Reviews

A History of the Universe in 21 Stars: (and 3 Imposters) by Giles Sparrow

avdss's review against another edition

Go to review page

i stopped reading this bc it felt too much like school. maybe ill finish it one day

misssamanthap's review

Go to review page

challenging informative medium-paced

4.0

emmaggedon's review

Go to review page

3.0

I don’t know whether it’s my dyslexia, or my lack of focus generally but this was hard to get through. Incredibly interesting, and when I really put my mind to it, I loved it and found it understandable. But for casual reading, hard work. Loved it despite of this, but will be rereading it when I’m of sounder mind.

escan's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Quite poorly edited, but an interesting light introduction to some astronomical concepts, and a nice insight into the historical context in which said concepts arose. The fairly discrete bite-sized chapters made this a pleasant read to unwind with at the end of term!

iksme's review

Go to review page

informative medium-paced

4.0

dylan_naylor's review against another edition

Go to review page

informative medium-paced

3.0

teoboy's review

Go to review page

informative lighthearted fast-paced

4.0

sarahberes0612's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging informative slow-paced

4.5

lukemcclure's review against another edition

Go to review page

5.0

One of the best non fiction books I can remember reading in ages. An absolute joy. I can't wait to go stargazing now.

keepreadingbooks's review

Go to review page

adventurous funny informative slow-paced

3.75

This was quite a good introduction to the cosmos and a larger understanding of the universe. I’ve always been fascinated by the night sky, the stars and planets and particularly our own solar system, but not necessarily the history of the wider universe as such. That changed with this book though; I wanted to read it for the stars, and it kept me reading with its enthusiasm for (and highly entertaining way of explaining the evolution of) the universe as a whole. A friend gifted me a copy of Cosmos by Carl Sagan after I expressed my interest in learning more, so I’m going to dive even deeper thanks to this book. 
 
It took me a while to read though, because the physics of it all required every ounce of my concentration sometimes, and that’s not necessarily where I’m at in the evening before bed or after a long day at work. It could also have done with more thorough editing; the amount of typos and errors had me going a little nuts, especially because I do editing and proofreading (besides translation) for a living and it bothers me no end in general, and not least in books.