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The Essential Book of Black Holes: Master the Mysteries of Black Holes in 12 Short Chapters
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
May 6, 2026
Starting with the history of scientific research and moving on to the current state of the art, the author uses a minimal number of formulas and fairly clear language. Of course, the subject matter is certainly not easy, and I’m no astrophysicist, but the illustrations and photos—some of which have been retouched—are beautiful.
Partendo dalla storia della ricerca scientifica per arrivare all'attuale stato dell'arte, l'autore usa un minimo di formule e parole piuttosto chiare. Certo l'argomento non é certo facile e io non sono un'astrofisica, peró i disegni e le foto piú o meno rielaborate, sono bellissimi.
I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.
Partendo dalla storia della ricerca scientifica per arrivare all'attuale stato dell'arte, l'autore usa un minimo di formule e parole piuttosto chiare. Certo l'argomento non é certo facile e io non sono un'astrofisica, peró i disegni e le foto piú o meno rielaborate, sono bellissimi.
I received from the Publisher a complimentary digital advanced review copy of the book in exchange for a honest review.
May 11, 2026
At 159 pages and 12 chapters, "The Essential Book of Black Holes" is a literary black hole: deceptively small, absurdly dense, and liable to warp your sense of time until “I’ll just read a few pages” becomes “where did my evening go?”
If you’ve ever wanted a NASA astronomer to sit you down and explain black holes without making your brain perform quantum tunneling, this is it. Sten Odenwald walks you through gravity, quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, and even the holographic principle in bite-sized chunks that hit harder than a collapsing star. The language is accessible, which is impressive given the subject matter and slightly suspicious given how much you suddenly think you understand.
The format helps with the illusion of safety: 12 short chapters, full color, pretty illustrations, and a neat foil-stamped hardback in the print edition—like a friendly brochure for the end of spacetime. Each chapter is compact enough to read on a commute, but information-dense enough that your neurons may demand hazard pay. It’s marketed as a “pocket volume,” which is appropriate, because it will happily consume every spare pocket of free time you have.
As an introduction, it’s almost suspiciously good: clear explanations, focused scope, and just enough cosmological mind-bending to make you question reality without needing a support group. If you’re black-hole-curious and want a fun, manageable plunge into the abyss, this is a stellar gateway drug to modern astrophysics—compact, colourful, and with a gravitational pull that far exceeds its modest 159 pages.
If you’ve ever wanted a NASA astronomer to sit you down and explain black holes without making your brain perform quantum tunneling, this is it. Sten Odenwald walks you through gravity, quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, and even the holographic principle in bite-sized chunks that hit harder than a collapsing star. The language is accessible, which is impressive given the subject matter and slightly suspicious given how much you suddenly think you understand.
The format helps with the illusion of safety: 12 short chapters, full color, pretty illustrations, and a neat foil-stamped hardback in the print edition—like a friendly brochure for the end of spacetime. Each chapter is compact enough to read on a commute, but information-dense enough that your neurons may demand hazard pay. It’s marketed as a “pocket volume,” which is appropriate, because it will happily consume every spare pocket of free time you have.
As an introduction, it’s almost suspiciously good: clear explanations, focused scope, and just enough cosmological mind-bending to make you question reality without needing a support group. If you’re black-hole-curious and want a fun, manageable plunge into the abyss, this is a stellar gateway drug to modern astrophysics—compact, colourful, and with a gravitational pull that far exceeds its modest 159 pages.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews