Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs

The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe

By: Lisa Randall

Narrated by: Carrington MacDuffie

In this brilliant exploration of our cosmic environment, the renowned particle physicist and New York Times best-selling author of Warped Passages and Knocking on Heaven's Door uses her research into dark matter to illuminate the startling connections between the furthest reaches of space and life here on Earth.

Sixty-six million years ago, an object the size of a city descended from space to crash into Earth, creating a devastating cataclysm that killed off the dinosaurs, along with three-quarters of the other species on the planet. What was its origin? In Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs, Lisa Randall proposes it was a comet that was dislodged from its orbit as the solar system passed through a disk of dark matter embedded in the Milky Way. In a sense it might have been dark matter that killed the dinosaurs.

Working through the background and consequences of this proposal, Randall shares with us the latest findings - established and speculative - regarding the nature and role of dark matter and the origin of the universe, our galaxy, our solar system, and life, along with the process by which scientists explore new concepts. In Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs, Randall tells a breathtaking story that weaves together the cosmos' history and our own, illuminating the deep relationships that are critical to our world and the astonishing beauty inherent in the most familiar things.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2015 Lisa Randall (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

awesome!!!

Very cool book about the possible connection between the most mysterious matter in the universe and the extinction of the dinosaurs.

Fantastic !!!

The best book I've read this decade. Professor Randall is one of the great minds of our time. It's fascinating to listen to how she thinks.

Knowledgebomb

The only drawback of this Book is that it is too short. Lisa Randall explains her thinking and current Theories as well as The current State of Knowledge Up to The Last Two chapters in which she concludes The relationship Stated in The title. My only Dilemma After listening is to not be able to discuss other theories with her

Exceptionally thorough and accessible

If you could sum up Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs in three words, what would they be?

Informative, accessible and compelling

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs?

When I realized this was a real scientist explaining real research - the history and foundations of dark matter; the scientific method applied; the evaluation of the available data; the story of how the ideas explained in this book evolved in her thinking and in her work with other collaborators.

Have you listened to any of Carrington MacDuffie’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

She read it a little fast. I was on 0.75% most of the time.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. Too much to digest all at once.

Any additional comments?

Especially liked the manner in which she attributed credit to all the cited researchers whose work contributed to the present views.

A wonderful story, woven in science

I was a bit distracted on my first try on this book. But after a long pause I started over. This time I got thru the entire book. Now it began to connect the science, geology, physics and related it to a complex but plausible relationship, that included dark matter. It took a leap forward and unraveling the rest my beyond any one person perspective and lifetime.

Great for the amateur particle physicist and paleontologist

Readily understandable, but not overly simplified. Superb engaging style. Educational as well as entertaining. Author's depth of knowledge and breadth of experience come across. Leaves even more curious.

Look around you

This amazing book will take you to far far away places, worry astounding numbers, like billions of years and a life time spans, although physics is a difficult subject to grasp, when explain with such great knowledge is fascinating

Very informative and simple to understand

Usually books like this are hard to understand because they use dialect that keeps you guessing what they mean unless you are involved in the subject matter. But this author simplicity to explain her research in the most basic form was great. Really enjoyed it and would recommend anyone that is even slightly interested in this topic.

Good Stuff About Dark Matter

I knew about dark matter and its gravitational influence on ordinary matter, but I thought dark matter could only exist in any measureable quantity outside our galaxy. But now I know that pockets of dense dark matter could exist inside our galaxy which can perturbe the Oort Cloud sending comets into our inner solar system. It's a little more complicated than this, other factors contribute as well, but if you listen to this audio book, you'll discover that dark matter is more than just scaffolding.

Stick to your field

Would you try another book from Lisa Randall and/or Carrington MacDuffie?

yes Randall, no MacDuffie

Would you be willing to try another book from Lisa Randall? Why or why not?

Only if she sticks to her field.

What didn’t you like about Carrington MacDuffie’s performance?

flat, the author is a much more dynamic speaker than the narrator in this performance. It's a shame she didn't narrate (or perhaps direct) it herself.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

no

Any additional comments?

I was looking forward to an accessible overview of dark matter from a master, and willing to forgive a potentially fanciful theory on extinction level asteroid events. The dark matter sections are fascinating. Unfortunately the author and/or editor seemed to feel compelled to go into more detail on paleontology and geology than dark matter. Did we really need to hear about biogenesis? I have to give the particle physicist grief for poking fun at the awkward nomenclature of astronomers (gen 3 stars) while failing to mention that “they” (particle physicists) have the sign wrong on the electron! On a more serious note, I was disappointed that she beat the arguments for Chicxulub to death, while dismissing nemesis and planet X with a single sentence. She didn’t bother to discuss the limiting magnitude or field of view of IR surveys. This is particularly pertinent today, in light of recent work by Mike Brown et al. suggesting the existence of a large distant planet.