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The Origins of Everything in 100 Pages
Covering 13.8 billion years in some 100 pages, a calculatedly concise, wryly intelligent history of everything, from the Big Bang to the advent of human civilization
With wonder, wit, and flair—and in record time and space—geophysicist David Bercovici explains how everything came to be everywhere, from the creation of stars and galaxies to the formation of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, to the origin of life and human civilization. Bercovici marries humor and legitimate scientific intrigue, rocketing readers across nearly fourteen billion years and making connections between the essential theories that give us our current understanding of topics as varied as particle physics, plate tectonics, and photosynthesis. Bercovici’s unique literary endeavor is a treasure trove of real, compelling science and fascinating history, providing both science lovers and complete neophytes with an unforgettable introduction to the fields of cosmology, geology, genetics, climate science, human evolution, and more.
With wonder, wit, and flair—and in record time and space—geophysicist David Bercovici explains how everything came to be everywhere, from the creation of stars and galaxies to the formation of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, to the origin of life and human civilization. Bercovici marries humor and legitimate scientific intrigue, rocketing readers across nearly fourteen billion years and making connections between the essential theories that give us our current understanding of topics as varied as particle physics, plate tectonics, and photosynthesis. Bercovici’s unique literary endeavor is a treasure trove of real, compelling science and fascinating history, providing both science lovers and complete neophytes with an unforgettable introduction to the fields of cosmology, geology, genetics, climate science, human evolution, and more.
152 pages, Hardcover
First published November 22, 2016
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
April 10, 2023
I've read some books about the origins of everything and this one was my least favorite. He focused on some aspects, and left others out, for example, he spoke lots about plate tectonics, but not so much about complex life.
April 26, 2017
This is one of my favorite books of all time. It has everything:
-the creation of the universe, its stars, black holes, and galaxies
-the creation and inner workings of our volcanic planet
-the birth of the first cells (vents and RNA world)
-how convection runs *everything* (he love convection and so will you!)
-how tectonic plates are the best thing on Earth (and in his opinion maybe the best thing in the entire universe)
-how plates, human action, volcanoes, convection, and other factors affect climate change.
- one of the best primers on biology 101/ biochem 101 (photosynthesis and aerobic respiration; atmospheric oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, phosphorus; *Sugars and fats, reduction of carbon, hydrocarbon, fossil fuels <-- exceptional!!!*)
One of the best things about this book was that it focused so heavily on climate. If you want to know about climate change, ask a geologist because you will always get the most complete information possible. LOVE, LOVE, LOVED his focus on climate.
Bercovici really does try to give a history of *everything* that makes the universe, and subsequently our world and the life upon it, work. Somehow in only 152 pages, he provided rich scientific detail (the nitty gritty) *and* sweeping overviews of how everything works together. The entire time I was reading, I kept saying, "Where was this book when I wanted to learn all of this?!" This is the book I had searched for over a many year period but never found. I find it shocking how much ground he covered in 152 pages.
The book started out with the formation of the universe and all the usual suspects; the discovery of the Big Bang and how inflation could account for the unified temp, discovery of the cosmic background radiation, various phase transitions that led to the construction of matter (e-mc2). What was not as usual was this authors fabulous discussion of proton-proton reaction v. the CNO cycle while discussing the fusion process of elements. I remember feeling really disappointed by the omission of these processes in other books. I was really surprised that it was in a short history of everything. So great! Though, any reader who wants an in depth discussion of the PP chain and CNO cycle will still have to do more research.
Bercovici laid out an extremely easy to understand, very relatable, and wonderfully organized discussion on the size of stars and their ability to make various elements. Really nice introduction for anyone who is new to fusion energy (outward push) and gravitational energy (inward pull) that works as the stars engines to create the heat and energy needed to turn the hydrogen of the Big Bang into helium, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, lead, and even heavier elements.
