Merlin's Tour of the Universe, Revised and Updated for the Twenty-First Century - by Neil Degrasse Tyson (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

A USA Today bestseller!

The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry takes readers on an entertaining and edifying tour of the universe.

In Neil deGrasse Tyson's delightful journey through the cosmos, his fictional character Merlin responds to popular questions asked by adults and children alike. Merlin, a timeless visitor from Planet Omniscia in the Andromeda Galaxy, has observed firsthand many of the major scientific events of Earth's history. Merlin's friends include the most important scientific figures and explorers of all time--da Vinci, Magellan, Newton, Einstein, and Hubble. While Merlin occasionally recounts playful conversations with these luminaries, all questions are answered with authentic science, infused with wit, wisdom, and an occasional rhyme. With the help of intermittent humorous cartoons, Merlin clarifies the details of familiar phenomena like gravity, light, space, and time, and travels to distant stars and galaxies to describe what makes them tick, rotate, explode, and collapse.

Merlin's Tour of the Universe is perfect for anyone who harbors burning questions on how the cosmos works.

Review Quotes

"DeGrasse Tyson challenges the reader with inquiries arriving from both hemispheres...The answers are delivered as carefully wrapped, delicious treats: witty, poetic, erudite, puzzling....An enlightening listen without age limit."

"This audio production radiates with the astronomer's humor and passion for demystifying the universe for listeners of all ages."

"We all have some questions we'd like to ask about astronomy. Well, here they are--and the answers too, short, straightforward, light-hearted, and correct."

"Tyson is a master of streamlining and simplification...taking mind-bogglingly complex ideas, stripping them down to their nuts and bolts, padding them with colorful allegories and dorky jokes, and making them accessible to the layperson."

"Tyson has become the most influential science communicator in the country."

"Tyson has created a space-age Merlin. An astrophysicist and educator, Tyson weaves together imaginative with straightforward science."