Supermassive: Black Holes at the Beginning and End of the Universe

by James Trefil, Shobita Satyapal

A luminous introduction to black holes, the scientific quest to understand them, and their influence on our universe for readers of Michio Kaku's The God Equation

Perfect for space enthusiasts seeking a deeper understanding of one of the most mysterious cosmic objects

Led by physicist James Trefil and astrophysicist Shobita Satyapal, this book traverses the incredible history of black holes and introduces contemporary developments and theories on still unanswered questions about the enigmatic objects. From the early work of Albert Einstein and Karl Schwarzschild to an insider look at black hole-galaxy connection research led by co-author Satyapa, the comprehensive book surveys an exciting and evolving branch of space science, with topics that

Visibility of black holesQuasars, the brightest objects in the universeThe black hole at the center of the Milky WayPopular theories on the origin of black holesCosmic X raysDeath of supermassivesBlack hole collisionsBlack holes in science fiction
Invisible to the naked eye and telescopes, black holes have mystified and entranced astronomers, scientists, and humanity for more than a century. The first image of a supermassive black hole was only unveiled in 2019, and new black holes are continually discovered. Supermassive illuminates what we know about black holes so far and what we have yet to uncover.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Space, Physics, History, Astronomy, Audiobook

256 pages, Hardcover

Published March 4, 2025

Reviews

[Sud666 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dr. Trefil has written a superb book. He is able to take incredibly complex ideas and explain they in a very simple and understandable fashion that no background in physics is necessary to understand them. That is certainly a feat considering this is about some of the most complex ideas in physics, Black Holes.

This book covers everything you'd like to know about Black Holes, from how they were found, to how the theories on them work, to what kinds of Black Holes there are out in the universe. Along the way, concepts in Newtonian, Special Realtivity, and Quantum Theory are all phenomenally explained so that laymen can understand and grasp these complex ideas.

Bereft of complex math, this is a book for people who are deeply interested in Black Holes. On top of the fascinating and understandable explanations, Dr. Trefil also points out certain aspects of the theories that haven't yet been proven and is never shy about saying "This isn't know yet". I appreciate that honesty and I think this is a superb science book that should be read by anyone who appreciates a good book on science.

[David Lenz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this. It’s a pretty good overview of what the world of astrophysics looks like beyond the classical Newtonian physics many of us were taught in high school in the 90s. Discusses a lot of things we’ve come to learn, and arguably even more interesting, the things we don’t quite understand. The book could DEFINITELY use a better editor, there were glaring copy errors in almost every chapter. But if you can look past that, it’s worth the read. The book touches on Quantum Mechanics, but I’d be interested in a similar book to this that dives more into that topic, if anyone has any recommendations.

[Kyle Lisowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some understanding of Astrophysics most likely needed, but nothing extensive to comprehend this book. High quality information, given for each chapter. I feel as though 4/5 of the book doesn’t specifically talk about black holes, but other related topics.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is ground covered here regarding black holes, astrophysics, and the cosmos that I have read before, but I cannot recall it being presented in a such a concise and easily digested format. Complex ideas are simplified as necessary and explored thoroughly, but not belabored. Each idea and chapter builds upon the preceding linearly, and historical context is added without unnecessary detours from the subject at hand in a way that is perfect for my attention-strained 21st century mind. I found the section on quantum strings and entanglement to be the best presentation of those ideas that I have read. I came dangerously close to wrapping my mind around those concepts. Alas, I am an undereducated dumbass so my grasp is still shaky, but damn, I was really close to getting the information to click into place permanently.

TLDR: This book presents some of the most complex ideas in the universe at an enjoyable pace and in terms accessible for the layperson.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was definitely more intense and complex than my previous Trefil reads, but the wit and humor that I have come to associate with his writing was ever-present, along with some familiar examples and explanations of scientific laws and phenomena. I was curious and wanted to learn more about this topic, so I worked hard to focus on the complexities.
I thoroughly enjoyed how the current work with black holes was pieced together through scientific discoveries over the ages. Each new piece of the puzzle discovered, tested, and explained was fascinating.
Once I made it through the first few chapters of laws and theories, I was hooked and eager to read and learn more.
However, I was somewhat disappointed as I got deeper into the book. There were several missing-word errors and typos throughout the book. It had some really interesting information and history on the subject of black holes, but it wasn’t as enjoyable overall to read as Trefil's previous books. It was even a bit dry and difficult to engage with at times.

[Marco · Rating 2 out of 5]

This would make a great lecture. A book? Not so much. Astrophysicists, I'm convinced, don't know how to write for the layperson. In fact, the authors of "Supermassive: Black Holes at the Beginning and End of the Universe" lament being questioned about the theories they posit or how formulations can simply be "best guesses".

To which, in this climate where science is suffering a PR problem, this book doesn't do much to calm the dissent masses. I could glean some information that was interesting, this idea of black holes forming for billions of years, their singularity at their center where physics breaks down, how every galaxy we see, including our Milky Way, has a supermassive one at the center. But then authors James Trefil and Shobita Satyapal go into electrons, gravitational waves, string theory and get off track rather quickly. I think in their minds they can see it tying all in to the main focus of black holes, but a typical reader probably can't.

