collection of NDT's previous writings and speeches regarding space).
I would whole-heartedly recommend this to those who have an interest in space but don't live it on a daily basis. For those who are well versed in NASA and astrophysics, I would recommend it with reservations.
January 24, 2016
This book tackles why space exploration is necessary now more than ever and the hurdles/triumphs of the ultimate frontier. The way Neil Degrasse Tyson writes is very readable to me. He has the ability to make some complicated subjects much more simple - which makes sense since he frequently calls himself an educator above all else.
The 'problem' with this book is that he constantly repeats himself throughout the book. I get it Neil, the space race was a byproduct of the Cold War. But I think the main reason for this religion is because the book is really made up of articles he had published in various magazines or transcripts of TV interviews or transcripts of speeches. There's only so many different ways to get across the same point. There is also a lot of lament of the current state of the space program but this book is a few years old so a lot of the great things happening today are completely absent.
The last 80 or so pages are appendices which cover things from funding data for different countries space programs and the complete NASA creation act from 1958. So this ends up being a very quick read.
The 'problem' with this book is that he constantly repeats himself throughout the book. I get it Neil, the space race was a byproduct of the Cold War. But I think the main reason for this religion is because the book is really made up of articles he had published in various magazines or transcripts of TV interviews or transcripts of speeches. There's only so many different ways to get across the same point. There is also a lot of lament of the current state of the space program but this book is a few years old so a lot of the great things happening today are completely absent.
The last 80 or so pages are appendices which cover things from funding data for different countries space programs and the complete NASA creation act from 1958. So this ends up being a very quick read.
June 26, 2015
Big stretch to give this 2 stars. I bought the book as I thought it would be about astronomy and astrophysics. It is not.
The book is a collection of essays and interviews with huge amounts of material repeated over and over. The primary subjects are NASA and the author's interest in manned space flight.
I was especially annoyed at the author's extreme exaggerations about consumer and health products we enjoy today that he asserts came from NASA research.
His main interest is promoting manned space flight because he feels it gets inner city kids to try harder in school. I would prefer that the money not be spent on manned space flight and instead be spent directly on improving inner city schools.
The book is a collection of essays and interviews with huge amounts of material repeated over and over. The primary subjects are NASA and the author's interest in manned space flight.
I was especially annoyed at the author's extreme exaggerations about consumer and health products we enjoy today that he asserts came from NASA research.
His main interest is promoting manned space flight because he feels it gets inner city kids to try harder in school. I would prefer that the money not be spent on manned space flight and instead be spent directly on improving inner city schools.
June 11, 2012
Neil deGrasse Tyson gives a good view of the past, current and future of space exploration. "Why, how and when" is thoroughly explained with an enthusiasm that is unparalleled. To be frank, I just really want to become an astronomer right now!
May 23, 2023
It's sad when you know the first landing on moon happened for the sake of politics and not out of space curiousity,
"Americans were not first on the Moon because we’re explorers by nature or because our country is committed to the pursuit of knowledge. We got to the Moon first because the United States was out to beat the Soviet Union, to win the Cold War any way we could."
"Like it or not, war (cold or hot) is the most powerful funding driver in the public arsenal. Lofty goals such as curiosity, discovery, exploration, and science can get you money for modest-size projects, provided they resonate with the political and cultural views of the moment."
"In all eras, across time and culture, only war, greed, and the celebration of royal or religious power have fulfilled that funding requirement."
"Americans were not first on the Moon because we’re explorers by nature or because our country is committed to the pursuit of knowledge. We got to the Moon first because the United States was out to beat the Soviet Union, to win the Cold War any way we could."
"Like it or not, war (cold or hot) is the most powerful funding driver in the public arsenal. Lofty goals such as curiosity, discovery, exploration, and science can get you money for modest-size projects, provided they resonate with the political and cultural views of the moment."
"In all eras, across time and culture, only war, greed, and the celebration of royal or religious power have fulfilled that funding requirement."
March 19, 2012
the great neil degrasse tyson, astrophysicist, director of the hayden planetarium, pbs/nova host, and ambassador to all sorts of interstellar and cosmic awesomeness, is also the author of nearly a dozen books. his newest, space chronicles: facing the ultimate frontier, is a collection of three dozen articles, speeches, and interviews (and even a poem!) previously published or delivered in public. divided into three main parts ("why," "how," and "why not"), space chronicles delves into a wide variety of topics and subtopics related to space exploration, the space program, and the science advanced by the two.
