What do you think?
Rate this book
The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy
In this approachable and fascinating biography of the galaxy, an astrophysicist and folklorist details everything humans have discovered—from the Milky Way's formation to its eventual death, and what else there is to learn about the universe we call home.
After a few billion years of bearing witness to life on Earth, of watching one hundred billion humans go about their day-to-day lives, of feeling unbelievably lonely, and of hearing its own story told by others, The Milky Way would like a chance to speak for itself. All one hundred billion stars and fifty undecillion tons of gas of it.
It all began some thirteen billion years ago, when clouds of gas scattered through the universe's primordial plasma just could not keep their metaphorical hands off each other. They succumbed to their gravitational attraction, and the galaxy we know as the Milky Way was born. Since then, the galaxy has watched as dark energy pushed away its first friends, as humans mythologized its name and purpose, and as galactic archaeologists have worked to determine its true age (rude). The Milky Way has absorbed supermassive (an actual technical term) black holes, made enemies of a few galactic neighbors, and mourned the deaths of countless stars. Our home galaxy has even fallen in love.
After all this time, the Milky Way finally feels that it's amassed enough experience for the juicy tell-all we've all been waiting for. Its fascinating autobiography recounts the history and future of the universe in accessible but scientific detail, presenting a summary of human astronomical knowledge thus far that is unquestionably out of this world.
After a few billion years of bearing witness to life on Earth, of watching one hundred billion humans go about their day-to-day lives, of feeling unbelievably lonely, and of hearing its own story told by others, The Milky Way would like a chance to speak for itself. All one hundred billion stars and fifty undecillion tons of gas of it.
It all began some thirteen billion years ago, when clouds of gas scattered through the universe's primordial plasma just could not keep their metaphorical hands off each other. They succumbed to their gravitational attraction, and the galaxy we know as the Milky Way was born. Since then, the galaxy has watched as dark energy pushed away its first friends, as humans mythologized its name and purpose, and as galactic archaeologists have worked to determine its true age (rude). The Milky Way has absorbed supermassive (an actual technical term) black holes, made enemies of a few galactic neighbors, and mourned the deaths of countless stars. Our home galaxy has even fallen in love.
After all this time, the Milky Way finally feels that it's amassed enough experience for the juicy tell-all we've all been waiting for. Its fascinating autobiography recounts the history and future of the universe in accessible but scientific detail, presenting a summary of human astronomical knowledge thus far that is unquestionably out of this world.
Audiobook
First published August 16, 2022
287 people are currently reading
7652 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 365 reviews
might-get
August 19, 2022I can't imagine the Milky Way personalised and telling their own story and being a solid pop-science book. All the reviews (all freebies) are what you'd expect, except for one from someone who says they know more than the average person about astronomy. They find the book interesting, but at times condescending and snarky. That's stern criticism for an ARC and to be taken seriously.
I always take freebie criticism seriously, unless it's to do with a badly-behaving author, and generally don't bother reading gushing 4/5 ARC reviews unless they are from a friend, then I take them just as seriously.
So, to order or not to order, that is the question. Hmmm
I always take freebie criticism seriously, unless it's to do with a badly-behaving author, and generally don't bother reading gushing 4/5 ARC reviews unless they are from a friend, then I take them just as seriously.
So, to order or not to order, that is the question. Hmmm
November 11, 2022
Click here to hear my thoughts on this book over on my Booktube channel, abookolive!
November 7, 2022
This is no ordinary autobiography!
I was not sure how anthropomorphizing our home galaxy, the Milky Way, would work, but I think author Dr. Moiya McTier did a decent job with this in this intriguing science book!
The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy is first and foremost a popular science book, but that doesn’t mean that the author condescends to non-scientist readers who don’t have the astrophysics and folklore background that Dr. McTier does. Nor does the book dumb it down too much.
Readers can see that Dr. McTier is clearly having fun telling our home galaxy’s story in an engaging way.
One example of this is the fact that our galaxy finds it rude that human scientists succeeded in figuring out its true age, more or less!
Our Milky Way formed roughly thirteen billion years ago, and its past is turbulent, as its first stars light up from the vast compressed gas cloud and gradually acquire their own planets. (For comparison, scientists have estimated that the universe itself is around 13.7 billion years old.)
However, humanity doesn’t enter the picture until much later in the galaxy’s formative years, and it clearly communicates to readers just how small humanity is in not only the big picture of our home galaxy, but the much larger big picture of the universe and spacetime. I find that both awesome and terrifying, a combination I do not think will ever go away for me.
Despite how annoyed the galaxy seems by humanity’s lack of knowledge; it nevertheless has a soft spot for humanity proved by how it affectionately tells of our ancestors and the myths they made up around the Milky Way.
