The End of Everything by Katie Mack

Posted by

I haven’t read a non-fiction physics/astronomy/cosmology book in such a long time. Oh my, I’ve missed this so much. There is just something mind bending when you learn of the vastness of the universe we live in and the insane laws of physics that surround some of the more extreme parts of our universes past.

This book focuses on the far future, however. When and how is everything going to end? It’s something universal to human nature to ask where we come from and where we are going. There aren’t any certain answers, not even in science. Scientists are trying their best though, and there are major schools of thought and each one of them is broken down into digestible pieces for those who haven’t done this for their career path.

I found this an accessible book, some of it I already knew, but there was a good amount that I didn’t, and it was presented in a way I could understand and engage with. I found the prose of the book to be fun and light hearted despite the morbid topic of how the entire universe will end. It will end, of that scientists are certain, it’s just the How that’s the big mystery. I knew about the oscillating universe theory, and the big freeze and the inferno… but I didn’t know much about The Big Rip until I read this book. Man this shit is horrifying to think about. Thank goodness it won’t be a problem for another 200 billion years. Probably. Maybe. Could be tomorrow according to another theory. But probably not.

This is a super quick book that’s broken down into easy chapters so it could make for good reading before bed. I highly recommend this to anyone with a vague interest in this topic, even if you’ve never taken a class on it or haven’t read many books about it.

Rating: 8/10