tyson, with the trademark wit and humor that has made him so beloved, expounds upon the importance of reinvigorating our national space program and advocates for increasing nasa's budget (from it's current and paltry halfpence on the tax dollar). he seeks these goals, not merely for the sake of exploration and discovery (important pursuits be they may), but instead to (re)foster a culture that shares a common dream of the future; one that inevitably results in new technologies, greater understanding, and an overall amelioration of the human species. tyson decries the decline of scientific literacy so prevalent in today's american society and contrasts it with other countries, whose own space programs are growing ever more focused and robust (there are now more scientifically literate citizens in china than there are college graduates in the united states).
neil degrasse tyson (host of the soon to be released sequel to carl sagan's epic miniseries cosmos) is anational galactic treasure. with infectious enthusiasm, reason, and humility, tyson is the epitome of the sort of teacher that every student deserves to have at the front of his or her science classroom. space chronicles, at the very least, will likely renew or strengthen the allure and enchantment of space exploration for its readers, and, perhaps, may just compel one to speak out as an advocate for bolstering the nasa budget, in the hopes of recommitting ourselves, as a nation, to the promise and wonder of the as yet uncharted frontiers overhead.
tyson, with the trademark wit and humor that has made him so beloved, expounds upon the importance of reinvigorating our national space program and advocates for increasing nasa's budget (from it's current and paltry halfpence on the tax dollar). he seeks these goals, not merely for the sake of exploration and discovery (important pursuits be they may), but instead to (re)foster a culture that shares a common dream of the future; one that inevitably results in new technologies, greater understanding, and an overall amelioration of the human species. tyson decries the decline of scientific literacy so prevalent in today's american society and contrasts it with other countries, whose own space programs are growing ever more focused and robust (there are now more scientifically literate citizens in china than there are college graduates in the united states).
when you visit other countries that don't nurture these kinds of ambitions, you can feel the absence of hope. owing to all manner of politics, economics, and geography, people are reduced to worrying only about that day's shelter or the next day's meal. it's a shame, even a tragedy, how many people do not get to think about the future. technology coupled with wise leadership not only solves these problems but enables dreams of tomorrow.space chronicles is accessible and digestible to anyone curious about recent astronomical developments, as tyson is adept at distilling the essence of even the most complex of subjects. this collection is rather light on the science (for those unnecessarily deterred by the often challenging nature of headier works), and instead finds tyson serving in his more familiar role of educator and diplomat to the stars. while there is some repetition to be found within these essays, articles, and speeches (as they were delivered to a range of audiences), it in no way detracts from the nature of tyson's message, and, in fact, only serves to reinforce the important points he attempts to convey. space chronicles also features eight fascinating appendices, six of which focus on the meager tax dollars apportioned to nasa each fiscal year (as percentage of gdp, as percentage of total government spending, in comparison to other nations, etc.) and two that offer the full texts of the nasa's policies as enacted by law (national aeronautics and space act of 1958 & selected statutory provisions applicable to nasa).
neil degrasse tyson (host of the soon to be released sequel to carl sagan's epic miniseries cosmos) is a
during our brief stay on planet earth, we ourselves and our descendants the opportunity to explore- in part because it's fun to do. but there's a far nobler reason. the day our knowledge of the cosmos ceases to expand, we risk regressing to the childish view that universe figuratively and literally revolves around us. in that bleak world, arms-bearing, resource-hungry people and nations would be prone to act on their "low contracted prejudices." and that would be the last gasp of human enlightenment- until the rise of a visionary new culture that could once again embrace the cosmic perspective.
April 2, 2017
Let me state at the outset that Dr. Tyson is one of my favorite Neils of all time, second only to Neil Young, but coming in well ahead of Neils Sedaka, Diamond and “from the Young Ones.” My regular enjoyment of his podcast Star Talk will be in no way diminished by my disappointment in this book, because this isn’t actually a book.
It looks like a book. It’s got a a bunch of pages between a pair of covers and it has an ISBN number and everything, so legally speaking, it probably IS a book. But it’s not a book in the sense that he developed a series of accreting concepts over the course of 200 pages to express a complex idea or set of ideas that those 200 pages all built toward. No, it’s a collection of essays and articles written for a variety of publications. Each one of those essays and articles is self-contained and does not build and expand upon the ideas expressed in the earlier chapters. And, much like me when I’ve been drinking or writing book reviews, they mostly just say the same thing over and over.
And what he says over and over is kind of dull and, like most dull things, gets even duller upon repetition. Because this is not a book about science. It’s primarily about public policy and science funding, which is orders of magnitude less interesting than science. This is not akin to A Brief History of Time or Tyson’s own Cosmos reboot (or Carl Sagan’s original) in which a brilliant astrophysicist explains the fascinating details of how the universe works in terms that us regular folks can understand, even if we can’t do the math. It’s a little closer to sitting through a Congressional budget meeting.
