The Cosmic Mystery Tour: A High-Speed Journey Through Space & Time

by Nicholas Mee

The Cosmic Mystery Tour takes us on a lightning tour of the mysteries of the universe enlivened by brief stories of the colourful characters who created modern science. It explores hot topics in physics and astronomy, including the recent discovery of gravitational waves; the quest for the origin of dark matter; the study of the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy; the ongoing search for Earth-like exoplanets; the search for signals from extraterrestrials; and the development of technologies to send spacecraft to the stars.

The first part of the book explores the laws that govern the universe. Physics is a spiritual quest to find deep meaning in the cosmos. Its goal is to provide a concise, but accurate description of the world that accounts for all the amazing features that it contains. The second part takes a look at the history of the cosmos, studies its geography and explores some of its architectural highlights such as red giants, white dwarfs, neutron stars and the ultimate cosmic mysteries--supermassive black holes. The last part considers the possibility that life might exist elsewhere in the universe, and explores the cosmos from the outer fringes of science fiction to the ongoing search for alien civilizations.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Astronomy, Space

224 pages, Hardcover

Published April 1, 2019

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Popular science books walk a tightrope : too much detail and science they put off a casual reader ; too little and they're condescending and of no real use or interest. This book walks that tightrope effortlessly and packs an awful lot of information about the history and the technology behind studying the stars into its slim size. Recommended.

[Gregory · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cosmic Mystery Tour is a popular science book with big ambitions. Author Nicholas Mee has written a whirlwind guidebook to the universe, starting with the physics underlying everything and proceeding through the wonders of the cosmos, with some final ruminations on the possibility of extraterrestrial life. It's a lot to cover, but Mee succeeds in distilling the physics and astronomy to their friendliest manner. (I received an advance reading copy through Goodreads' Giveaways.)

Each of the 26 chapters is short and focused and generously illustrated, making it easy to read one quickly or several in a sitting. Mee wastes no time, quickly covering each topic in straightforward, accessible language. If any one subject doesn't resonate with the reader, don't worry . . . in a few pages, there will be something completely new to learn about.

While Mee's focus is on the science, he also takes care to introduce the individuals responsible for the knowledge he's sharing. Scientists such as Jocelyn Bell get the credit here they weren't always given at the time of their discoveries. The different historical personalities add a humanizing dimension to the big ideas discussed throughout the book.

No topic is covered in depth, but if you want a primer to the cosmos covering a lot of ground, The Cosmic Mystery Tour is the book for you.

[Paul Andrews · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great little book (200 pages) that is really two books in one. The first half of the book covers the area of quantum physics and covers the history of the major discovery’s from Newton up to the latest research at CERN and the discovery of the Higgs.
The second half of the book is astronomical, but majors on the latest discoveries mainly around gamma ray bursts, neutron stars and of course all types of black holes.
Although the book covers some pretty heavy scientific concepts, it’s written in such a way that readers with limited scientific knowledge could follow and enjoy.

[Phil Whittall · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short, reasonably interesting guide to space, discoveries of physics and so on with some pictures. Not enough exploration really of the mysteries. It kind of introduces a topic with a story or quirk but doesn't develop it enough to be interesting. Some fundamental grasp of physics and chemistry necessary to follow it all.

It all felt a little disjointed and disconnected but it was OK.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book I've read this year. Very well written and a very intriguing and explorative writing of the cosmos. A book to be read again and again. Highly recpmmended. Book won courtesy of the author and goodreads.com

[Meredith Morgenstern · Rating 5 out of 5]

For those of us fascinated by the cosmos, but not necessarily able to follow hardcore astrophysics, this book is right up our alley. Mee explains very intricate and complicated ideas in a concise and easy-to-follow way. A delightful read that helped me understand our universe.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I won this in a Goodreads giveaway.
A surprisingly coherent easy read that explains complex physics. I wish the author had been my high school physics instructor.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of science and astronomy based essay. Nice bite-sized chunks, but not exceptional.

[Rob · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perfectly condensed for an idiot like me.

[Marlene · Rating 5 out of 5]

It contains easy-to-read explanations of the universe. It is perfect for people who are interested in astronomy but don't have a scientific background.

[Joseph Dubey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this one because Nicholas Mee broke down these various subjects into language that I could understand. I think he did a good job.

[MKF]

DNF