-
What If?
- Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $13.22
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
What If? 2
- Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The millions of people around the world who loved What If? still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger. Thank goodness xkcd creator Randall Munroe is here to help. Planning to ride a fire pole from the Moon back to Earth? The hardest part is sticking the landing. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyone’s freezer door at the same time? Maybe it’s time for a brief introduction to thermodynamics. Want to know what would happen if you rode a helicopter blade, made a lava lamp out of lava, or jumped on an erupting geyser? Okay, if you insist.
-
-
Fantastic!
- By Aidan Wiggs on 09-13-22
By: Randall Munroe
-
How To
- Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For any task you might want to do, there's a right way, a wrong way, and a way so monumentally complex, excessive, and inadvisable that no one would ever try it. How To is a guide to the third kind of approach. It's full of highly impractical advice for everything from landing a plane to digging a hole.
-
-
Bad Ideas So BAD They Are NEARLY Irresistable! 🤓
- By C. White on 09-03-19
By: Randall Munroe
-
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
- By: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Length: 3 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us? There's no better guide through these mind-expanding questions than acclaimed astrophysicist and best-selling author Neil deGrasse Tyson. But today, few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. So Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly, with sparkling wit, in digestible chapters consumable anytime and anywhere in your busy day.
-
-
Disappointing - not much physics
- By Rob Hahn on 07-15-17
-
And Then You're Dead
- What Really Happens If You Get Swallowed by a Whale, Are Shot from a Cannon, or Go Barreling over Niagara
- By: Cody Cassidy, Paul Doherty
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 4 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A gleefully gruesome look at the actual science behind the most outlandish, cartoonish, and impossible deaths you can imagine. What would happen if you took a swim outside a deep-sea submarine wearing only a swimsuit? How long could you last if you stood on the surface of the sun? How far could you actually get in digging a hole to China? Paul Doherty, senior staff scientist at San Francisco's famed Exploratorium Museum, and writer Cody Cassidy explore the real science behind these and other fantastical scenarios.
-
-
perfect for a precocious 9 year old boy
- By Kerith Strano Taylor on 05-15-17
By: Cody Cassidy, and others
-
Humble Pi
- When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World
- By: Matt Parker
- Narrated by: Matt Parker
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Exploring and explaining a litany of glitches, near misses, and mathematical mishaps involving the internet, big data, elections, street signs, lotteries, the Roman Empire, and an Olympic team, Matt Parker uncovers the bizarre ways math trips us up, and what this reveals about its essential place in our world. Getting it wrong has never been more fun.
-
-
Fascinating & enlightening even for da mathphobic✏️
- By C. White on 01-23-20
By: Matt Parker
-
Wearing the Cape
- Wearing the Cape Series, Book 1
- By: Marion G. Harmon
- Narrated by: K.F. Lim
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who wants to be a superhero? Hope did, but she grew out of it. Which made her superhuman breakthrough in the Ashland Bombing, just before starting her freshman year at the University of Chicago, more than a little ironic. And now she has some decisions to make. Given the code-name "Astra" and invited to join the Sentinels, Chicago's premier super-team, will she take up the cape and mask and become a career superhero? Or will she get a handle on her new powers (superstrength has some serious drawbacks) and then get on with her life plan?
-
-
God and Supers don't mix!
- By Robert Parson on 09-08-19
By: Marion G. Harmon
-
What If? 2
- Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The millions of people around the world who loved What If? still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger. Thank goodness xkcd creator Randall Munroe is here to help. Planning to ride a fire pole from the Moon back to Earth? The hardest part is sticking the landing. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyone’s freezer door at the same time? Maybe it’s time for a brief introduction to thermodynamics. Want to know what would happen if you rode a helicopter blade, made a lava lamp out of lava, or jumped on an erupting geyser? Okay, if you insist.
-
-
Fantastic!
- By Aidan Wiggs on 09-13-22
By: Randall Munroe
-
How To
- Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For any task you might want to do, there's a right way, a wrong way, and a way so monumentally complex, excessive, and inadvisable that no one would ever try it. How To is a guide to the third kind of approach. It's full of highly impractical advice for everything from landing a plane to digging a hole.
-
-
Bad Ideas So BAD They Are NEARLY Irresistable! 🤓
- By C. White on 09-03-19
By: Randall Munroe
-
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
- By: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Length: 3 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us? There's no better guide through these mind-expanding questions than acclaimed astrophysicist and best-selling author Neil deGrasse Tyson. But today, few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. So Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly, with sparkling wit, in digestible chapters consumable anytime and anywhere in your busy day.
-
-
Disappointing - not much physics
- By Rob Hahn on 07-15-17
-
And Then You're Dead
- What Really Happens If You Get Swallowed by a Whale, Are Shot from a Cannon, or Go Barreling over Niagara
- By: Cody Cassidy, Paul Doherty
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 4 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A gleefully gruesome look at the actual science behind the most outlandish, cartoonish, and impossible deaths you can imagine. What would happen if you took a swim outside a deep-sea submarine wearing only a swimsuit? How long could you last if you stood on the surface of the sun? How far could you actually get in digging a hole to China? Paul Doherty, senior staff scientist at San Francisco's famed Exploratorium Museum, and writer Cody Cassidy explore the real science behind these and other fantastical scenarios.
-
-
perfect for a precocious 9 year old boy
- By Kerith Strano Taylor on 05-15-17
By: Cody Cassidy, and others
-
Humble Pi
- When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World
- By: Matt Parker
- Narrated by: Matt Parker
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Exploring and explaining a litany of glitches, near misses, and mathematical mishaps involving the internet, big data, elections, street signs, lotteries, the Roman Empire, and an Olympic team, Matt Parker uncovers the bizarre ways math trips us up, and what this reveals about its essential place in our world. Getting it wrong has never been more fun.
-
-
Fascinating & enlightening even for da mathphobic✏️
- By C. White on 01-23-20
By: Matt Parker
-
Wearing the Cape
- Wearing the Cape Series, Book 1
- By: Marion G. Harmon
- Narrated by: K.F. Lim
- Length: 10 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Who wants to be a superhero? Hope did, but she grew out of it. Which made her superhuman breakthrough in the Ashland Bombing, just before starting her freshman year at the University of Chicago, more than a little ironic. And now she has some decisions to make. Given the code-name "Astra" and invited to join the Sentinels, Chicago's premier super-team, will she take up the cape and mask and become a career superhero? Or will she get a handle on her new powers (superstrength has some serious drawbacks) and then get on with her life plan?
-
-
God and Supers don't mix!