Another surprising aspect of this book was Bercovici's attention to our solar system formation. One of the best and most comprehensive discussions I have come across to date. I would have liked more about brown dwarfs, but that is just a personal preference. Once he introduced the planets, that is when his real love of plates, convection, and weather patterns really shined. The rest of the book was reminiscent of Nick Lane's books Life Ascending, only this was shorter and more relatable to the general public. Bercovici did an expert job of painting the big picture of life formation: Tectonic plates recombine minerals and provide conditions at vents for the molecules of life to emerge, the feedback loop in which life continually changes the atmosphere so that more and more complex life can evolve, what various factors might affect the survival of some or all of the species on Earth, and whether or not these changes will affect the survival of Earth itself. Nothing short of spectacular!
(As an aside, despite having taken geology courses, having read many books and articles about geology, and watching lectures and videos, I somehow did not realize it took 2 billion years to make the crust of Earth. I was so happy to have learned something new and it made me wonder if I simply wasn't paying attention before or if this is something I had truly never been taught.)
It is worth putting one of Bercovici's central messages in this review. He made one of the most clear and simple arguments about human contribution to global warming that I have ever read. I remember attending a lecture in which my geology prof explained global warming in a way I had not understood it before. He talked about all the natural contributors to global warming and the human's part in it. I really got it in a way I didn't even know I was not getting before that lecture. Bercovici's discussion was even better than that! Water is a greenhouse gas. So is methane. So why are we not worried about rising levels of water and methane as much as we are worried about the other greenhouse gas, carbon? It is, according to Bercovici, because when too much water makes it way into the atmosphere, it will simply rain down. If too little water is in the atmosphere, it will simply be evaporated upward. The atmosphere self regulates on a *very* quick time scale. And thus, we will always have about the right amount of water to absorb the right amount of sun to keep our planet at the right temp for us to thrive. If too much methane is released into the atmosphere, it will (if it's not overwhelming) react with oxygen. Right now, the levels of methane are such that oxygen can react them away and it's not a major problem in the way carbon dioxide is. Volcanoes and other openings in the earth release carbon. Humans contribute to the release of carbon with their machines cars, factories, etc, which release carbon dioxide as a waste product. When too much carbon is in the atmosphere, it will not rain down, it will not react away. To get rid of it, trees and plants can only take so much. And, they are *not* the main absorbers of carbon! The ocean is! What is more, the oceans can and will regulate, the way we see the atmosphere regulate water, but on a time scale of *millions* of years. We cannot wait for the natural regulation of carbon. We won't survive it. The Earth will, but we will certainly not. (He also could not resist making plate tectonics the hero of keeping climate stable:)
I didn't love the "humans are special" message at the end of the book, but it was in the name of trying to get humans to understand the action they need to take concerning climate change, which is a worthy reason to appeal to the narcissist inside us that wants to be special.
-the creation of the universe, its stars, black holes, and galaxies
-the creation and inner workings of our volcanic planet
-the birth of the first cells (vents and RNA world)
-how convection runs *everything* (he love convection and so will you!)
-how tectonic plates are the best thing on Earth (and in his opinion maybe the best thing in the entire universe)
-how plates, human action, volcanoes, convection, and other factors affect climate change.
- one of the best primers on biology 101/ biochem 101 (photosynthesis and aerobic respiration; atmospheric oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, phosphorus; *Sugars and fats, reduction of carbon, hydrocarbon, fossil fuels <-- exceptional!!!*)
One of the best things about this book was that it focused so heavily on climate. If you want to know about climate change, ask a geologist because you will always get the most complete information possible. LOVE, LOVE, LOVED his focus on climate.
Bercovici really does try to give a history of *everything* that makes the universe, and subsequently our world and the life upon it, work. Somehow in only 152 pages, he provided rich scientific detail (the nitty gritty) *and* sweeping overviews of how everything works together. The entire time I was reading, I kept saying, "Where was this book when I wanted to learn all of this?!" This is the book I had searched for over a many year period but never found. I find it shocking how much ground he covered in 152 pages.
