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A Brief History of Black Holes

And Why Nearly Everything You Know About Them Is Wrong

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A Brief History of Black Holes

Written by: Dr Becky Smethurst
Narrated by: Dr. Becky Smethurst
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About this listen

This audio edition is narrated with dazzling enthusiasm by the author, Dr Becky Smethurst.

Right now, you are orbiting a black hole.

The Earth orbits the Sun, and the Sun orbits the centre of the Milky Way: a supermassive black hole, the strangest and most misunderstood phenomenon in the galaxy.

In A Brief History of Black Holes, the award-winning University of Oxford researcher Dr Becky Smethurst charts five hundred years of scientific breakthroughs in astronomy and astrophysics. She takes us from the earliest observations of the universe and the collapse of massive stars, to the iconic first photographs of a black hole and her own published findings.

A cosmic tale of discovery, Becky explains why black holes aren’t really ‘black’, that you never ever want to be ‘spaghettified’, how black holes are more like sofa cushions than hoovers and why, beyond the event horizon, the future is a direction in space rather than in time. Told with humour and wisdom, this captivating book describes the secrets behind the most profound questions about our universe, all hidden inside black holes.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2022 Dr Rebecca Smethurst (P)2022 Macmillan Publishers International Limited
Astronomy & Space Science Physics Black Hole Thought-Provoking Interstellar String Theory
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What the critics say

'A jaunt through space history . . . with charming wit and many pop-culture references' – BBC Sky At Night Magazine

What listeners say about A Brief History of Black Holes

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Such a good book. So informative.

I am a big fan of Dr Becky’s YouTube channel. And before that I was a big fan of her on Deep Sky Videos. I Really enjoyed this book. So full of gripping information and told with her trademark happy cheerfulness.

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Incredibly well thought out

Amazing book! Each chapter clearly built upon the knowledge learned in the previous chapters

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Well Articulated and Clever

Dr. Becky Smethurst obviously has a passion for sharing her passion with people, and does it well. A very interesting history of recent discoveries and intellect, and the time and efforts of many brilliant past minds.

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My first audiobook and it was brilliant!

Great read Dr. Becky! Found you on YouTube this year and just finished this book. You’ve made the whole thing really enjoyable with the way you read. It was just like listening to your videos. I’ve learned many things. Hopefully I’ll remember some of it. Great book!

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A most excellent listen

Great content explained very clearly, and in a very entertaining way. It was a very enjoyable and informative listen.

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What an adventure!!

"Nought point nought nought nought nought nought nought nought nought nought nought nought nought nought nought nought nought nought nought nought nought nought nought nought nought nought nine metres"
- Dr. Becky

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Interesting Stuff

I enjoyed learning with this book. I found the information presented in a way that was easy to understand and not dry.

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Best history book

Coming from a scientist background in a different area myself I felt that this book is the first time someone makes gives me a good overview and puts all of these well known things into an order. Listening to this book I had many moments thinking „oh that is what this is based on“ and „oh that is why they got the Nobel price“. Great book.

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Fantastic book that made me feel out of this world

Dr. Becky really made me consider and understand the knowledge we all very easily take granted about the universe and our place in it. All of the different sciences from different branches that help make astronomy possible. As well as, technologies that not only revolutionise our knowledge of the universe but also created multitudes of important technologies here on Earth. From lifesaving medical advancements to what we use now in our everyday lives. The cameras in our smartphones.

Her performance is incredible, natural and calming. Like when mum used to give bedtime stories that help my imagination run wild. Except this real and have very real implications about our own reality.
Her narration feels personal, inspiring, and passionate. Which perfect to inspiring people to consider astronomy as their career path. Like how convince me to now pursue astronomy as my career.
Thank you Dr. Becky for being paragon of knowledge. Inspiring us with your stellar enthusiasm.

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Becky at her best

A delightful romp though modern cosmology following an easy-to-follow review of its history. Thanks, Becky.

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