- By Robert Parson on 09-08-19
By: Marion G. Harmon
-
A Short History of Nearly Everything
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Richard Matthews
- Length: 18 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bill Bryson has been an enormously popular author both for his travel books and for his books on the English language. Now, this beloved comic genius turns his attention to science. Although he doesn't know anything about the subject (at first), he is eager to learn, and takes information that he gets from the world's leading experts and explains it to us in a way that makes it exciting and relevant.
-
-
The Only Book I reread imediatley after reading
- By Andrew on 11-09-09
By: Bill Bryson
-
Bedtime Stories for Cynics
- By: Dave Hill, Jessica Conrad, Sean Keane, and others
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman, Phoebe Robinson, David Spade, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 42 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are the kids asleep? Yes? Good. This one isn’t for them. Now, if your weary, grown-up mind has been searching for a snarkier alternative to your favorite childhood tales, this Audible Original, hosted by Nick Offerman (Parks & Recreation), will scratch that itch - and then some. Enjoy a hilarious collection of short stories, featuring performances from the likes of Tommy Chong (Cheech & Chong), Tony Hale (Veep), Patton Oswalt (The Goldbergs), and David Spade (Saturday Night Live).
-
-
It's Just...Alright.
- By Chelsea on 06-10-19
By: Dave Hill, and others
-
Fingerprints of the Gods
- The Quest Continues
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock
- Length: 18 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fingerprints of the Gods is the revolutionary rewrite of history that has persuaded millions of listeners throughout the world to change their preconceptions about the history behind modern society. An intellectual detective story, this unique history audiobook directs probing questions at orthodox history, presenting disturbing new evidence that historians have tried - but failed - to explain.
-
-
Classic in Historical Mysteries
- By Kelly on 09-05-19
By: Graham Hancock
-
A Dirty Job
- By: Christopher Moore
- Narrated by: Fisher Stevens
- Length: 11 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
People start dropping dead around Charlie, giant ravens perch on his building, and it seems that everywhere he goes, a dark presence whispers to him from under the streets. Strange names start appearing on his nightstand notepad, and before he knows it, those people end up dead, too. Yup, it seems that Charlie Asher has been recruited for a new job, an unpleasant but utterly necessary one: Death.
-
-
Great Listen!
- By Janie on 03-24-06
-
The Egg and Other Stories
- By: Andy Weir
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Christy Romano, R.C. Bray
- Length: 1 hr and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Collected for the first time anywhere, the nine tales in The Egg and Other Stories highlight Andy Weir's trademark wit and unexpected twists. For the few who have yet to experience The Martian, it's a perfect appetizer. For passionate Weir fans, it's a delicious dessert.
-
-
Pretty decent collection
- By Chantal Noordeloos on 09-23-20
By: Andy Weir
-
Ready Player One
- By: Ernest Cline
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the year 2045, reality is an ugly place. The only time Wade Watts really feels alive is when he’s jacked into the OASIS, a vast virtual world where most of humanity spends their days. When the eccentric creator of the OASIS dies, he leaves behind a series of fiendish puzzles, based on his obsession with the pop culture of decades past. Whoever is first to solve them will inherit his vast fortune—and control of the OASIS itself.
-
-
I’m sorry I waited so long to read this book.
- By Julie W. Capell on 05-27-14
By: Ernest Cline
-
Redshirts
- A Novel with Three Codas
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. Life couldn’t be better…until Andrew begins to pick up on the facts that (1) every Away Mission involves some kind of lethal confrontation with alien forces; (2) the ship’s captain, its chief science officer, and the handsome Lieutenant Kerensky always survive these confrontations; and (3) at least one low-ranked crew member is, sadly, always killed.
-
-
Not his Wheal-house
- By P. Stover on 09-16-13
By: John Scalzi
-
Stuff Matters
- Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World
- By: Mark Miodownik
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 6 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Why is glass see-through? What makes elastic stretchy? Why does a paper clip bend? These are the sorts of questions that Mark Miodownik is constantly asking himself. A globally renowned materials scientist, Miodownik has spent his life exploring objects as ordinary as an envelope and as unexpected as concrete cloth, uncovering the fascinating secrets that hold together our physical world.
-
-
Surprisingly good
- By D. MacLeod on 01-29-15
By: Mark Miodownik
-
Agent to the Stars
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 8 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The space-faring Yherajk have come to Earth to meet us and to begin humanity's first interstellar friendship. There's just one problem: They're hideously ugly and they smell like rotting fish. So getting humanity's trust is a challenge. The Yherajk need someone who can help them close the deal. Enter Thomas Stein, who knows something about closing deals. He's one of Hollywood's hottest young agents.
-
-
excellent
- By C. Paget on 12-28-10
By: John Scalzi
-
We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
- Bobiverse, Book 1
- By: Dennis E. Taylor
- Narrated by: Ray Porter
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There's a reason We Are Legion was named Audible's Best Science Fiction Book of 2016: Its irresistibly irreverent wit! Bob Johansson has just sold his software company for a small fortune and is looking forward to a life of leisure. The first item on his to-do list: Spending his newfound windfall. On an urge to splurge, he signs up to have his head cryogenically preserved in case of death. Then he gets himself killed crossing the street. Waking up 117 years later, Bob discovers his mind has been uploaded into a sentient space probe with the ability to replicate itself.
-
-
Ignore the Publisher's Summary! This is Amazing!
- By PW on 04-12-17
By: Dennis E. Taylor
-
Off to Be the Wizard
- Magic 2.0, Book 1
- By: Scott Meyer
- Narrated by: Luke Daniels
- Length: 10 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It's a simple story. Boy finds proof that reality is a computer program. Boy uses program to manipulate time and space. Boy gets in trouble. Boy flees back in time to Medieval England to live as a wizard while he tries to think of a way to fix things. Boy gets in more trouble. Oh, and boy meets girl at some point.
-
-
Hang in there
- By Kelly on 03-04-17
By: Scott Meyer
-
The Last Best Hope
- Star Trek: Picard
- By: Una McCormack
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 11 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A thrilling novel leading into the new CBS series, Una McCormack’s The Last Best Hope introduces you to brand-new characters featured in the life of beloved Star Trek captain Jean-Luc Picard—widely considered to be one of the most popular and recognizable characters in all of science fiction.
-
-
Star Trek by people who don't get Star Trek
- By Chidwick on 02-11-20
By: Una McCormack
Publisher's summary
From the creator of the wildly popular webcomic xkcd comes this hilarious and informative book of answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask.
Millions of people visit xkcd.com each week to read Randall Munroe's iconic webcomic. His stick-figure drawings about science, technology, language, and love have a large and passionate following. Fans of xkcd ask Munroe a lot of strange questions. What if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90 percent of the speed of light? How fast can you hit a speed bump while driving and live? If there were a robot apocalypse, how long would humanity last?