The book started out with the formation of the universe and all the usual suspects; the discovery of the Big Bang and how inflation could account for the unified temp, discovery of the cosmic background radiation, various phase transitions that led to the construction of matter (e-mc2). What was not as usual was this authors fabulous discussion of proton-proton reaction v. the CNO cycle while discussing the fusion process of elements. I remember feeling really disappointed by the omission of these processes in other books. I was really surprised that it was in a short history of everything. So great! Though, any reader who wants an in depth discussion of the PP chain and CNO cycle will still have to do more research.
Bercovici laid out an extremely easy to understand, very relatable, and wonderfully organized discussion on the size of stars and their ability to make various elements. Really nice introduction for anyone who is new to fusion energy (outward push) and gravitational energy (inward pull) that works as the stars engines to create the heat and energy needed to turn the hydrogen of the Big Bang into helium, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, lead, and even heavier elements.
Another surprising aspect of this book was Bercovici's attention to our solar system formation. One of the best and most comprehensive discussions I have come across to date. I would have liked more about brown dwarfs, but that is just a personal preference. Once he introduced the planets, that is when his real love of plates, convection, and weather patterns really shined. The rest of the book was reminiscent of Nick Lane's books Life Ascending, only this was shorter and more relatable to the general public. Bercovici did an expert job of painting the big picture of life formation: Tectonic plates recombine minerals and provide conditions at vents for the molecules of life to emerge, the feedback loop in which life continually changes the atmosphere so that more and more complex life can evolve, what various factors might affect the survival of some or all of the species on Earth, and whether or not these changes will affect the survival of Earth itself. Nothing short of spectacular!
(As an aside, despite having taken geology courses, having read many books and articles about geology, and watching lectures and videos, I somehow did not realize it took 2 billion years to make the crust of Earth. I was so happy to have learned something new and it made me wonder if I simply wasn't paying attention before or if this is something I had truly never been taught.)
It is worth putting one of Bercovici's central messages in this review. He made one of the most clear and simple arguments about human contribution to global warming that I have ever read. I remember attending a lecture in which my geology prof explained global warming in a way I had not understood it before. He talked about all the natural contributors to global warming and the human's part in it. I really got it in a way I didn't even know I was not getting before that lecture. Bercovici's discussion was even better than that! Water is a greenhouse gas. So is methane. So why are we not worried about rising levels of water and methane as much as we are worried about the other greenhouse gas, carbon? It is, according to Bercovici, because when too much water makes it way into the atmosphere, it will simply rain down. If too little water is in the atmosphere, it will simply be evaporated upward. The atmosphere self regulates on a *very* quick time scale. And thus, we will always have about the right amount of water to absorb the right amount of sun to keep our planet at the right temp for us to thrive. If too much methane is released into the atmosphere, it will (if it's not overwhelming) react with oxygen. Right now, the levels of methane are such that oxygen can react them away and it's not a major problem in the way carbon dioxide is. Volcanoes and other openings in the earth release carbon. Humans contribute to the release of carbon with their machines cars, factories, etc, which release carbon dioxide as a waste product. When too much carbon is in the atmosphere, it will not rain down, it will not react away. To get rid of it, trees and plants can only take so much. And, they are *not* the main absorbers of carbon! The ocean is! What is more, the oceans can and will regulate, the way we see the atmosphere regulate water, but on a time scale of *millions* of years. We cannot wait for the natural regulation of carbon. We won't survive it. The Earth will, but we will certainly not. (He also could not resist making plate tectonics the hero of keeping climate stable:)
I didn't love the "humans are special" message at the end of the book, but it was in the name of trying to get humans to understand the action they need to take concerning climate change, which is a worthy reason to appeal to the narcissist inside us that wants to be special.
September 24, 2016
It has been suggested that Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon is “has more information per unit volume than any other object in this universe”. Stephenson, I fear, will now have to cede the title to this thin brainy volume.
If you stuff this volume into the back pocket of your blue jeans, the sheer weight of its brainpower might yank the fabric out of the rivets. Downloading it may render your portable smart devices unportable, but perhaps smart enough to pass the Turing test.
Even though I occasionally had to move my lips while reading this book, I only had to look up one word in this book: “exsolve” (Kindle location 889). It means “to separate or precipitate from a solid crystalline phase”, according to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary.
