Reddit reviews Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries

I feel similarly whenever I see a popular science/philosophy/crackpottery book with "Dr. Archibald Cornelius, PhD" or whatever on it. It makes me feel that their argument is weak enough that "hey, I have a degree!" is the best way to support it.

Serious scientists do this too sometimes, but not very often.

This question gets asked all the time on this sub. I did a search for the term books and compiled this list from the dozens of previous answers:

How to Read the Solar System: A Guide to the Stars and Planets by Christ North and Paul Abel.


A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson.


A Universe from Nothing: Why There is Something Rather than Nothing by Lawrence Krauss.


Cosmos by Carl Sagan.

Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space by Carl Sagan.


Foundations of Astrophysics by Barbara Ryden and Bradley Peterson.


Final Countdown: NASA and the End of the Space Shuttle Program by Pat Duggins.


An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything by Chris Hadfield.


You Are Here: Around the World in 92 Minutes: Photographs from the International Space Station by Chris Hadfield.


Space Shuttle: The History of Developing the Space Transportation System by Dennis Jenkins.


Wings in Orbit: Scientific and Engineering Legacies of the Space Shuttle, 1971-2010 by Chapline, Hale, Lane, and Lula.


No Downlink: A Dramatic Narrative About the Challenger Accident and Our Time by Claus Jensen.


Voices from the Moon: Apollo Astronauts Describe Their Lunar Experiences by Andrew Chaikin.


A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts by Andrew Chaikin.


Breaking the Chains of Gravity: The Story of Spaceflight before NASA by Amy Teitel.


Moon Lander: How We Developed the Apollo Lunar Module by Thomas Kelly.


The Scientific Exploration of Venus by Fredric Taylor.


The Right Stuff by Tom Wolfe.


Into the Black: The Extraordinary Untold Story of the First Flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia and the Astronauts Who Flew Her by Rowland White and Richard Truly.


An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics by Bradley Carroll and Dale Ostlie.


Rockets, Missiles, and Men in Space by Willy Ley.


Ignition!: An Informal History of Liquid Rocket Propellants by John Clark.


A Brief History of Time by Stephen Hawking.


Russia in Space by Anatoly Zak.


Rain Of Iron And Ice: The Very Real Threat Of Comet And Asteroid Bombardment by John Lewis.


Mining the Sky: Untold Riches From The Asteroids, Comets, And Planets by John Lewis.


Asteroid Mining: Wealth for the New Space Economy by John Lewis.


Coming of Age in the Milky Way by Timothy Ferris.


The Whole Shebang: A State of the Universe Report by Timothy Ferris.


Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandries by Neil deGrasse Tyson.


Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution by Neil deGrasse Tyson.


Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon by Craig Nelson.


The Martian by Andy Weir.


Packing for Mars:The Curious Science of Life in the Void by Mary Roach.


The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution by Frank White.


Gravitation by Misner, Thorne, and Wheeler.


The Science of Interstellar by Kip Thorne.


Entering Space: An Astronaut’s Oddyssey by Joseph Allen.


International Reference Guide to Space Launch Systems by Hopkins, Hopkins, and Isakowitz.


The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality by Brian Greene.


How the Universe Got Its Spots: Diary of a Finite Time in a Finite Space by Janna Levin.


This New Ocean: The Story of the First Space Age by William Burrows.


The Last Man on the Moon by Eugene Cernan.


Failure is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond by Eugene Cernan.


Apollo 13 by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger.


The end

Former NASA employee here!

What got me interested in space was manned spaceflight - at that time, the Space Shuttle. I know she's into astrophysics, but if that's too awkward around the family why not try to get her interested in things like ISS? You could show her the research they're doing on ISS having to do with space science:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/experiments/facilities_hardware.html#Earth_and_Space_Science



You could also show teach her about female astronauts and scientists. Sally Ride was a HUGE inspiration to me growing up (when my grandfather told me I had to be a nurse or a teacher because I was a girl!). Eileen Collins (first female Shuttle commander) would be a good role model, too.

Here's the NASA astrophysics page:

http://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/

I'd show her that, too.



