Pulp Physics

Astronomy: Humankind in Space and Time

By: Dr. Richard Berendzen

Narrated by: Richard Berendzen

Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's summary

In this unscripted recording, renowned astrophysicist Dr. Richard Berendzen takes you on a journey through space and time that is captivating from the moment he begins to speak. Acting as your personal tour guide through the galaxy, Dr. Berendzen enthusiastically shares his expertise in this conventional - yet comprehensive - introduction to physics and astronomy. Enjoy the best of both worlds: an expert's knowledge in a user-friendly format!

©2000 by Dr. Richard Berendzen (P)2000 by The Publishing Mills

Great overview of Science

You'll feel like you're getting a private lecture on science. A great listen.

Get it

If you are remotely interested in the history of astrophysics then get it. His style is great and even though you are listening he does a great job of putting pictures in your head. Even my wife who is not interested in physics loved his stories. It is the right length and very easy listening for such a deep topic.

A to Z review of Astronomy essentials

This is not so much a "book" as a "chat". Unscripted, it is like have a PhD in astronomy ride to work with you for a couple of weeks and tell you what we know about the universe. You won't find Bryson's excellent writing style, but it never pretends to be that. I completely enjoyed it.

Easy to Understand and Comprehensive

I found this to be a very comprehensive history of cosmology that is well written and well read. It is written for the lay person and is therefore easy to understand. It was an enjoyable listening experience, and I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the subject of cosmology.

Perfect Title

Very enjoyable reading of one a very difficult area of science. The history of astrophysics is certainly interesting, and I have been studying
the subject since childhood. A little "pulpy",
but overall very recommended.

A great listen

This is one of the best audios I have listened to. Although there were many mathmatical concepts I did not understand, the overall concepts were explained very well and were really fascinating. I actually listened to this twice back-to-back, I liked it so much.

Good, but...

This book had lots of good information, but there were several glaring errors. Not factual errors, but rather the kind of errors that would be edited out of a written work. For example, in the discussion of relativity, the author says that the hypothetical light-speed traveler would return to find himself younger than his parents. Aren't most people younger than their own parents? Also, he states that the highest tides occur when the earth and moon are lined up. Aren't they always? Still, a pretty good listen.

A Rambling Lecture

This "audio book" is more correctly described as a rambling lecture. There is a lot of good, basic introductory material here, but if you are looking for something other than a primer this lecture is not for you. There a many repetitive statements, and the material has almost no structure that I can discern. It seems to move from topic to topic, place to place, theme to theme without much sense. But, if you are looking for an introduction to the variety of knowledge that makes up the science of physics, by all means this is a good choice. Just be prepared to hear similar, if not identical, bits and pieces of information several times.

The most amazing book on the Cosmos ever!

What did you love best about Pulp Physics?

This book tells the whole story...from beginning to end, who the players were, what accomplishments they had made to the study of Astonomy, as well as a chronological order of how this science came about. It clearly brings you from a novice to almost a full-blown Astonomer in just over 9 hours! the author is awesome in explaining the planets, the orbits, the stars...the whole cosmic story...in easy to understand language and thought! I did not think I would be so interested in the Cosmos as I am now after reading this book. I thoroughly understand what this Physicist is talking about, and I am just a beginner trying to understand these concepts for the first time. If you love Astronomy, but don't know much about the Cosmos or where it was founded, I highly recommend this book!

What did you like best about this story?

The storyline is chronological and easy to follow...

Which scene was your favorite?

The whole book

Was there a moment in the book that particular moved you?

I loved the definitions about the different and varying stars/planets.

Any additional comments?

Author is spectacular! I can't seem to find anything else from him...I will keep searching...even if I have to look into the Cosmos!!

Doubled my knowledge of the subject matter

Would you listen to Pulp Physics again? Why?

I bought it last week, and I'm already half-way through the second listening.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

He has a fine voice for this purpose, but his studio and/or recording equipment were lacking. The recording is inconsistent, but the quality of the content more than made up for any listening inconvenience.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No laughter or tears, but plenty of wishing I'd not slept through high school physics class.

Any additional comments?

I could have done with fifteen minutes less time spent on stars, but I presume that it's his specialty. I just did a search, and am disappointed that there's nothing else on Audible by Dr Berendzen.