In pursuit of answers, Munroe runs computer simulations, pores over stacks of declassified military research memos, solves differential equations, and consults with nuclear reactor operators. His responses are masterpieces of clarity and hilarity, complemented by signature xkcd comics. They often predict the complete annihilation of humankind, or at least a really big explosion.
The book features new and never-before-answered questions, along with updated and expanded versions of the most popular answers from the xkcd website. What If? will be required listening for xkcd fans and anyone who loves to ponder the hypothetical.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
Featured Article: The Best Science Listens to Channel Your Inner Einstein
While you might listen in order to be entertained, there are also a host of works intended to be purely educational. We chose the best science titles on this list for the fact that they are both. These selections not only bring important perspectives on some of the most pressing scientific issues of our time—they’re also written and performed with a refreshing clarity that makes them easy to swallow and entertaining to the end.
More from the same
Author
Narrator
Related to this topic
-
What Einstein Didn't Know
- Scientific Answers to Everyday Questions
- By: Robert L. Wolke
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How does soap know what's dirt? How do magnets work? Why do ice cubes crackle in your glass? And how can you keep them quiet? These are questions that torment us all. Now Robert L. Wolke, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh, provides definitive - and amazingly simple - explanations for the mysteries of everyday life.
-
-
A funny thing happened on the way to a great book
- By Joseph on 10-01-12
By: Robert L. Wolke
-
18 Miles
- The Epic Drama of Our Atmosphere and Its Weather
- By: Christopher Dewdney
- Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We live at the bottom of an ocean of air - 5,200 million million tons, to be exact. It sounds like a lot, but Earth’s atmosphere is smeared onto its surface in an alarmingly thin layer - 99 percent contained within 18 miles. Yet, within this fragile margin lies a magnificent realm - at once gorgeous, terrifying, capricious, and elusive. With his keen eye for identifying and uniting seemingly unrelated events, Chris Dewdney reveals to us the invisible rivers in the sky that affect how our weather works and the structure of clouds and storms and seasons, the rollercoaster of climate.
-
-
10% science, 90% other stuff
- By Daniel W. Fox, Jr. on 10-09-20
-
A Short History of Nearly Everything
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Richard Matthews
- Length: 18 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bill Bryson has been an enormously popular author both for his travel books and for his books on the English language. Now, this beloved comic genius turns his attention to science. Although he doesn't know anything about the subject (at first), he is eager to learn, and takes information that he gets from the world's leading experts and explains it to us in a way that makes it exciting and relevant.
-
-
The Only Book I reread imediatley after reading
- By Andrew on 11-09-09
By: Bill Bryson
-
Space Chronicles
- Facing the Ultimate Frontier
- By: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With his signature wit and thought-provoking insights, Neil deGrasse Tyson - one of our foremost thinkers on all things space - illuminates the past, present, and future of space exploration and brilliantly reminds us why NASA matters now as much as ever. As Tyson reveals, exploring the space frontier can profoundly enrich many aspects of our daily lives, from education systems and the economy to national security and morale.
-
-
The least helpful review of Space Chronicles.
- By Joshua Kring on 06-17-15
-
Beyond
- Our Future in Space
- By: Chris Impey
- Narrated by: Julie McKay
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beyond dares to imagine a fantastic future for humans in space - and then reminds us that we're already there. Human exploration has been an unceasing engine of technological progress, from the first homo sapiens to leave our African cradle to a future in which mankind promises to settle another world. Beyond tells the epic story of humanity leaving home - and how humans will soon thrive in the vast universe beyond the Earth.
-
-
OTHER WORLDS
- By chetyarbrough.blog on 01-10-16
By: Chris Impey
-
Five Billion Years of Solitude
- The Search for Life Among the Stars
- By: Lee Billings
- Narrated by: Lee Billings
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since its formation nearly five billion years ago, our planet has been the sole living world in a vast and silent universe. Now, Earth's isolation is coming to an end. Over the past two decades, astronomers have discovered thousands of "exoplanets" orbiting other stars, including some that could be similar to our own world. Studying those distant planets for signs of life will be crucial to understanding life's intricate mysteries right here on Earth. In a firsthand account of this unfolding revolution, Lee Billings draws on interviews with top researchers.
-
-
Bloated
- By Dr A on 01-09-14
By: Lee Billings
-
What Einstein Didn't Know
- Scientific Answers to Everyday Questions
- By: Robert L. Wolke
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How does soap know what's dirt? How do magnets work? Why do ice cubes crackle in your glass? And how can you keep them quiet? These are questions that torment us all. Now Robert L. Wolke, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh, provides definitive - and amazingly simple - explanations for the mysteries of everyday life.
-
-
A funny thing happened on the way to a great book
- By Joseph on 10-01-12
By: Robert L. Wolke
-
18 Miles
- The Epic Drama of Our Atmosphere and Its Weather
- By: Christopher Dewdney
- Narrated by: Angelo Di Loreto
- Length: 8 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
We live at the bottom of an ocean of air - 5,200 million million tons, to be exact. It sounds like a lot, but Earth’s atmosphere is smeared onto its surface in an alarmingly thin layer - 99 percent contained within 18 miles. Yet, within this fragile margin lies a magnificent realm - at once gorgeous, terrifying, capricious, and elusive. With his keen eye for identifying and uniting seemingly unrelated events, Chris Dewdney reveals to us the invisible rivers in the sky that affect how our weather works and the structure of clouds and storms and seasons, the rollercoaster of climate.
-
-
10% science, 90% other stuff
- By Daniel W. Fox, Jr. on 10-09-20
-
A Short History of Nearly Everything
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Richard Matthews
- Length: 18 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bill Bryson has been an enormously popular author both for his travel books and for his books on the English language. Now, this beloved comic genius turns his attention to science. Although he doesn't know anything about the subject (at first), he is eager to learn, and takes information that he gets from the world's leading experts and explains it to us in a way that makes it exciting and relevant.
-
-
The Only Book I reread imediatley after reading
- By Andrew on 11-09-09
By: Bill Bryson
-
Space Chronicles
- Facing the Ultimate Frontier
- By: Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: Mirron Willis
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With his signature wit and thought-provoking insights, Neil deGrasse Tyson - one of our foremost thinkers on all things space - illuminates the past, present, and future of space exploration and brilliantly reminds us why NASA matters now as much as ever. As Tyson reveals, exploring the space frontier can profoundly enrich many aspects of our daily lives, from education systems and the economy to national security and morale.
-
-
The least helpful review of Space Chronicles.