I try to keep a mental list of great unanswered scientific questions in the back of my mind, so, if I see a popular media article about it, I might remember that this question is actually worth paying attention to. Here is a list of scientific mysteries mentioned in this book:
– The reversal of orientation of the earth's magnetic poles (i.e., today's negative was once positive, etc.)
– Earth is unique among planets in that it has plate tectonics, those big chunks of the planet moving and shifting, causing earthquakes, mountains, etc.
– Earth's moon is unusually large, its interior composition is unusual, and the manner of its creation is a matter of debate.
– Venus has a “slow and odd rotation” (location 1127).
– The origin of life (“one of the Holy Grails, and still one of the great unanswered questions of natural science” (location 1445)).
– “… how photosynthesis works is still an active area of research...” (location 1570).
– “There are many hypotheses about the origin of bipedialism...” (location 1738).
In summary, although this is a very readable (and short) popular science book, it still requires a lot of concentration to read. Why not challenge yourself? Your lips could use the exercise.
Thanks to Yale University Press and Netgalley for an uncorrected advance electronic copy of this book.
If you stuff this volume into the back pocket of your blue jeans, the sheer weight of its brainpower might yank the fabric out of the rivets. Downloading it may render your portable smart devices unportable, but perhaps smart enough to pass the Turing test.
Even though I occasionally had to move my lips while reading this book, I only had to look up one word in this book: “exsolve” (Kindle location 889). It means “to separate or precipitate from a solid crystalline phase”, according to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary.
I try to keep a mental list of great unanswered scientific questions in the back of my mind, so, if I see a popular media article about it, I might remember that this question is actually worth paying attention to. Here is a list of scientific mysteries mentioned in this book:
– The reversal of orientation of the earth's magnetic poles (i.e., today's negative was once positive, etc.)
– Earth is unique among planets in that it has plate tectonics, those big chunks of the planet moving and shifting, causing earthquakes, mountains, etc.
– Earth's moon is unusually large, its interior composition is unusual, and the manner of its creation is a matter of debate.
– Venus has a “slow and odd rotation” (location 1127).
– The origin of life (“one of the Holy Grails, and still one of the great unanswered questions of natural science” (location 1445)).
– “… how photosynthesis works is still an active area of research...” (location 1570).
– “There are many hypotheses about the origin of bipedialism...” (location 1738).
In summary, although this is a very readable (and short) popular science book, it still requires a lot of concentration to read. Why not challenge yourself? Your lips could use the exercise.
Thanks to Yale University Press and Netgalley for an uncorrected advance electronic copy of this book.
July 9, 2021
This was a really good overview of the formation of our universe to our evolution. It explains a lot of common concepts in a very readable, understandable format. Great as an introduction to them all & probably understandable even by preteens & fundamentalists. Very well narrated & highly recommended even just as a review.
July 25, 2018
This stuff is fascinating. I think the author makes a great job at explaining everything.
March 27, 2018
Good, high quality, but with limited narrativity and was boring for wide swaths at a time. It would have been more interesting if I was more inherently interested in geology or astrophysics. Still, it's good to have a fairly elementary grasp of the formation of local, stellar, and interstellar structures that may be relevant to the formation of life like ours. it's good to know what planetary forces and cycles are in play that can radically impact the survival of our species. Also, makes one of the most compelling arguments I've ever heard for stopping climate change, in the description of our species as an ice age creature (comparing earth's current temperature ranges with historical norms) and relating our primary mechanism of cooling down (heat exchange through evaporation of sweat rather than oral heat exchange through panting) being impossible in different atmospheric conditions. No one has ever posed climate change as 'Hey, how would you like to sweat to death?' until now.
September 2, 2019
It turns out that the randomly choosen book is unexpectadly fascinating and interesting. "The Origins of Everything" is a great example of above. Although book is very short (for telling 14-billions-years old history), its content is hard to understand and digest because of wide scientific approaches such as physics, biology, geology, paleontology, etc. Nevertheless, David Bercovici has done an excellent afford to clearly and interestingly explain the origins of Universe, planets and life. Afterwards, book has left some undescribable interest in reading a detailed information about related topics.
