Why this book: I’ve always been interested in “the big picture” and I’ve been impressed when I”ve heard Neil deGrasse Tyson speak on podcasts.  This book is short and engaging.   

Summary in 3 Sentences: DeGrasse Tyson covers a lot of ground in this book, from the size and nature of the universe, to how we know what we know, how scientists measure time and distance, to the possibility of life on other planets.  He discusses the universe, our galaxy, within that universe and our solar system within that galaxy,  and where and how it fits into the “big picture.”  He also gives us fascinating background on the periodic table, quarks, and photons, and quantum theory and the ongoing effort by astrophysicists to understand dark energy, dark matter and other perplexing concepts that defy current understanding. 

My Impressions: I listened to rather than read this book – it was  beautifully read by the author.  What a great introduction to physics – and in particular how it applies to the study of not only the universe, but also of existence and ‘what is.”  DeGrasse Tyson touches on many topics that tie the laws of physics that define the physical world that we live in, to the effort by scientists to understand the size, scope and nature of the Universe itself. 

That is a daunting task, but he manages it beautifully in 200 short pages, or in about 3 1/2 hours on audible.  The easiest way to summarize the scope of the book is to give you a look at the table of contents:

Preface 
1.  The Greatest Story Ever Told  
2.  On Earth as in the Heavens
3. Let There Be Light
4. Between the Galaxies
5. Dark Matter
6. Dark Energy
7. The Cosmos on the Table
8. On Being Round
9. Invisible Light
10. Between the Planets
11. Exoplanet Earth
12. Reflections on the Cosmic Perspective
Acknowledgments
Index\

He begins with a fascinating look at the “big bang” theory and how astrophysicists believe the Universe actually began.    He goes over the history of humans trying to understand the heavens and then the evolution of Newton’s insight that the laws that govern physical bodies on earth apply universally.  Then a discussion of light, the speed of light, the illusion that “space” is empty, the mysteries that led to the assumption of “dark energy” and “dark matter” and how the “existence” of certain phenomena today can only be explained and understood theoretically, as effects of  “something” like dark matter and dark energy.   But dark matter and dark energy are themselves not understood, nor can astrophysicists today see, experience, or describe them. 

He also describes how new particles and forms of energy have been discovered such as photons, microwaves, positrons, neutrinos, bosons, hadrons, quarks, quasars,  and more – foundations of the physical world that have only in the last century been discovered and are still being understood.  He introduces us to the tension between the general theory of relativity and quantum gravity,  and how efforts to deconflict and unify these two have been on-going  for nearly a century.   

There is a lot of content in this book, but it is summarized and simplified so that someone like me, with only a HS understanding of physics can begin to comprehend. I will listen to this book again and certainly gain more the second time. 

I have described this book as a  good left-brain balance to much of the strange metaphysics that I have been reading about and listening to, regarding unexplained and unexplainable paranormal phenomena which seem to violate our understanding of the space-time continuum and the physical laws described in this book.  

In particular, I really appreciated and savored his final chapter on what all this might mean to us in our view of ourselves in the universe, and our daily lives.  He calls it the “Cosmic Perspective” – a wise and well informed view of our small place in the vast Universe.

Highly recommended.