- By Joshua Kring on 06-17-15
-
Beyond
- Our Future in Space
- By: Chris Impey
- Narrated by: Julie McKay
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Beyond dares to imagine a fantastic future for humans in space - and then reminds us that we're already there. Human exploration has been an unceasing engine of technological progress, from the first homo sapiens to leave our African cradle to a future in which mankind promises to settle another world. Beyond tells the epic story of humanity leaving home - and how humans will soon thrive in the vast universe beyond the Earth.
-
-
OTHER WORLDS
- By chetyarbrough.blog on 01-10-16
By: Chris Impey
-
Five Billion Years of Solitude
- The Search for Life Among the Stars
- By: Lee Billings
- Narrated by: Lee Billings
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since its formation nearly five billion years ago, our planet has been the sole living world in a vast and silent universe. Now, Earth's isolation is coming to an end. Over the past two decades, astronomers have discovered thousands of "exoplanets" orbiting other stars, including some that could be similar to our own world. Studying those distant planets for signs of life will be crucial to understanding life's intricate mysteries right here on Earth. In a firsthand account of this unfolding revolution, Lee Billings draws on interviews with top researchers.
-
-
Bloated
- By Dr A on 01-09-14
By: Lee Billings
-
When the Earth Had Two Moons
- Cannibal Planets, Icy Giants, Dirty Comets, Dreadful Orbits, and the Origins of the Night Sky
- By: Erik Asphaug
- Narrated by: Adam Verner
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1959, the Soviet probe Luna 3 took the first photos of the far side of the Moon. Even in their poor resolution, the images stunned scientists: The far side is an enormous mountainous expanse, not the vast lava plains seen from Earth. Subsequent missions have confirmed this in much greater detail. How could this be, and what might it tell us about our own place in the universe? As it turns out, quite a lot. When the Earth Had Two Moons is an astonishing exploration of planet formation and the origins of life by one of the world’s most innovative planetary geologists.
-
-
Poorly written, poorly narrated
- By RickyF on 05-11-23
By: Erik Asphaug
-
The Disappearing Spoon
- And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
- By: Sam Kean
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Reporter Sam Kean reveals the periodic table as it’s never been seen before. Not only is it one of man's crowning scientific achievements, it's also a treasure trove of stories of passion, adventure, betrayal, and obsession. The infectious tales and astounding details in The Disappearing Spoon follow carbon, neon, silicon, and gold as they play out their parts in human history, finance, mythology, war, the arts, poison, and the lives of the (frequently) mad scientists who discovered them.
-
-
Great Book, Great Narration, But...
- By Henny Button on 09-18-10
By: Sam Kean
-
Soonish
- Ten Emerging Technologies That'll Improve and/or Ruin Everything
- By: Kelly Weinersmith, Zach Weinersmith
- Narrated by: Kelly Weinersmith, Zach Weinersmith
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this smart and funny book, celebrated cartoonist Zach Weinersmith and noted researcher Dr. Kelly Weinersmith give us a snapshot of what's coming next - from robot swarms to nuclear fusion powered-toasters. By weaving their own research and interviews with the scientists who are making these advances happen, the Weinersmiths investigate why these technologies are needed, how they would work, and what is standing in their way.
-
-
Really Good-ish!
- By See Reverse on 04-16-18
By: Kelly Weinersmith, and others
-
How to Speak Science
- Gravity, Relativity, and Other Ideas That Were Crazy Until Proven Brilliant
- By: Bruce Benamran, Stephanie Delozier Strobel
- Narrated by: Braden Wright
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As smartphones, supercomputers, supercolliders, and AI propel us into an ever more unfamiliar future, How to Speak Science takes us on a rollicking historical tour of the greatest discoveries and ideas that make today's cutting-edge technologies possible. Wanting everyone to be able to "speak" science, YouTube science guru Bruce Benamran explains - as accessibly and wittily as in his acclaimed videos - the fundamental ideas of the physical world: matter, life, the solar system, light, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, special and general relativity, and much more.
-
-
Wowzers!
- By Ralph Temblador on 02-15-21
By: Bruce Benamran, and others
-
How to Walk on Water and Climb up Walls
- Animal Movement and the Robots of the Future
- By: David Hu
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Insects walk on water, snakes slither, and fish swim. Animals move with astounding grace, speed, and versatility: how do they do it, and what can we learn from them? In How to Walk on Water and Climb up Walls, David Hu takes listeners on an accessible, wondrous journey into the world of animal motion. From basement labs at MIT to the rain forests of Panama, Hu shows how animals have adapted and evolved to traverse their environments, taking advantage of physical laws with results that are startling and ingenious.
-
-
Fun, entertaining, hilarious, and informative
- By Susan T on 11-04-19
By: David Hu
-
Seeing in the Dark
- How Backyard Stargazers Are Probing Deep Space and Guarding Earth from Interplanetary Peril
- By: Timothy Ferris
- Narrated by: Timothy Ferris
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anyone can get started in astronomy, just by going outside on a dark night with a star chart and learning their way around. Timothy Ferris tells us what's been seen out there - the Ring nebula, the Silver Coin galaxy, the Virgo supercluster, and how to find them.
-
-
About astronomy as well as astronomers
- By Gary on 04-09-03
By: Timothy Ferris
-
How to Invent Everything
- A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler
- By: Ryan North
- Narrated by: Ryan North
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What would you do if a time machine hurled you thousands of years into the past...and then broke? How would you survive? With this book as your guide, you'll survive - and thrive - in any period in Earth's history. Best-selling author and time-travel enthusiast Ryan North tells you how to invent all the modern conveniences we take for granted - from first principles. This manual contains all the science, engineering, art, philosophy, facts, and figures required for even the most clueless time traveler to build a civilization from the ground up.
-
-
Get the book
- By Tim McNerney on 11-26-18
By: Ryan North
-
Seveneves
- A Novel
- By: Neal Stephenson
- Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal, Will Damron
- Length: 31 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A catastrophic event renders the earth a ticking time bomb. In a feverish race against the inevitable, nations around the globe band together to devise an ambitious plan to ensure the survival of humanity far beyond our atmosphere, in outer space.
-
-
Odd narrator choice
- By Josh Mitchell on 05-30-15
By: Neal Stephenson
-
Catching Stardust
- Comets, Asteroids and the Birth of the Solar System
- By: Natalie Starkey
- Narrated by: Alison Campbell
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Icy, rocky, sometimes dusty, always mysterious – comets and asteroids are among the Solar System's very oldest inhabitants, formed within a swirling cloud of gas and dust in the area of space that eventually hosted the Sun and its planets. Locked within each of these extra-terrestrial objects is the 4.6-billion-year wisdom of Solar System events, and by studying them at close quarters using spacecraft we can coerce them into revealing their closely-guarded secrets. This offers us the chance to answer some fundamental questions about our planet and its inhabitants.