The most interesting parts, that I still couldn't see tying in, were in the last fourth of the book on the collapse of our Universe. While frightening, it presented this natural process of our universe's expansion, how we'll collide with the Andromeda galaxy billions of years from now, how dark matter will possibly stretch our celestial neighbors so far away we won't see them anymore. Nevermind our sun is a burning fuel machine that will either scorch or consume the Earth in a few billion years anyway and collapse into a black hole itself.

There are a few interesting theories that The Big Bang possibly occurs over and over again or how its foil The Big Crunch, in which all of the Universe collapses back, might see the demise of matter, but nothing definite.

It's interesting, but for easy explanatory purposes you might be better off watching an animated YouTube video to get a better grasp of the information. I found myself skipping sections either because it was too jargon-heavy for my liking or went off into other parts of science that has been discussed before and I didn't see connecting to the main topic.

[Augusto Bernardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great, I feel like I'm up to date with the latest physics. Of course not, I do feel like it. And I must say that we still don't know most of the stuff we didn't know a few years earlier. Dark matter, Dark energy, origins of super massive black holes, the singularity, the information paradox and finally, the end of the universe. I must say that this book was PERFECTLY presented. The author (authors) of this book did an amazing job of summarizing the book for idiots like myself that don't have the vaguest understanding of the physics or math required to understand any of this. Nonetheless, it is quite fun to imagine these vast concepts like, quasars, spiraling black holes that created a gravitational wave and spaghetification. I would highly recommend this book to people that are interested in the subject as it gives quick, perfectly packaged summaries of each topic.
For now, I think I'll give this sort of thing a bit of a rest now since I don't think I'll be in need for major updates.

[Mary Usufzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm biased since I teach physics/astro but I loved this book :)

Trefil takes the reader on a journey through the cosmos, explaining the origins of black holes and the science behind Einstein's theory of reality. He also talks about different telescopes and interferometers (like LIGO and LISA) that have been built (or will be built) to understand gravitational waves in space. Finally, he talks about quasars and potential theories of Hawking radiation that will lead to the vanishing of black holes and the end of the universe.

I liked the analogies used in this book and even if you're not well versed in these topics about physics and astronomy, the author explains them at a really great level. That being said, it still took a while to get through, because it's so dense and full of information lol

Overall, an interesting book.

[Evan Kostelka · Rating 5 out of 5]

the authors do a great job of explaining the history of science relating to black holes. a few of the chapters got a little more in-depth and tough to follow for the lay reader. in the ends, I come away with a good understanding of where the current scientific community is on black holes and overall possible future of the universe. some interesting take aways include: every Galaxy they study there is a supermassive black hole at the center, they even see supermassive black holes in the center of galaxies about 450 million years after the big bank, and there is a big gap in the catalog of black holes. there are super massive and there are " smaller " ones but not any medium size.

[Kalyan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book! The language is simple and accessible, making complex concepts easy to understand. I found it fascinating and engaging, and I’m looking forward to rereading it. As always, I gained clarity on a few concepts and learned new things along the way.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in this genre. The chapters are well-structured, guiding the reader seamlessly through the subject matter, all the way to the latest discoveries with the James Webb Space Telescope.

Overall, an excellent read!

[Christa Court · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book but it really needed another round (or multiple rounds) of copyediting before release. The topics were interesting and generally well explained in simple terminology for non-astrophysicists but typos, repetitive sentences, and grammatical errors throughout (sometimes several on one page) make you wonder if the same lack of attention to detail occurred in the summarization of the science. I hope a new edition in the future will resolve this problem and summarize new discoveries from JWST alluded to in the epilogue at the same time!

[Tania · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really love books on black holes and this is a new favorite.

Right up there with Marcia Bartusiak’s “Black Hole”, Paul M. Sutter’s “How to Die In Space”, Kate Howells, “Space is Cool as F*ck”, Becky Smethhurst’s “A Brief History of Black Holes” , Chris Impey’s “Einstein’s Monsters: The Life and Times of Black Holes”, Alex Filippenko’s “Black Holes Explained”, Brian Cox’s “Black Holes” and finally Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Death by Blackhole” ….like I said I love books on black holes!

[Alex Shrugged · Rating 4 out of 5]

This audiobook focuses on black holes and pulsars at first. It also gets into some science history. All in all it is about various space program projects and their results as they search for evidence of black holes and specifically the supermassive black hole at the center of galaxies including out own.

I'd be glad to read this book again.

[Winter Briscoe Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazingly captivating and thorough presentation of the astrophysical landscape right now. Very up to date information. Great for all audiences. Potentially a tad overwhelming for a complete novice on the subject but I would still recommend. Only downside is a boggling amount of typos. Every other page has one. Have to think the publication was rushed.

[Ian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will continue reading books about black holes till I understand them.