Here's Neil deGrasse Tyson's autobiography, about growing up and becoming an astrophysicist. I've read it and it's not a hard read:

http://www.amazon.com/Sky-Not-Limit-Adventures-Astrophysicist-ebook/dp/B0030I1XNM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413845530&sr=8-1&keywords=the+sky+is+not+the+limit


Here's another Tyson book that I haven't read so I can't speak to it but she may enjoy it because it's all about space:

http://www.amazon.com/Death-Black-Hole-Cosmic-Quandaries/dp/039335038X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1413845568&sr=8-2&keywords=neil+tyson


I loved books and magazines on space at that age. Get her a subscription to Sky and Telescope or Scientific American?


Here are more book suggestions:

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2012/04/05/crowdsource-what-are-good-astronomy-books-for-kids/#.VEWTkIcgxWI


Let me know how it goes! It's VERY important to keep her interest! A 14 year old girl actually discovered a supernova, so that might be of interest to her. http://www.shakesville.com/2009/06/amazing-women.html

Good luck!


Edit: Is she on Twitter? If so, here are some scientists she can follow: http://news.sciencemag.org/scientific-community/2014/09/top-50-science-stars-twitter#full-list

If she's on Facebook she could also "Like" science pages.

This is definitely above your level, and it's from 1982 so it's a little outdated, but if you're really interested in astrophysics then it might be worth checking it out and trying to work through at least the first few sections. I think it's written so that you can follow it without too much math involvement.

Frank Shu - The Physical Universe: An Introduction to Astronomy

Otherwise, there are a lot of great popular-writing (i.e. not a textbook) books about physics/astrophysics. Here are a few:

Stephen Hawking - A Brief History of Time

Carl Sagan - Cosmos

Neil deGrasse Tyson - Death By Black Hole, and Other Cosmic Quandaries

My biggest advice, though, for taking physics in high school is to try to do as well as you possibly can in your math classes. Those are the most important for getting into physics. If you do well in math then physics should be pretty easy.

Not a documentary but a book:
http://www.amazon.com/Death-Black-Hole-Cosmic-Quandaries/dp/039335038X

Here's mine:

The War that came Early by Harry Turtledove

The Hot War by Harry Turtledove

The God Delusions by Richard Dawkins

god is not GREAT by Christopher Hitchens

Death by Blackhole by Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Okay then I'll make some recommendations!

If you're into science: [Death by Black Hole] (https://smile.amazon.com/Death-Black-Hole-Cosmic-Quandaries/dp/039335038X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491764342&sr=8-1&keywords=death+by+black+hole)

If you like classic mysteries: [A Study in Scarlet] (https://smile.amazon.com/Study-Scarlet-Arthur-Conan-Doyle/dp/1514698854/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491764421&sr=8-1&keywords=a+study+in+scarlet)

If you want something absurd: [What If?] (https://smile.amazon.com/What-If-Scientific-Hypothetical-Questions/dp/0544272994/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491764514&sr=8-1&keywords=what+if)

And here's some things I have been looking to get: [The Republic] (https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0141442433/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=226JO509390Q8&coliid=I2FVTI8SC5VCYS)

and

[The No Bullshit Guide to Math and Physics] (https://smile.amazon.com/dp/0992001005/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=226JO509390Q8&coliid=I1P7W8OMFLADHK)

Hope one of these sparks an idea!

READING RAINBOW (reading rainbow.. reading rainbow..)

Can't go wrong with Dr. Tyson. I love his book "Death by Black Hole". Go here and buy it! http://www.amazon.com/Death-Black-Hole-Cosmic-Quandaries/dp/039335038X

I had gotten the book Death by Black Hole last April to read over the break, but never did so. I am trying to start reading it again. Its quite an interesting book

This really depends on what you want to learn. I'll throw out some of my favorites.


Coming of Age In The Milky Way

Chasing Venus: The Race to Measure The Heavens

Of course there's Carl Sagan's Cosmos which is a bit outdated, but still a fantastic read. I'd personally recommend any of Sagans books. Demon Haunted World (about science and skepticism), Pale Blue Dot (spiritual sequel to Cosmos)

Death by Black Hole

Atom: A Single Oxygen Atom's Odyssey from the Big Bang to Life on Earth... and Beyond