-
-
Chasing star stuff always results in technological advances
- By Raduede on 12-30-18
By: Natalie Starkey
-
The Case for Mars
- The Plan to Settle the Red Planet and Why We Must
- By: Robert Zubrin, Richard Wagner, Arthur C. Clarke - Foreword
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 14 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Since the beginning of human history Mars has been an alluring dream - the stuff of legends, gods, and mystery. The planet most like ours, it has still been thought impossible to reach, let alone explore and inhabit. Now with the advent of a revolutionary new plan, all this has changed. Leading space exploration authority Robert Zubrin has crafted a daring new blueprint, Mars Direct, presented here with engaging anecdotes. The Case for Mars is not a vision for the far future or one that will cost us impossible billions.
-
-
Compelling
- By Michael D. Busch on 04-16-18
By: Robert Zubrin, and others
-
Confessions of an Alien Hunter
- A Scientist's Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence
- By: Seth Shostak
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 10 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This engaging memoir reveals the true story of the Search for ExtraterrestrialIntelligence (SETI), and discloses what we may very soon discover. Chronicling the program’s history with insight and humor, SETI senior astronomer Seth Shostak assures us that if there is sentient life in the universe, we are within decades of picking up its signal.
-
-
Somewhat Disappointed...
- By Tim on 11-12-10
By: Seth Shostak
-
The Story of Earth
- The First 4.5 Billion Years, from Stardust to Living Planet
- By: Robert M. Hazen
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Earth evolves. From first atom to molecule, mineral to magma, granite crust to single cell to verdant living landscape, ours is a planet constantly in flux. In this radical new approach to Earth’s biography, senior Carnegie Institution researcher and national best-selling author Robert M. Hazen reveals how the co-evolution of the geosphere and biosphere - of rocks and living matter - has shaped our planet into the only one of its kind in the Solar System, if not the entire cosmos.
-
-
Makes minerals interesting
- By Gary on 07-31-12
By: Robert M. Hazen
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
What If? 2
- Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The millions of people around the world who loved What If? still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger. Thank goodness xkcd creator Randall Munroe is here to help. Planning to ride a fire pole from the Moon back to Earth? The hardest part is sticking the landing. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyone’s freezer door at the same time? Maybe it’s time for a brief introduction to thermodynamics. Want to know what would happen if you rode a helicopter blade, made a lava lamp out of lava, or jumped on an erupting geyser? Okay, if you insist.
-
-
Fantastic!
- By Aidan Wiggs on 09-13-22
By: Randall Munroe
-
How To
- Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For any task you might want to do, there's a right way, a wrong way, and a way so monumentally complex, excessive, and inadvisable that no one would ever try it. How To is a guide to the third kind of approach. It's full of highly impractical advice for everything from landing a plane to digging a hole.
-
-
Bad Ideas So BAD They Are NEARLY Irresistable! 🤓
- By C. White on 09-03-19
By: Randall Munroe
-
Napoleon's Hemorrhoids…And Other Small Events That Changed History
- By: Phil Mason
- Narrated by: LJ Ganser
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hilarious, fascinating, and a roller coaster of dizzying, historical what-ifs, Napoleon's Hemorrhoids is a potpourri for serious historians and casual history buffs. In one of Phil Mason's many revelations, you'll learn that Communist jets were two minutes away from opening fire on American planes during the Cuban missile crisis, when they had to turn back as they were running out of fuel. You'll discover that before the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon's painful hemorrhoids prevented him from mounting his horse to survey the battlefield.
-
-
They just throw the facts too fast
- By Concerned_llama on 12-11-20
By: Phil Mason
-
The Book of Common Fallacies
- Falsehoods, Misconceptions, Flawed Facts, and Half-Truths That Are Ruining Your Life
- By: Phillip Ward, Julia Edwards
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 21 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everything you thought you knew was wrong! Long before Snopes.com and Wikipedia, The Book of Common Fallacies set out to debunk popular beliefs and set the record straight. By tracking down the facts and citing experts in a multitude of fields, Philip Ward points out the senseless ideas that we have come to accept as fact. Newly updated with today’s common misconceptions, The Book of Common Fallacies exposes the truth behind hundreds of commonly held false beliefs.
-
-
A few good entries, but most are obscure
- By Dana on 06-10-16
By: Phillip Ward, and others
-
The Second Book of General Ignorance
- Everything You Think You Know Is (Still) Wrong
- By: John Lloyd, John Mitchinson
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just when you thought that it was safe to start showing off again, John Lloyd and John Mitchinson are back with another busload of mistakes and misunderstandings. Here is a new collection of simple, perfectly obvious questions you'll be quite certain you know the answers to. Whether it's history, science, sports, geography, literature, language, medicine, the classics, or common wisdom, you'll be astonished to discover that everything you thought you knew is still hopelessly wrong.
-
-
It's all stuff from QI
- By Bonnie Kennedy on 04-07-21
By: John Lloyd, and others
-
Fact or Fiction
- Science Tackles 58 Popular Myths
- By: Scientific American
- Narrated by: Janet Metzger
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Did NASA really spend millions creating a pen that would write in space? Is chocolate poisonous to dogs? Does stress cause gray hair? These questions are a sample of the urban lore investigated in this audiobook, Fact or Fiction: Science Tackles 58 Popular Myths. Drawing from Scientific American’s “Fact or Fiction” and “Strange But True” columns, we’ve selected 58 of the most surprising, fascinating, useful, and just plain wacky topics confronted by our writers over the years.
-
-
funny
- By jim on 03-19-24
-
What If? 2
- Additional Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The millions of people around the world who loved What If? still have questions, and those questions are getting stranger. Thank goodness xkcd creator Randall Munroe is here to help. Planning to ride a fire pole from the Moon back to Earth? The hardest part is sticking the landing. Hoping to cool the atmosphere by opening everyone’s freezer door at the same time? Maybe it’s time for a brief introduction to thermodynamics. Want to know what would happen if you rode a helicopter blade, made a lava lamp out of lava, or jumped on an erupting geyser? Okay, if you insist.
-
-
Fantastic!
- By Aidan Wiggs on 09-13-22
By: Randall Munroe
-
How To
- Absurd Scientific Advice for Common Real-World Problems
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 6 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For any task you might want to do, there's a right way, a wrong way, and a way so monumentally complex, excessive, and inadvisable that no one would ever try it. How To is a guide to the third kind of approach. It's full of highly impractical advice for everything from landing a plane to digging a hole.