April 3, 2017
Written by a geophysicist this book is at its most perceptive and interesting when its subjects are least interesting ... lots about plate tectonics, not so much about complex life.
June 20, 2018
I thought this would be more humankind and the origin of stuff and lees about physics.
#38. A science book or a science fiction book
#38. A science book or a science fiction book
January 14, 2021
A great summary of 4 years worth of geography, physics, chemistry and biology schoolbooks.
January 10, 2026
though it's a short insight in the origins of everything. it's also at times very dense and theoretical with complicated terms. Which for me made it hard to keep reading. Also this book focuses a lot on plate tectonics and geological origins (not that weird if you consider that the writer is a geophysicist) but it does teach some very interesting things about our universe and our little blue planet that makes you wonder and get philosophical.
November 4, 2016
Have you ever wanted to know more about things? Are you interested in science and not sure where to start? Do you want to know the origins of everything in 100 pages (more or less)? Well if you said yes to one or all of those questions then this is the book for you! I really enjoyed this book. It is no secret that I love science. I love learning. This book was 100% my cup of tea. This book isn't for the casual one sit reader. The topics in this book need read slowly and with breaks so that you can ponder. If that sounds like something you would like then give this book a try!
November 23, 2016
Princess Fuzzypants here:
I am a cat. I am a very intelligent cat but I am still a cat. I own humans who are quite frankly not all that scientifically inclined. We all enjoy science but more on a "pop" level than anything too detailed. Our eyes cross when we get confused.
I say this upfront because I am so glad that I stuck with this book even when I was bogged down by the early chapters about the making of the universe. I guess I am earth-centric but I started to be able to sort through the science better once we got to Earth. I realize that this book transverses the no man's land between scientific scholars and the masses. We are solidly in the masses when it comes to science.
Still, the book was enlightening, entertaining and thought provoking. I especially enjoyed the parts about plate techtonics because I understand techtonics.
If you are looking for a light and easy read- a Reader's Digest guide to the Universe, this is not your book. It takes time and patience but there is a pay-off. I am glad I didn't give up when I got bogged down. I give this four purrs and two paws up.
I am a cat. I am a very intelligent cat but I am still a cat. I own humans who are quite frankly not all that scientifically inclined. We all enjoy science but more on a "pop" level than anything too detailed. Our eyes cross when we get confused.
I say this upfront because I am so glad that I stuck with this book even when I was bogged down by the early chapters about the making of the universe. I guess I am earth-centric but I started to be able to sort through the science better once we got to Earth. I realize that this book transverses the no man's land between scientific scholars and the masses. We are solidly in the masses when it comes to science.
Still, the book was enlightening, entertaining and thought provoking. I especially enjoyed the parts about plate techtonics because I understand techtonics.
If you are looking for a light and easy read- a Reader's Digest guide to the Universe, this is not your book. It takes time and patience but there is a pay-off. I am glad I didn't give up when I got bogged down. I give this four purrs and two paws up.
November 4, 2021
I'm starting to realize that I like listening to non-fiction audiobooks about space and (some) physics, even though I'm also the first to admit that maybe that isn't the best way to actually absorb or understand the information (and also that I'm not really gifted when it comes to science). I'm completely fine with that, though. The narrator for this does a great job and Bercovici is obviously a great professor, his writing is concise and clear with a bit of fun sprinkled in and he does a great job of explaining, well, everything, in this small book. I mostly enjoyed listening to so much knowledge and intelligence and even learned a few things, so overall I was very happy with the book. The only thing I really didn't care about was the biology part towards the end and how humans came to be, because I feel like that's the only part of all this I was taught repeatedly and I also think that it didn't fit the rest of the book, I think it should have stopped with the explanation of how life came to be, which is why this book didn't get the full five stars. I'd still definitely recommend the book though!
