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The Order of Time

Narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch

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The Order of Time

By: Carlo Rovelli
Narrated by: Benedict Cumberbatch
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About this listen

Winner of the Specsavers Audiobook of the Year 2018.

Penguin presents the audio edition of The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli. The best-selling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics takes us on an enchanting journey to discover the meaning of time.

Time is a mystery that does not cease to puzzle us. Philosophers, artists and poets have long explored its meaning while scientists have found that its structure is different from the simple intuition we have of it. From Boltzmann to quantum theory, from Einstein to loop quantum gravity, our understanding of time has been undergoing radical transformations. Time flows at different speeds in different places, the past and the future differ far less than we might think and the very notion of the present evaporates in the vast universe.

With his extraordinary charm and sense of wonder, bringing together science, philosophy and art, Carlo Rovelli unravels this mystery, inviting us to imagine a world where time is in us and we are not in time.

©2018 Carlo Rovelli (P)2018 Penguin Audio Consciousness & Thought Philosophy Physics Science Social Sciences Thought-Provoking Feel-Good String Theory

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Critic reviews

"A global superstar...Rovelli is making the grammar of the universe accessible to a new generation." (Channel 4 News)

"Benedict Cumberbatch's warm, resonant voice makes him a very fine narrator." (The Times)

"Cumberbatch possesses a deep and rich voice and reads the text in a precise but unhurried manner, with the result that we feel as if we are getting an exposition by an erudite but gentle teacher." (The New York Times)
Most relevant  
An artful combination of science, philosophy and classics. You know when someone talks passionately about an interesting subject and you get so drawn in that you almost have an out of body experience? This book is that, with added physics.

Cumberbatch reads it extremely well too.

Brilliant

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Truly a stunning voyage through time, life, loss, death, understanding, quantum...
Very easy to read - I'll be listening again now :)

Exceptional

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Interesting and insightful this book gave my brain the opportunity to get outside of itself or rather myself and think differently for awhile.

A break from my norm

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Really love this recording. I have listened to it over and over and still find it fascinating. The narration is smooth and soothing and very engaging.

Brilliant

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Some bits a struggle for my brain, but excellent book.and very well read. I will listen again one it has soaked in a bit.

Excellent book

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Well narrated with profound content. Highly recommended for those interested in the fundamentals of nature.

Brilliant

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A great book most beautifully narrated. I will need to read it a few times to understand!

Great book!

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A poetic meander through the story and science of time. Narrated by the wonderful Benedict Cumberbatch

Inspiring

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This is partly a book about physics, partly consciousness, partly about being human and or limitations.

Rovelli spends a considerable amount of time discussing what physics has to say about time, before returning to the question of why we perceive time in the way that we do when the evidence is so strong that this is an illusion.

On the way he delves into philosophy, history, music, and literature and throughout cumberbatch's narration bring a resonance and erudition which make the journey an absolute joy.

As a physicist, there are points where the argument seems a little thin - the low entropy state of the early universe is dealt with as a dictation in a wider universe. Really just a statement of the anthropic principle, which is a little off hand. These are minor quibbles, though. The real point is the journey and the synthesis, which is masterly.

Thoroughly enjoyed this. I recommend it to anyone in a meditative frame of mind.

Masterful and personal

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really enjoyed the simple and elequent phrasing and could listen to it again. Highly recommended

elegant

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