-
-
Bad Ideas So BAD They Are NEARLY Irresistable! 🤓
- By C. White on 09-03-19
By: Randall Munroe
-
Napoleon's Hemorrhoids…And Other Small Events That Changed History
- By: Phil Mason
- Narrated by: LJ Ganser
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hilarious, fascinating, and a roller coaster of dizzying, historical what-ifs, Napoleon's Hemorrhoids is a potpourri for serious historians and casual history buffs. In one of Phil Mason's many revelations, you'll learn that Communist jets were two minutes away from opening fire on American planes during the Cuban missile crisis, when they had to turn back as they were running out of fuel. You'll discover that before the Battle of Waterloo, Napoleon's painful hemorrhoids prevented him from mounting his horse to survey the battlefield.
-
-
They just throw the facts too fast
- By Concerned_llama on 12-11-20
By: Phil Mason
-
The Book of Common Fallacies
- Falsehoods, Misconceptions, Flawed Facts, and Half-Truths That Are Ruining Your Life
- By: Phillip Ward, Julia Edwards
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 21 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Everything you thought you knew was wrong! Long before Snopes.com and Wikipedia, The Book of Common Fallacies set out to debunk popular beliefs and set the record straight. By tracking down the facts and citing experts in a multitude of fields, Philip Ward points out the senseless ideas that we have come to accept as fact. Newly updated with today’s common misconceptions, The Book of Common Fallacies exposes the truth behind hundreds of commonly held false beliefs.
-
-
A few good entries, but most are obscure
- By Dana on 06-10-16
By: Phillip Ward, and others
-
The Second Book of General Ignorance
- Everything You Think You Know Is (Still) Wrong
- By: John Lloyd, John Mitchinson
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 10 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Just when you thought that it was safe to start showing off again, John Lloyd and John Mitchinson are back with another busload of mistakes and misunderstandings. Here is a new collection of simple, perfectly obvious questions you'll be quite certain you know the answers to. Whether it's history, science, sports, geography, literature, language, medicine, the classics, or common wisdom, you'll be astonished to discover that everything you thought you knew is still hopelessly wrong.
-
-
It's all stuff from QI
- By Bonnie Kennedy on 04-07-21
By: John Lloyd, and others
-
Fact or Fiction
- Science Tackles 58 Popular Myths
- By: Scientific American
- Narrated by: Janet Metzger
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Did NASA really spend millions creating a pen that would write in space? Is chocolate poisonous to dogs? Does stress cause gray hair? These questions are a sample of the urban lore investigated in this audiobook, Fact or Fiction: Science Tackles 58 Popular Myths. Drawing from Scientific American’s “Fact or Fiction” and “Strange But True” columns, we’ve selected 58 of the most surprising, fascinating, useful, and just plain wacky topics confronted by our writers over the years.
-
-
funny
- By jim on 03-19-24
-
Bedtime Stories for Cynics
- By: Dave Hill, Jessica Conrad, Sean Keane, and others
- Narrated by: Nick Offerman, Phoebe Robinson, David Spade, and others
- Length: 1 hr and 42 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Are the kids asleep? Yes? Good. This one isn’t for them. Now, if your weary, grown-up mind has been searching for a snarkier alternative to your favorite childhood tales, this Audible Original, hosted by Nick Offerman (Parks & Recreation), will scratch that itch - and then some. Enjoy a hilarious collection of short stories, featuring performances from the likes of Tommy Chong (Cheech & Chong), Tony Hale (Veep), Patton Oswalt (The Goldbergs), and David Spade (Saturday Night Live).
-
-
It's Just...Alright.
- By Chelsea on 06-10-19
By: Dave Hill, and others
-
What Einstein Didn't Know
- Scientific Answers to Everyday Questions
- By: Robert L. Wolke
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How does soap know what's dirt? How do magnets work? Why do ice cubes crackle in your glass? And how can you keep them quiet? These are questions that torment us all. Now Robert L. Wolke, professor emeritus of chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh, provides definitive - and amazingly simple - explanations for the mysteries of everyday life.
-
-
A funny thing happened on the way to a great book
- By Joseph on 10-01-12
By: Robert L. Wolke
-
Humble Pi
- When Math Goes Wrong in the Real World
- By: Matt Parker
- Narrated by: Matt Parker
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Exploring and explaining a litany of glitches, near misses, and mathematical mishaps involving the internet, big data, elections, street signs, lotteries, the Roman Empire, and an Olympic team, Matt Parker uncovers the bizarre ways math trips us up, and what this reveals about its essential place in our world. Getting it wrong has never been more fun.
-
-
Fascinating & enlightening even for da mathphobic✏️
- By C. White on 01-23-20
By: Matt Parker
-
The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared
- By: Jonas Jonasson
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After a long and eventful life, Allan Karlsson ends up in a nursing home, believing it to be his last stop. The only problem is that he's still in good health, and in one day, he turns 100. A big celebration is in the works, but Allan really isn't interested (and he'd like a bit more control over his vodka consumption). So he decides to escape. He climbs out the window in his slippers and embarks on a hilarious and entirely unexpected journey, involving, among other surprises, a suitcase stuffed with cash.
-
-
Dared to let the kids listen and they loved it...
- By Dennis on 02-12-14
By: Jonas Jonasson
-
You Are Eternal
- Infinite Tomorrows Await You
- By: Stephen Hawley Martin
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 3 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The author presents evidence from highly credible sources that you are an eternal spiritual being that is temporarily residing in what might be regarded as a kind of spacesuit—aka a human body—that allows you to operate in physical reality. He suggests that you will likely exist forever, albeit in other realities that are quite different from this one. He urges you to read this book, weigh the evidence, and then ask yourself, “Does knowing I will exist forever change how I think about life?” He also suggests that you give some thought to what you might do to make the most of the ...
-
How to Survive History
- How to Outrun a Tyrannosaurus, Escape Pompeii, Get Off the Titanic, and Survive the Rest of History's Deadliest Catastrophes
- By: Cody Cassidy
- Narrated by: Dennis Boutsikaris
- Length: 5 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
History is the most dangerous place on earth. From dinosaurs the size of locomotives to meteors big enough to sterilize the planet, from famines to pandemics, from tornadoes to the Chicxulub asteroid, the odds of human survival are slim but not zero—at least, not if you know where to go and what to do. In each chapter of How to Survive History, Cody Cassidy explores how to survive one of history’s greatest threats: getting eaten by dinosaurs, being destroyed by the asteroid that wiped out the dinosaurs, succumbing to the lava flows of Pompeii, being devoured by the Donner Party, and more.