November 18, 2021
I plan to keep this audiobook on my virtual reference shelf for a while. Bercovici provides a fine overview of how the universe, our galaxy, our solar system, our planet, life on our planet, and human beings came into existence. He probably spends too much time with disclaimers in the beginning about how superficial his treatment of 14 billion years of history is going to be. The book is roughly 100 pages long, so anybody who expects deeper explanations should have never picked it up in the first place.
Considering the complexity of the subjects covered here, the author shows great skill and restraint in revealing to readers only the bare essentials behind the science that explains the universe's origins and evolution. And he does it using a touch of humor and a few brilliant metaphors along the way that make this book an entertaining read. By the time I finished, I realized the book is human-centric given how much time the author spends discussing our place in the whole scheme of things, which is ridiculously tiny. That's okay. Our species is likely the only one to ever read it.
Considering the complexity of the subjects covered here, the author shows great skill and restraint in revealing to readers only the bare essentials behind the science that explains the universe's origins and evolution. And he does it using a touch of humor and a few brilliant metaphors along the way that make this book an entertaining read. By the time I finished, I realized the book is human-centric given how much time the author spends discussing our place in the whole scheme of things, which is ridiculously tiny. That's okay. Our species is likely the only one to ever read it.
January 20, 2022
Even though this book was extremely brief, and lightly skimmed over the surface of many topics, there are several things that I really enjoyed from this book. The first point is how the author, many times tongue-in-cheek, brought the science of plate techtonics into the discussion point at hand. The author's area of expertise lies in Plate Techtonics, and it was in this area that he clearly brought forth the most in depth descriptions. I also liked how he clearly identified areas of science that are "still being studied" or "there is not full agreement" or "not yet understood" or "controversial". I have observed many people who live and work outside the scientific realm, and who may disagree with the theories and observations mentioned in this book, sometimes seem to lump "Science" and/or "Scientists" into some kind of large blob of unified and constant thinking. The author does well to show how science has changed and expanded as new observations have been made and theories have been tested, and yet still shows how science in essence is the exploration of what is not known, beyond explaining what is known.
May 17, 2023
This is a brief summary of the development of the solar system and primarily Earth. The author is a geologist so he covered the geology part of the book pretty well. I liked it. Over all, well done.
He did seem to contradict one thing that I learned in "Great Heroes and Discoveries of Astronomy". The professor there said that the sun's warming and cooling has nothing at all to do with any global warming or cooling on Earth. The professor really emphasized that as if she knew it was true and while I will concede that she might know more about the Sun's output than David Bercovici (the author of The Origins of Everything in 100 Pages (More or Less)), David Bercovici knows more about the interactions and cumulative effects of a warmer or cooler Sun on the Earth's systems. He seemed to think the Sun's output had a significant effect on global temperature changes.
In any case I enjoyed the experience, and I may listen to this audiobook again some day.
He did seem to contradict one thing that I learned in "Great Heroes and Discoveries of Astronomy". The professor there said that the sun's warming and cooling has nothing at all to do with any global warming or cooling on Earth. The professor really emphasized that as if she knew it was true and while I will concede that she might know more about the Sun's output than David Bercovici (the author of The Origins of Everything in 100 Pages (More or Less)), David Bercovici knows more about the interactions and cumulative effects of a warmer or cooler Sun on the Earth's systems. He seemed to think the Sun's output had a significant effect on global temperature changes.
In any case I enjoyed the experience, and I may listen to this audiobook again some day.
March 12, 2017
4.5 stars from Bill, read the full review at FANTASY LITERATURE
Disclaimer: just so you know, some of the books we review are received free from publishers
The Origins of Everything in 100 Pages (More or Less) by David Bercovici, in his own words, “covers the Universe’s greatest hits, recounting when and most importantly how its various pieces emerged.” That’s a tall order for any book, let alone one that is so short, but Bercovici tempers the readers’ expectations early on, letting us know that:
“There are other excellent books, far more comprehensive than this one, on the history of the Universe and life …The goal of this book is not to be deep and comprehensive but instead to be boldly (or baldly) shallow and superficial in the best sense of these words … My aim is to give a quick and hopefully readable overview that provides a taste of our Universe’s story (and to some extent humanity’s place in this story) and more importantly to give you, the reader, and appetite to learn more.”
