The Universe cover art

The Universe

The book of the BBC TV series presented by Professor Brian Cox

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The Universe

By: Andrew Cohen, Professor Brian Cox - introduction
Narrated by: Brian Cox, Jot Davies
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About this listen

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.

Astronomy Astronomy & Space Science Expeditions & Discoveries Nature & Ecology Outdoors & Nature Physics Science World Solar System Interstellar Cosmology Mathematics Black Hole Thought-Provoking Heartfelt Discovery

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

Praise for The Planets by Andrew Cohen and Professor Brian Cox:

‘So staggering you go whoa!’ every few seconds … Cox is the Attenborough of the Solar System’ Guardian

‘Spectacular. [Cox’s] ability to convey maximum information in a clear and minimalist style is so softly winning and persuasive’ Sunday Times

‘Professor Brian Cox continues to boggle our minds’ Daily Mail

‘It was life affirming, it was perspective shifting. It was beautifully made’ Fearne Cotton, The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show, Radio 2

‘Amazing work’ Emma Barnett, Adrian Chiles, Radio 5 Live

‘Starry-eyed Brian Cox is the only man for this job’ The Times

‘Wow’ Evening Standard

‘The professor makes us marvel at life on Earth’ iNews

‘Excellent … a blend of enjoyable, accessible science and dreamlike wonder’ The Times

‘Brian Cox breathes life into science again … breath-taking’ Guardian

‘Fascinating … Good science’ Observer

‘Extraordinary – at its best magically fascinating and full of vast, weird drama’ Radio Times

Praise for Professor Brian Cox:

‘Cox’s romantic, lyrical approach to astrophysics all adds up to an experience that feels less like homework and more like having a story told to you. A really good story, too’ Guardian

‘He bridges the gap between our childish sense of wonder and a rather more professional grasp of the scale of things’ Independent

‘If you didn’t utter a wow watching the TV, you will while reading the book’ The Times

‘Engaging, ambitious and creative’ Guardian

All stars
Most relevant
A really strong introduction to modern astronomy, detailed in all thee right places for the layman.

Brilliantly narrated and fascinating!

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Utter loss for words, my excitement for life and the universe reignited. Filled with wonder and fascination I’m a little child again hungry for knowledge!

Mind boggling astounding!

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I love space but as I work in pathology, I rarely get to indulge. But this audiobook it perfect to have on and phase in and out of during work breaks and free time. Worth the credit. And great clear narration.

Perfect

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The science and wonder is out of this world. It’s incredible and so full of new things if the universe is well trodden ground for you. The chapters need breaking up smaller, they are huge and it would be good to know what is in the book in smaller chunks.

Amazing detail but chapters are very long

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if I could give more stars I would. this is my absolute go to audio book,think I have listened to it 100 times and still blows my mind with the interesting facts and information. narrator is brilliant and it's easy to follow for us non science people.

so interesting

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