-
-
I love these books
- By Amazon Customer on 07-13-23
By: Cody Cassidy
-
What If? Part 1
- Reshaping the 20th Century
- By: Stephen E. Ambrose, John Keegan, more
- Narrated by: John Cunningham, Janet Zarish
- Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What if Hitler had won the war, if Japan had another sneak attack, or if the cold war turned hot? What If? provides a fascinating new perspective on history's most pivotal events. Featuring today's foremost historians speculating on what could have happened, we discover where we might be if history had not unfolded the way it did.
-
-
For history buffs
- By Charles Elmore on 05-11-04
By: Stephen E. Ambrose, and others
-
Alexander X
- Battle for Forever, Book 1
- By: Edward Savio
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton
- Length: 10 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alexander Grant is a little too good at a few too many things. Two dozen martial arts. Twice that many languages. Chess, the piano, sports, forging excused absences, you name it. He graduated high school top of his class 17 times. Of course, no one knows any of this. Not that he wants to go unnoticed. It’s just safer that way.
-
-
More for Young Readers
- By Kerr on 09-23-19
By: Edward Savio
-
The Book of General Ignorance
- By: John Mitchinson, John Lloyd
- Narrated by: uncredited
- Length: 4 hrs and 20 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Misconceptions, misunderstandings, and flawed facts finally get the heave-ho in this humorous, downright humiliating book of reeducation based on the phenomenal British best seller. Challenging what most of us assume to be verifiable truths in areas like history, literature, science, nature, and more, The Book of General Ignorance is a witty “gotcha” compendium of how little we actually know about anything. It’ll have you scratching your head wondering why we even bother to go to school.
-
-
Interesting.
- By A. Hawkbird on 12-07-08
By: John Mitchinson, and others
-
What if? Was wäre wenn? Wirklich wissenschaftliche Antworten auf absurde hypothetische Fragen
- By: Randall Munroe
- Narrated by: Norman Matt
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Wenn xkcd.com einen neuen Science Cartoon postet, vibriert das Internet. Sein Blog "what if", auf dem der Physiker Randall Munroe jede Woche bizarre Fragen mit exakter Wissenschaft und genialen Strichmännchen beantwortet, ist Kult. Wie lange würde es dauern, bis wir merken würden, dass sich der Erdumfang verändert? Hätten wir genug Energie, um die ganze Weltbevölkerung von der Erde wegzubefördern? Wann (wenn überhaupt) wird Facebook mehr Profile von Toten als von Lebenden enthalten? Wenn man eine zufällige Nummer wählt und "Gesundheit!" sagt, wie hoch ist die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass der Angerufene tatsächlich gerade geniest hat?
By: Randall Munroe
-
In The Universe
- A Comprehensive Guide
- By: Mike Feng Zheng
- Narrated by: Virtual Voice
- Length: 20 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Mike Feng Zheng's In The Universe - A Comprehensive Guide, delves into the fascinating realms of astronomy, physics, and mathematics as you explore the mesmerizing dance of the cosmos. This illuminating book unveils the intricacies of how our universe moves, unravelling celestial phenomena and unveiling the hidden truths of this grand cosmic orchestration. Whether you're a curious stargazer or a science enthusiast, prepare to be captivated by this expertly crafted guide, offering a profound understanding of the intricate workings that shape our awe-inspiring universe. A magic waiting to be ...
By: Mike Feng Zheng
-
Self Help
- By: Ben H. Winters
- Narrated by: Wil Wheaton, Ron Perlman
- Length: 3 hrs and 46 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Jack Diller is just one more struggling actor on the road to nowhere. He’s got an agent who barely remembers his name, his ex-girlfriend has hooked up with a Silicon Valley dude, and the milk in his fridge is so far past its sell-by date it’s historic. The only way Jack can scrape together a bare existence is by delivering food to exactly the types of successful people he wishes he could be. Then, one day, a very strange audiobook shows up on his phone.
-
-
Entertaining and slightly thought provoking, overall humorous
- By Jaxon on 05-30-22
By: Ben H. Winters
What listeners say about What If?
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Rod
- 09-13-14
Hope You got an A in Math and Physics...
First of all it's read by Wil Wheaton, awesome! If you're not familiar with who that is then you're probably expecting a completely different book than anything written by Munroe.
As a fan of XKCD I'm all to comfortable with playing along as if I understood the highly mathematical joke I just read. After you hear the whiz of jokes flying over your head enough you kind of go with it. Now imagine a few hours of that and you'll kind of get what this books is like listening to it. While Munroe does an excellent and accurate job (I think it's accurate, if not at least well described) of explaining the "what if" scenarios, the mathematical explanations are lengthy and unless you're accustomed to graduate level physics lectures stands a very good chance of inducing a "zone out" until the scenario returns to a narrative laymen description.
Don't let this deter you from giving it a shot! You'll get the idea of every one of the "what if" scenarios I promise you.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
64 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Neuron
- 05-08-16
Humorous but serious answers to crazy hypothetical
What if we only had a single soul mate. What would the odds be that we actually met that person? Most people realize that the answer is some version of “small.” However, in this book, Munroe tries to calculate an answer, after all, assumptions have been spelled out. For this particular question, the first assumption is that your soulmate is alive at the same time as you - which reduced the pool of potential soul mates from 100 billion to ~10 billion. The next assumption is that we will recognize our soul mate when we see him or her. We can then go on and calculate some preliminary odds based on how many people we tend to look at in our lifetime etc. The answer, in the end, is still just that the odds are very, very small that we will run into our soulmate unless external forces are at work.
This above is just one example out of ~100 questions to which this book provides an answer. Other examples include what would happen if the earth suddenly stopped spinning, but the atmosphere kept moving? What would a mole (6 x 10^23) of moles (the animal) look like, and what would happen to it? What would happen if you had a periodic table with blocks that were actually made up of the elements? Which character in the Star Wars movies has the most power (Is it the Emperor? Yoda? or Luke?).
The author does not hide the fact that he has a wicked sense of humor and that he likes it when things burn, or (better) explode. Indeed, a good proportion of the answers in this book involves the death of a few or a lot of people.
For a science nerd like myself, this was an excellent and funny book. As other reviewers have noted, the mathematics can sometimes be difficult to grasp; however, you usually don’t need to understand the underlying mathematics understand the answer to the different questions. The humor and the fact that you learn lots of facts that are perfect conversation starters (especially if you are a scientist), makes this a thoroughly enjoyable read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
52 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Wayne P Martin
- 09-23-14
Just two words needed.
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
Only two words needed for this review, MORE PLEASE. If you are a fan of "Myth Busters" or "The Straight Dope" you will love this book. My only possible complaint would be it wasn't long enough, I want more.
What does Wil Wheaton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
I love Wil's reading style he was able to inject just the right amount of sarcasm into the book.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
Yes
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
43 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- SJM
- 12-16-14
One of my all-time favorite audio books!
