Product Description
"Distills complex science in clear and lively prose."—Scientific American Book Club

Origins explores cosmic science's stunning new insights into the formation and evolution of our universe—of the cosmos, of galaxies and galaxy clusters, of stars within galaxies, of planets that orbit those stars, and of different forms of life that take us back to the first three seconds and forward through three billion years of life on Earth to today's search for life on other planets.

Drawing on the current cross-pollination of geology, biology, and astrophysics, Origins explains the thrilling daily breakthroughs in our knowledge of the universe from dark energy to life on Mars to the mysteries of space and time and makes "the astonishing astronomical discoveries of recent years come alive" (Michael D. Lemonick).

Distilling complex science in clear and lively prose, co-authors Neil deGrasse Tyson and Donald Goldsmith conduct a galvanizing tour of the cosmos revealing what the universe has been up to while turning part of itself into us. "The most informative, congenial and accessible general look at cosmology to come along since Carl Sagan's Cosmos 27 years ago," says Publishers Weekly. "The tone is informational, aimed at high clarity, and laced with giddy humor…general readers of every stripe will benefit from the authors' sophisticated, deeply knowledgeable presentation. If the casual book buyer purchases one science book this year, this should be the one." 32 pages of color illustrations.

Amazon.com Review
In this companion volume to the two-part NOVA television special by the same title, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and astronomy writer Donald Goldsmith attempt to cram 14 billion years of history into 300 pages. The result of this audacious exercise is a surprising and engrossing book, one that far surpasses the droning tone of so many astronomy texts. Starting (of course) with the Big Bang and ending with the search for extraterrestrial life, the authors synthesize the results of several scientific fields to present a sort of cosmological consilience. They also emphasize the scientific method and its inherent skepticism as the only way to understand such mysteries as dark matter, stellar formation, and the origin of life on Earth. Although several books are published each year that provide overviews of various branches of science, what's different about this one is the accessible tone of the writing. The authors use mild humor throughout to keep readers going in difficult sections; for instance, when assessing the question of why we live during the rare time when the amounts of dark and not-dark energy are roughly equal in the universe, they relate that cosmologist Michael Turner calls the situation the "'Nancy Kerrigan problem,' in honor of the Olympic figure skater, who asked... 'Why me? Why now?'" Combining 21st-century astronomy, astrobiology, astrochemistry, and other disciplines, Origins is a fine guidebook with which to journey "back to the beginning of everything." --Therese Littleton

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.0 based on 25 reviews)

Technical, but approachable--perfect for the curious hobbyist

Tyson proves that he is a great nonfiction writer yet again with this deep foray into the history of the universe. He breaks subjects down into logical chunks and only gets technical when it's called for. Still, any high school graduate with sufficient interest will have no trouble reading this book.

I recommend the book to anyone who is more than passively interested in the history of the universe, the formation of the solar system, the planets, moons, etc. His treatment of these subjects is thorough enough for the layman, but not overwhelming.

Tyson is probably the best writer and communicator in his field and this book is no exception.
October 22, 2008

Interesting but Simple

I purchased this book to have something to read on an airplane ride to Europe. I had already read and enjoyed Death By Black Hole so I figured I would give this a try.

I'm a physics grad student and have an interest in cosmology, but have only taken freshmen level Astronomy courses. That said, I found myself somewhat too informed beforehand to properly enjoy reading this book. It is clearly written to appeal more to a mass audience with little to no knowledge on the subject.

The writing style, as noted in many of the reviews, is fairly simple, at times bordering on silly with its painful attempts at "science humor". This made it somewhat difficult to enjoy the book, as I found that I already knew much of what Tyson was saying, if not more.

People looking for an introductory, easy to read survey on the subject of cosmology will like this book. Those of you with any knowledge on the subject, no matter how basic it might be, would probably be better off reading Death By Black Hole (that book being a compilation of Tyson's articles written for a slightly more scientific audience). Anyone looking for an even more substantial popular science book could try Elegant Universe by Greene, although I admit that book was too abstract for me at times.
June 23, 2008

Good Overview

This is the best summary of our cosmic history, written for the intelligent laymen. Dr. Tyson is a master at bringing things down to a intellectually respectable level without resorting to baby talk.
August 23, 2007

Origins Review

Highly recommend. Prof. Tyson is good teacher, and despite his position and impressive curriculum vitae, personally responded to some questions that arose from reading the book. Inspirational topic and author.
July 03, 2007

A science masterpiece! Breaks new ground in presentation of material.

Here it is about 10 years since Carl Sagan passed away, and we are now being treated to works by Neil deGrasse Tyson. I believe that Tyson can be mentioned in the same breathe as Sagan without suffering by the comparison.

If you are a science fan, you owe it to yourself to read this one. There is an economy, style and comprehensiveness here that appear flawless. The Hundred Greatest Stars Reading the Mind of God Cosmos Horizons: Exploring the Universe (with TheSky CD-ROM, AceAstronomy?, and Virtual Astronomy Labs)
May 06, 2007

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries
by Neil deGrasse Tyson

The Sky Is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist
by Neil de Grasse Tyson, Tyson Neil De Grasse, Neil De Grasse Tyson

NOVA - Origins
Directed by Alice Harper, Julia Cort and Larry Klein, Thomas Levenson
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WGBH Boston

Merlin's Tour of the Universe
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One Universe: At Home in the Cosmos
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