The Planets by Andrew Cohen & Professor Brian Cox – An Audio Book Review

Blurb:

Mercury, a lifeless victim of the Sun’s expanding power. Venus, once thought to be lush and fertile, now known to be trapped within a toxic and boiling atmosphere. Mars, the red planet, doomed by the loss of its atmosphere. Jupiter, twice the size of all the other planets combined, but insubstantial. Saturn, a stunning celestial beauty, the jewel of our Solar System. Uranus, the sideways planet and the first ice giant. Neptune, dark, cold and whipped by supersonic winds. Pluto, the dwarf planet, a frozen rock.

Andrew Cohen and Professor Brian Cox take listeners on a voyage of discovery, from the fiery heart of our Solar System, to its mysterious outer reaches. They touch on the latest discoveries that have expanded our knowledge of the planets, their moons and how they come to be, alongside recent stunning and mind-boggling NASA photography.

Authors: Andrew Cohen & Professor Brian Cox

Narrator: Samuel West

Genre: Non-Fiction/Science

Publisher: Harper Collins

Running Time: 7hrs 43mins

Audio Release Date: 23/05/2019

My Rating of ‘The Planets’: 5 out of 5

Purchase: Amazon, Audible

Review: 

This was a lot of fun.

It’s the kind of book that, whilst grounded in science and features quite a lot of scientific phrases etc … it is easily accessible to your average person on the street. Professor Brian Cox and Andrew Cohen have a knack for making science enjoyable, and for that I applaud them.

I went into this with quite the nerdy love of all things space-related. So I fancied I’d mostly be brushing up on the subject. But it blew my perception of knowing a lot about our solar system right out of the window. Whether you’re a pro or just someone with a passing interest in the planets/solar system then this book has something for you.

It gives excellent information on planetary composition, just what was responsible for hurling that comet our way and killing off the dinosaurs, and much more.

I can honestly say it has rekindled my love of physics and that I shall be hunting down other media by Professor Cox (having seen some of his work on TV/interviews, he just seems like such a genuine person who, despite his lengthy career as a physicist, still gets that amazing sense of wonder whenever he looks up at the stars or settles himself down in front of a tricky problem).

There’s no bad thing I can say about this other than it ended 😦

The narration was absolutely wonderful and I really feel the narrator not only did a stellar job of the reading, but also on picking up on the authors’ humour. His skill really added an extra dimension to this book. I believe it’s the same narrator who did the original tv show this book accompanied, which is a lovely touch.