As far as that goal goes, I’d say Bercovici delivers, especially in the latter part of The Origins of Everything in 100 Pages. The book moves speedily but almost always fluidly from the Big Bang through basic cosmology (including but not limited to inflation, the Cosmic Microwave Background, the movement from a single force to the current ones and from a soup of quarks to the formation of atoms and molecules). Then it’s on to current theories on the formation of stellar clouds, stars, and planets, with stopovers to concisely explain black holes, neutron stars, dark matter and energy, novae and supernovas, and angular momentum. Once the general structures are done, he turns to our particular neighborhood, offering up some details concerning our solar system’s formation (such as why the inner planets are small and rocky and the outer ones are large and gaseous), and then the Earth and Moon’s....4.5 stars from Bill, read the full review at FANTASY LITERATURE
Disclaimer: just so you know, some of the books we review are received free from publishers
The Origins of Everything in 100 Pages (More or Less) by David Bercovici, in his own words, “covers the Universe’s greatest hits, recounting when and most importantly how its various pieces emerged.” That’s a tall order for any book, let alone one that is so short, but Bercovici tempers the readers’ expectations early on, letting us know that:
“There are other excellent books, far more comprehensive than this one, on the history of the Universe and life …The goal of this book is not to be deep and comprehensive but instead to be boldly (or baldly) shallow and superficial in the best sense of these words … My aim is to give a quick and hopefully readable overview that provides a taste of our Universe’s story (and to some extent humanity’s place in this story) and more importantly to give you, the reader, and appetite to learn more.”
As far as that goal goes, I’d say Bercovici delivers, especially in the latter part of The Origins of Everything in 100 Pages. The book moves speedily but almost always fluidly from the Big Bang through basic cosmology (including but not limited to inflation, the Cosmic Microwave Background, the movement from a single force to the current ones and from a soup of quarks to the formation of atoms and molecules). Then it’s on to current theories on the formation of stellar clouds, stars, and planets, with stopovers to concisely explain black holes, neutron stars, dark matter and energy, novae and supernovas, and angular momentum. Once the general structures are done, he turns to our particular neighborhood, offering up some details concerning our solar system’s formation (such as why the inner planets are small and rocky and the outer ones are large and gaseous), and then the Earth and Moon’s....4.5 stars from Bill, read the full review at FANTASY LITERATURE
November 22, 2019
Writing about the entire history of the universe is hard to do in a way that is accessible and doesn't take up 30 volumes. This books tries to do it in 115 pages, and doesn't do a great job of it. It says right off the bat that it's a vanity project of a well-known geophysicist, and it feels like it. The book is strongest in the parts that he knows well, and laughably inadequate (or down right wrong) in the parts he doesn't (e.g., the chapter on human evolution). We tried this as a book for a broad, multi-quarter general education sciences class that I teach (it was chosen by one of my co-instructors), and I wouldn't use it again. Too glib, lacking in illustration, and uneven, a chapter or two of it may be useful, but as whole, unsatisfying. Wait for my own vanity project on the topic...
November 9, 2021
This is a clever...sometimes funny...history of everything in 5 hours and 13 minutes...more than enough time to explore 13.8 billion years (plus a little more) of earth's history. Dr Bercovici (a geophysicist with a sense of humor? Who knew?) does a great job with astrophysics and a passing job on quantum physics and plate tectonics (he should give geologists more credit...maybe a bit of bias here). The remaining topics are only lightly covered...but still done with panache.
If you want a light look at where we came from, this one's for you!
Recommended (plus it was free with an Audible subscription.
If you want a light look at where we came from, this one's for you!
Recommended (plus it was free with an Audible subscription.
