The Universe

The Book of the BBC TV Series Presented by Professor Brian Cox

By: Andrew Cohen, Professor Brian Cox - foreword

Narrated by: Brian Cox, Professor Jot Davies

Every night, above our heads, a drama of epic proportions is playing out. Diamond planets, zombie stars, black holes heavier than a billion Suns. The cast of characters is extraordinary, and each one has its own incredible story to tell.

We once thought of our Earth as unique, but we have now discovered thousands of alien planets, and that’s barely a fraction of the worlds that are out there. And there are more stars in the Universe than grains of sand on every planet in the Solar System. But amid all this vastness, the Milky Way Galaxy, our Sun and the Earth are home to the only known life in the Universe – at least for now.

With a foreword from Professor Brian Cox, and access to all the latest NASA mission information, Andrew Cohen takes readers on a voyage of discovery, via the probes and telescopes exploring the outer reaches of our galaxy, revealing how it was formed and how it will inevitably be destroyed by the enigmatic black hole at its heart. And beyond our galaxy, the expanding Universe, which holds clues to the biggest mystery of all – how did it all begin? We now know more about those first moments of existence than we ever thought possible, and hidden in this story of how it all began are the clues to the fate of the Universe itself and everything in it.

©2021 Andrew Cohen and Professor Brian Cox (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

‘Wonderful in every sense’ Guardian

‘I wish Brian Cox had been my physics teacher’ The Times

‘Undeniably beautiful’ Daily Mail

‘Engaging and elucidating’ Metro

‘[The Universe] looks spectacular and the science is mind-boggling’ Telegraph

Interesting For Newcomers To Cosmology

A well paced audiobook with calm, enunciated narration. Full of interesting concepts, that are expansive without being too hard to comprehend.

Superb!

The Universe was clear, well organized, informative, and well presented. Best of all it exciting to learn more than I knew as I was forced to rewind several times and think through what I had just heard.

I enjoyed way it was structured

I want Brian Cox to read!!!!!!! please thank you amen hail Ceasar pasta spaghetti

Good Sciece

Too short and not detailed enough for scientifically minded people.
Probably just right for first time listeners to cosmological documentaries.

Listen to this alone and with your loved ones. You’ll be transported and inspired

I thoroughly enjoyed the content, and have been rereading parts already as there’s so much to take in and savor. It’s a wonderful adventure, skillfully written to engage the reader in the unbelievably reality of which we’re actually a part. loved the narrator’s voice and found his presentation also totally engaging. On a personal note, I found this book very soothing and hopeful as counterpoint to the harsh realities of world events. We humans are capable of overcoming ignorance and the science we inherit as shared in this book proves that. Listen to this with your loved ones and your children.

A Complex Subject Made Easy To Follow

I know this subject matter pretty well but I felt I was being taught a lot of it for the first time due to the creative use of quotes and the telling of facts with enthusiastic flair.

Poetic story of our creation

Narration excellent, complicated knowledge of universe presented in accessible manner. I will relisten as bedtime story!

insightful

The presenter did a fabulous job. the subject matter is extremely interesting. this is a great listen

Really Good!

I am no scientist just a mortal soul. That said I love science! So I am always looking for books that speak at my level. This is one of those books that covers a lot and at the same time I can understand. I was actually sad when it finished it’s not easy finding books like this. From our tiny planet to just beyond the Big Bang. And to the author: I’m waiting for your next book!

So Damn Good

One of those books that makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. The narrator is excellent-there are many other space audiobooks I wish this guy narrated.