Tyson mostly makes a plea for increased funding of space exploration, specifically manned (or womanned) space missions, and particularly especially specifically, a mission to Mars. He also occasionally makes the case that we ought to invest in defending ourselves from meteors, because he knows a lot of people don’t give a lab rat’s ass about Mars and space but most of us would prefer to avoid a fiery armageddon at the hands of an errant comet.
But while the potential consequences of a meteor strike are devastating, the probability of a really big one occurring any time in the next 1000 years are very very close to 0%. On the other hand, threats such as climate change and antibiotic resistant bacteria have just as much potential to end or severely disrupt human civilization, but, in contrast, have a nearly 100% chance of doing so some time in the next 1000 years if we do nothing to alter the course we are on. That’s not to say that we are necessarily doomed. I have some faith in human ingenuity. But they are effectively giant metaphoric meteors heading right for us, that we have already identified as being on a collision course. The clock is already ticking. This is not a drill. But Tyson would prefer to focus on hypothetical (but not metaphoric) meteors that are very unlikely to threaten us any time soon.
There’s a reason he wants to focus on meteor detection and missions to Mars: He’s an astrophysicist. That’s precisely where his expertise lies. Addressing climate change doesn’t involve his particular brand of know-how. It requires brilliant economists and public policy experts, and the daunting, unsexy task of modifying the collective behavior of the human species. Implementing an internationally accepted carbon tax isn’t as exciting as building a humongous space laser to obliterate incoming giant rocks. When you are holding a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. When you are holding advanced degrees in astrophysics, the problems addressed by doing something with rockets are more obvious than the ones addressed by behavioral economics.
If you haven’t done so already, you should immediately check out Star Talk. When Dr. Neil is talking about science and not science policy, it’s always a fascinating trip. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
It looks like a book. It’s got a a bunch of pages between a pair of covers and it has an ISBN number and everything, so legally speaking, it probably IS a book. But it’s not a book in the sense that he developed a series of accreting concepts over the course of 200 pages to express a complex idea or set of ideas that those 200 pages all built toward. No, it’s a collection of essays and articles written for a variety of publications. Each one of those essays and articles is self-contained and does not build and expand upon the ideas expressed in the earlier chapters. And, much like me when I’ve been drinking or writing book reviews, they mostly just say the same thing over and over.
And what he says over and over is kind of dull and, like most dull things, gets even duller upon repetition. Because this is not a book about science. It’s primarily about public policy and science funding, which is orders of magnitude less interesting than science. This is not akin to A Brief History of Time or Tyson’s own Cosmos reboot (or Carl Sagan’s original) in which a brilliant astrophysicist explains the fascinating details of how the universe works in terms that us regular folks can understand, even if we can’t do the math. It’s a little closer to sitting through a Congressional budget meeting.
Tyson mostly makes a plea for increased funding of space exploration, specifically manned (or womanned) space missions, and particularly especially specifically, a mission to Mars. He also occasionally makes the case that we ought to invest in defending ourselves from meteors, because he knows a lot of people don’t give a lab rat’s ass about Mars and space but most of us would prefer to avoid a fiery armageddon at the hands of an errant comet.
But while the potential consequences of a meteor strike are devastating, the probability of a really big one occurring any time in the next 1000 years are very very close to 0%. On the other hand, threats such as climate change and antibiotic resistant bacteria have just as much potential to end or severely disrupt human civilization, but, in contrast, have a nearly 100% chance of doing so some time in the next 1000 years if we do nothing to alter the course we are on. That’s not to say that we are necessarily doomed. I have some faith in human ingenuity. But they are effectively giant metaphoric meteors heading right for us, that we have already identified as being on a collision course. The clock is already ticking. This is not a drill. But Tyson would prefer to focus on hypothetical (but not metaphoric) meteors that are very unlikely to threaten us any time soon.
There’s a reason he wants to focus on meteor detection and missions to Mars: He’s an astrophysicist. That’s precisely where his expertise lies. Addressing climate change doesn’t involve his particular brand of know-how. It requires brilliant economists and public policy experts, and the daunting, unsexy task of modifying the collective behavior of the human species. Implementing an internationally accepted carbon tax isn’t as exciting as building a humongous space laser to obliterate incoming giant rocks. When you are holding a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. When you are holding advanced degrees in astrophysics, the problems addressed by doing something with rockets are more obvious than the ones addressed by behavioral economics.
If you haven’t done so already, you should immediately check out Star Talk. When Dr. Neil is talking about science and not science policy, it’s always a fascinating trip. Sit back and enjoy the ride.
August 21, 2019
The book is very awesome.
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