Exploring the Universe from the City: The Astrophysics Adventures of Dr. [Name]

Liz: Interesting, well written. Will read more from Neil Degrasse Tyson.

Canada on May 09, 2018

Book Shark: The Sky Is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist by Neil deGrasse Tyson

“The Sky Is Not the Limit” is the entertaining biography of astrophysicist Neil De Grasse Tyson. Best-selling author and science icon Neil deGrasse Tyson takes the reader on a journey through his eyes, which is to say the cosmos and many interesting insights of his life. This uplifting 203-page book includes the following seven chapters: 1. Night Vision, 2. Space, the Final Frontier, 3. Scientific Adventures, 4. Dark Matters, 5. Romancing the Cosmos, 6. The End of the World, and 7. God and the Astronomers.

Positives:
1. Great science writing. Informative, interesting, accessible and fun to read.
2. The fascinating life of Neil deGrasse Tyson (NDT), makes for a great biography. “In these pages, I share what I believe to be amusing and playful moments of my life in the cosmos.”
3. The book has excellent flow. The pages read themselves.
4. NDT’s charm is found throughout the book. He shares his interest in the universe and his life as a black man in America.
5. The impact of good teachers on students. “A student's academic life experience can be constructed...

United States on Dec 20, 2017

Amazon Customer: Bought as a present - excellent condition, no complaints - will definitely buy from again.

United Kingdom on Nov 20, 2015

chris mclaughlin: This is a fantastic, but all too brief autobiography of perhaps the greatest current science popularizer. Tyson discusses his early childhood experiences getting hooked on astronomy after a family trip to a planetarium, despite living in the light-polluted big city. He shares some hilarious personal stories, as well as some balanced, thoughtful discussions on touchy subject of race, which come across as informative, personal, and matter-of-fact. There are only two complaints to be made about his book, one, that it is too short! Tyson is a charming, humorous storyteller, and I read this book in two nights and was left wanting more, and two, there is not one single embarrassing baby picture or awkward teenager with bad hair photo in the book! Bottom line, buy this book for yourself, but more importantly, buy this book for your young teens, or watch his new version of Cosmos and read this book at bedtime to your younger children. Inspirational, informative, and thoroughly enjoyable no matter what age, skin tone, education level...just get this book!

United States on Jan 03, 2015

Alessandro Stranieri: Great book, so inspiring. His writing is excellent and entertaining.

United Kingdom on Dec 27, 2014

S. R.: This book is a combination of Neil's life story with a more in-depth version of his science advocacy, too. I enjoyed the stories, and I appreciate all the work he does to get students and the general public engaged in science. I felt like I was seeing astrophysics "through his eyes" by the descriptions and details he included. A good read, and highly relatable since my background is in applied mathematics and physics. I found myself smiling a lot while reading it, except for some of the more emotional stories - which he is somehow able to write with a positive outlook despite the tragedy surrounding him while living in New York during 9/11.

A few oddities: the captions in the kindle version are jumbled, and misspelled. Also, paragraph breaks on the kindle were sporadic. I'd doubt the original text contained any of those errors. I still enjoyed the read :)

United States on May 15, 2014

Gasman: A very well told story of Neil De Grasse Tysons life and discoveries along the way
He explains much that could be hard to grasp easily. He makes no excuses that he does not come from a deprived background, but also tells of a life of hard work endurance and belief that not only helped him obtain his goal but gives everyone a belief that they too can realise their dreams. Funny thoughtful and enjoyable. Great read

United Kingdom on Jun 30, 2013

Frédéric: Wenn ein hochkarätiger Naturwissenschaftler ehrlich, anregend und nicht ohne Humor aus seinem Leben plaudert und dabei nebenbei Grundsätzliches zu bildungs- und sozialpolitischen Themen einbringt, dann kommt er oder sie vermutlich aus den angelsächsischen Sprachraum. Man muss hoffen, dass bald viele weitere Menschen, die so aussehen wie Neil Tyson, in der Öffentlichkeit wahrgenommen werden, obwohl sie nicht in der Unterhaltungsindustrie tätig sind.

Germany on Feb 16, 2013

Sam: Neil conveys the story we know of the cosmos (well, the very basics, you'll understand it all if you've taken an Astro 100 class) in a hilarious yet informative way. I can never get enough of him, it seems. His memoir provided an interesting perspective of the world, and he had a lot of funny personal stories.

And oh my gosh, his views on parenting? This was actually the main reason I got the book, because I heard that he talked about it a little and I'm a big fan of his so I knew most of the astrophysics stuff, though it was fun to read again. I absolutely love the parenting advice, and plan to implement that when I have children. He respects them as human beings and that is just something I see so rarely. I especially enjoyed his jokes at the expense of Mary Poppins.

If you love astrophysics and silly nerdy stories, (it's best if you have a little knowledge on the subject first so you can just sit back and enjoy) you will love reading the stories of a man who shares your same passion.

United States on Sep 17, 2011

L. Fenwick: Having recently attended a lecture by Dr. Tyson, I was curious to know how the passion he possesses for his field of study was nurtured in its inception and developed through training and experience. This book went a long way in satisfying my curiosity as Dr. Tyson described childhood experiences, parental encouragement, and chance encounters that he seized to advance his knowledge and opportunities. It provided an interesting read and conveyed a sense of the exuberant personality of the author. This is a book that parents, mentors, and budding astrophysicists should enjoy, more because of the inspiration it offers than for scientific information. All of us need to be reminded occasionally how much simple words of encouragement and unselfish guidance can mean to a younger person. Dr. Tyson reminds us of how important that can be by sharing stories of the generosity of many people who took the time to help him along his path to success.

United States on Mar 22, 2009