September 3, 2019
I was given this book and read it without any knowledge of what it was about before beginning to read. I found it was a little difficult to read without having learned about these topics and knowing complex ideas about science. However, there were many facts and sections of that book that completely fascinated me. It was one of the most difficult nonfiction/factual books I've ever read to comprehend, but I did really enjoy it. I recommend this book to anyone who appreciates science and understanding the history of the entire world.
February 1, 2021
This isn´t an informative book but a 115 pages pamphlet designed to motivate high school students to attend more science classes. The author is a geophysicist and it shows. He dedicates 89 pages of his publication to astrophysics and geology. The remaining 25 pages are dedicated to life and human civilization. Instead of boldly going beyond his area of expertise to ventilate his views upon other segments of human knowledge and skills, he choose for the security of not trespassing upon other academic territories.
July 22, 2023
To jednak z lepszych książek popularnonaukowych które kiedykolwiek przeczytałem. Opisuje w skrócie w bardzo prosty sposób (tak mi się wydaje) to jak powstał wszechświat, gwiazdy, galaktyki, układy planetarne, układ słoneczny, Ziemia, życie na Ziemii, cały świat jako znamy. Książka bardzo aktualna i oparta na najnowszych osiągnięciach naukowych. Pisze to z perspektywy roku 2023. Pewnie za kilka lat niektóre teorie zostaną jeszcze bardziej zgłębione i potrzebne bedzie nowe wydanie. Cieszę się ze natrafiłem na tą pozycje.
November 28, 2021
Een goed begrijpelijk geschreven boek dat vlot leest en toch veel informatie bevat ik had geen kennis van geofysica en nu weet ik een klein beetje wat al die elementen onder onze voeten allemaal teweeg brengen , ik wist niet dat die plaat verschuivingen zo een invloed hadden , traag zorgen ze enerzijds voor opschudding en anderzijds ook voor stabiliteit ,
Een boek met een uitgezoomd overzicht , !
Een boek met een uitgezoomd overzicht , !
October 1, 2024
There were times I thought this was the most entertaining book I've ever read. There were times I thought this was the most boring book I've ever read.
So if you're reading this and are like omg this is amazing, prepare. And if you're reading this and like urgh I hate this, don't worry it gets better.
Would I choose to read it again? Probably not. There's so many books on the topic that we don't need to stick to mediocre.
So if you're reading this and are like omg this is amazing, prepare. And if you're reading this and like urgh I hate this, don't worry it gets better.
Would I choose to read it again? Probably not. There's so many books on the topic that we don't need to stick to mediocre.
July 29, 2017
The Origins of Everything in 100 Pages (More or Less) very quickly covers about 13.8 billion years of history. Sometimes it made my brain hurt, though usually the explanations were easy enough to understand. I highly recommend it to people interested in the origin and evolution of the universe and especially the earth.
October 11, 2020
Science communication at its best - come for the supernovae, stay for the plate tectonics!
In all seriousness a very nice little book which for all its denseness even manages to be entertaining in addition to being informative. Recommended - possibly for a younger audience too, not just old farts like myself.
In all seriousness a very nice little book which for all its denseness even manages to be entertaining in addition to being informative. Recommended - possibly for a younger audience too, not just old farts like myself.
January 27, 2021
Just another book trying to explain to me how human beings evolved from monkeys and how the universe was born out of some great Big Bang explosion billions of years ago, yeah, an explosion nobody witnessed, just bullshits of pseudo-scientific theories.
I only liked the first 20% of the book when I tried to convince myself that this is all a work of science fiction.
I only liked the first 20% of the book when I tried to convince myself that this is all a work of science fiction.
May 10, 2021
Free listen with an Audible subscription. This was fun. Of course you just have to read the title to know this was going to be dense with lots of numbers. It was and it was interesting skim over the topics. The author had a good sense of humor about the project and would step out with side comments on some of the more aggressive of the large number sections.
July 5, 2022
Theres alot i don’t understand
But informative book
Very interesting
Seems like i have to get into the subject deeper to understand it really
Its just an introduction to the origin of the universe
I feel like it wasn’t that organized in terms of chapter titles and focus But it was chronologically told
Ch8 fun interesting
Ch9 really good
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