My Copy: 9780393609394 (image from amazon.com)

I was curious what I could learn from this book–and it taught me a lot more than I thought…and in a hurry, too! With all the crazy things that’ve gone on the past month, I haven’t had a chance to crack open a book in weeks. Glad I got to read this one.

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry is exactly that. Even more, it’s a decent, humorous, short work about our universe and ourselves. If you have a passing interest in astrophysics, it will give you tons of info. I think the best thing about this book is that if you don’t have much of a science background, then it’ll teach you about several branches of science and how they work together.

I have always had an interest in exploration and space, the stories and the technology involved. But Astrophysics for People in a Hurry digs into various branches of science, such as chemistry, biology, geology, and of course the cosmos. Other than some brief mentions of similar terms in science classes, I wouldn’t have imagined how integrated astrophysics is with such basic sciences.

It’s not what I’d consider a “for dummies” type of book (the use of language is a bit more sophisticated and technical). Rather, this book gives you a brief introduction into how all these branches of science are related, and how much of an influence astrophysics has on very earth-oriented questions.

I don’t want to spoil it all, and it’s a short enough read you can get a good grasp on your own pretty quick.

I think it’s a great little book, worth a shot by those who want to understand science better or get into astrophysics, or have always wanted to find a explanation that made sense regarding the eternal high-school question, “Why do we need to learn this crap?”

I think there’s plenty to learn, enough to get an idea how to apply what one’s learned from those very science classes… at least a few ideas.

A basic refresher in science might be helpful, but if you can’t, just take your time reading it and it won’t take long to come out.