Supermassive

Black Holes at the Beginning and End of the Universe

By: James Trefil, Shobita Satyapal

Narrated by: Fred Sanders

Black holes, demystified: follow along the quest to understand the history and influence of one of space science's most fascinating and confounding phenomena

Led by physicist James Trefil and astrophysicist Shobita Satyapal, this book traverses the incredible history of black holes and introduces contemporary developments and theories on still unanswered questions about the enigmatic objects. From the early work of Albert Einstein and Karl Schwarzschild to an insider look at black hole-galaxy connection research led by co-author Satyapa, the comprehensive book surveys an exciting and evolving branch of space science, with topics that include:

• Visibility of black hole
• Quasars, the brightest objects in the universe
• The black hole at the center of the Milky Way
• Popular theories on the origin of black holes
• Cosmic X rays
• Death of supermassives
• Black hole collisions
• Black holes in science fiction

Invisible to the naked eye and telescopes, black holes have mystified and entranced astronomers, scientists, and humanity for more than a century. The first image of a supermassive black hole was only unveiled in 2019, and new black holes are continually discovered. Supermassive illuminates what we know about black holes so far and what we have yet to uncover.

Nothing new

If this is your first popular science book in astronomy you will enjoy learning some astronomy history, a little about black holes, and the potential hypothesized fates of the universe. Please stop reading this review if you fall into this category. For those with astronomy backgrounds keep reading.

This book was everywhere for me…in all my feeds on social media, recommended on websites, and always in my Audible account. I purchased it with high hopes that something new was discovered. It wasn’t. If you’re an avid reader of popular science astronomy books or have a background in astrophysics there is absolutely nothing new here that hasn’t been written about hundreds of times before by other authors and astronomers. So, unless you want to hear the story of Penzias and Woodrow for the thousandth time, minor details about black holes, and a TikTok’s version of the universe’s end, then by all means waste your time on this dud.

Recommend for beginners

Avoid for enthusiasts with background

Technical, dry with some interesting bits

A highly technical and dry book probably written for undergraduate courses rather than a wider popular audience. The most interesting sections focused on the history of the evolving science around black holes and the development of interstellar telescopes like the Hubble and James Webb, but whole sections of the book were a slog.

Fantastic Audiobook

I really love books on black holes and this is one of the best out there!