Would you consider the audio edition of What If? to be better than the print version?
This book has now made the short list as one of my all-time favorite audio books. It was informative, hilarious, and just downright fun. My wife and I listened to it while on a road trip, and it kept us entertained as if it were a classic novel. Wil Wheaton's narration is absolutely perfect, and actually inspired us to go out and buy the print version of the book (which I also highly recommend).
If you love science, humor, Wil Wheaton, XKCD, and/or the Netherlands -- This is the book for you!
Who was your favorite character and why?
The Netherlands... you'll have to listen and find out :)
What does Wil Wheaton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Wil Wheaton's narration, in addition to giving it the "nerd cred" it deserves, narrates the book absolutely perfectly. It's the little subtleties like the way he changes his tone for footnotes, or gets excited about blowing up the moon with a super laser. It really brings a book, which otherwise has no characters, to life.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
We listened to this while driving. We actually had to stop, and pull over at one point from laughing so hard.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
32 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Darwin8u
- 05-23-16
Q. What if _____?
A. Nearly Everyone Would Die!
- Randall Munroe, What If?
There are certain things on this planet that you seemed to do fine without, but as soon as you discover, you can't now do without. Diet Dr. Pepper, David Foster Wallace, dark chocolate covered cherries all fit into this category. So, too, does Randall Munroe. He seems to occupy a space near, but not on, that vacated by Gary Larson when the great Gary Larson stopped drawing the Far Side (January 1, 1995). If you are unimpressed by Gary Larsen or the Far Side or do not know who he is or what I'm talking about, hell man, read no further. This book is not for you. I'm not trying to suggest that Gary Larson and Randall Munroe occupy the same ground. They are very different. Their approach to science is different. Their technique. However, the Venn Diagram of those readers of Gary Larson 20+ years ago would closely resemble those readers of Randall Munroe's xkcd.
Nerds.
They are both worshiped by nerds. They are nerd gods. In this godhead of scientific nerd entertainers also exists Bill Nye. Anyway, these are binary science artists. You either get them and love them or you don't. If you don't, well congrats, I really hope someday you will recognized what you did to our beautiful world by voting for Trump. Bastard.
Anyway, this book. This book is filled with drawings and explanations by Randall Munroe on topics as diverse as:
"Q. What would happen if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90 percent the speed of light?"
"Q. What would happen if you were to gather a mole (unit of measurement) of moles (the small furry critter) in one place?"
"Q. How much Force power can Yoda output?"
"Q. How much Force power can Yoda output?"
"Q. How high can a human throw something?"
Here is the magic of this book, and why it is relevant and important. It is the essentials of science. Science is always jumping into absurd places asking weird questions. Monroe capture the joy of this experience and he integrates the reader into it. He is a translator (like most scientists are) of complex methods into a narrative of explanation. He just takes several absurd, but still logical steps further.
I find his book about one standard deviation better than similar attempts at similar things. I'm thinking of Leyner's books: Why Do Men Have Nipples?: Hundreds of Questions You'd Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Martini and Why Do Men Fall Asleep After Sex? More Questions You'd Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Whiskey Sour. Both are using humor and science and the strategy of funky questions. There are a couple differences, that matter. Mark Leyner isn't a scientist. He's a soft postmodernist author that is playing doctor explaining awkward questons. Monroe is a scientist that is using the scientific method and humor to explain absurd, and sometimes practically nonsense questions. While both of these books can be considered humor books, I tend to favor the one written by a scientist who can draw (kinda) dinosaurs and a pyramid of giraffes. Personal preference I guess.
Anyway, if you or anyone in your family is a nerd, or raising a nerd, and enjoy absurdity and funky questions, well, this is almost a perfect book. If not, go ahead and try and to convince me that your vote for Trump isn't going to be considered the beginning of the end of our civilization. You have no soul.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
30 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Dan Collins
- 07-11-16
lots of science without feeling too scientific
being a science geek I considered this might be an interesting book. What I discovered was that the author is creative and funny enough to keep even a non-scientific person engage. I would highly recommend this book for anybody ages 10 and up. some of the material might go over the head of a younger person but the delivery is ultimately consumable and you will find yourself laughing as much as being surprised.
this book is a science ambush and functions well as an evangelistic tool for science and physics specifically.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
29 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Scott
- 10-21-14
Trivia taken to the extreme (squared)
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
The premise of What if, applying science to absurdist, hypothetical scenarios, is the sort of thing that should appeal to the geek in me but I can’t say I liked this book as a whole. Munroe based it on his popular website (I hadn’t visited it before reading What if) and the scenarios he examines seem to be drawn from submissions from its readers. He infuses this mix of absurdity crossed with science with liberal amounts of tongue in cheek humor but I found it became a bit grating after awhile, not because the subject matter needed to be treated with more respect (it doesn’t) but because I think it would have been funnier to let the absurdity of the scenarios/answers speak more for themselves. Particularly irritating were the short (non) answer responses to some questions which came off as condescending rather than funny. With that out of the way, What if does a good job of taking the listener through the science behind the answer to the scenario without getting bogged down in too much detail. Munroe also indulges the reader by extending the example further than the limitations of the original question – just to see what would happen. Aside from the humor part, I think the key to whether you will love or hate this book lies in whether you really are that interested in how hard you would need to shoot a hockey puck in order to knock someone over. For me, I wasn’t and although a few scenarios peaked my interest (if all humans simultaneously aimed a light at the same spot on the moon, would it be visible), there weren’t enough to sustain my attention.
What does Wil Wheaton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
Fine narration - well done Wesley Crusher!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
17 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Andy
- 09-25-14
be ready to laugh!
Great prep for an interview at Google. This book poses a wide range of questions, most of which can only be answered in a conceptual fashion using equations few of us are very familiar with. The fun part is when Randall Munroe attaches equations to help the listener understand how to approach an answer. My favorite question: What is the probability of calling someone, saying gesundheit when they said hello, and discovering that they just sneezed. Super narration too.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
16 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Joel D Offenberg
- 02-14-15
Loved It
If you like playing around with over-the-top thought experiments and truly strange ideas, with realistic science, this a great book for you.
The best comparison I have is Mary Roach...if you like her works, then you will truly enjoy "What if?"
Wil Wheaton is a great narrator for this book, he captures the geeky science and Randall's wry humor exceedingly well. And I always give kudos to narrators of scienc-y works when they don't stumble over or mispronounce obscure technical words...and he handled it extremely well.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
15 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- K
- 09-27-14
My only complaint: It wasn't longer
Oh, I loved this audiobook... a great combination of interesting (and sometimes strange) science facts and xkcd-flavored humor. My only complaint: It ended too soon. Highly recommended.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
14 people found this helpful