Not to mention how humanity also closely watched the stars to navigate and to plan harvests. The galaxy laments at the knowledge lost in our modern age, as light pollution makes seeing the stars very difficult.
I found this folkloric exploration a fascinating, yet important sidebar, helping readers to anchor humanity in our galaxy’s larger story.
Not only does the galaxy tell of its past and present by way of the discoveries astronomers have built up over centuries in an accessible way, but also gives us a glimpse into the galaxy’s and universe’s future and ultimate fate.
For science nerds like me and for general readers alike, The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy is a very fun read. I hope you enjoy it!
Happy reading!
-Cora
Find this book and other titles within our catalog.
I was not sure how anthropomorphizing our home galaxy, the Milky Way, would work, but I think author Dr. Moiya McTier did a decent job with this in this intriguing science book!
The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy is first and foremost a popular science book, but that doesn’t mean that the author condescends to non-scientist readers who don’t have the astrophysics and folklore background that Dr. McTier does. Nor does the book dumb it down too much.
Readers can see that Dr. McTier is clearly having fun telling our home galaxy’s story in an engaging way.
One example of this is the fact that our galaxy finds it rude that human scientists succeeded in figuring out its true age, more or less!
Our Milky Way formed roughly thirteen billion years ago, and its past is turbulent, as its first stars light up from the vast compressed gas cloud and gradually acquire their own planets. (For comparison, scientists have estimated that the universe itself is around 13.7 billion years old.)
However, humanity doesn’t enter the picture until much later in the galaxy’s formative years, and it clearly communicates to readers just how small humanity is in not only the big picture of our home galaxy, but the much larger big picture of the universe and spacetime. I find that both awesome and terrifying, a combination I do not think will ever go away for me.
Despite how annoyed the galaxy seems by humanity’s lack of knowledge; it nevertheless has a soft spot for humanity proved by how it affectionately tells of our ancestors and the myths they made up around the Milky Way.
Not to mention how humanity also closely watched the stars to navigate and to plan harvests. The galaxy laments at the knowledge lost in our modern age, as light pollution makes seeing the stars very difficult.
I found this folkloric exploration a fascinating, yet important sidebar, helping readers to anchor humanity in our galaxy’s larger story.
Not only does the galaxy tell of its past and present by way of the discoveries astronomers have built up over centuries in an accessible way, but also gives us a glimpse into the galaxy’s and universe’s future and ultimate fate.
For science nerds like me and for general readers alike, The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy is a very fun read. I hope you enjoy it!
Happy reading!
-Cora
Find this book and other titles within our catalog.
October 5, 2022
Ok, it’s been over a week and I have zero desire to pick this back up, so I’m calling it. Basically, I want to read this exact book because the information in it is fascinating, but I want it without the dripping disdain from the narrator. Seriously, can we get an alt edition or something?
February 1, 2023
My telling you this story - my story - is a gift. It's like if you learned about...oh, what's something you humans admire? It's like Beyonce taking time out of her "busy" schedule to personally give you singing lessons. Even that falls short, though - she's not supervising a hundred billion stars.
This book was insufferable. This new take on space nonfiction was written by Moiya McTier, an astrophysicist and a folklorist. I was excited to see the way McTier would utilize her folklore background to personify the galaxy we live in. Unfortunately, she personified it into the single most obnoxious narrator I have ever encountered in a book. The milky way was condescending and histrionic. I dreaded reading this because I knew I would have to suffer through the milky way's pointless observations. The science in this was interesting, but the narration was so distracting that it wasn't enough to save this book. I also didn't like that the milky way's personification led to some inaccurate representations of the science, like that gravity kept galaxies close so that they could "do other things that would probably make you blush".
This was a big miss for me. Beautiful cover, interesting concept, infuriating execution.
** Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and Moiya McTier for this ARC through NetGalley. The Milky Way is available as of August 2022. **
This book was insufferable. This new take on space nonfiction was written by Moiya McTier, an astrophysicist and a folklorist. I was excited to see the way McTier would utilize her folklore background to personify the galaxy we live in. Unfortunately, she personified it into the single most obnoxious narrator I have ever encountered in a book. The milky way was condescending and histrionic. I dreaded reading this because I knew I would have to suffer through the milky way's pointless observations. The science in this was interesting, but the narration was so distracting that it wasn't enough to save this book. I also didn't like that the milky way's personification led to some inaccurate representations of the science, like that gravity kept galaxies close so that they could "do other things that would probably make you blush".
This was a big miss for me. Beautiful cover, interesting concept, infuriating execution.
** Thanks to Grand Central Publishing and Moiya McTier for this ARC through NetGalley. The Milky Way is available as of August 2022. **
![Profile Image for laurel [the suspected bibliophile].](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fi.gr-assets.com%2Fimages%2FS%2Fcompressed.photo.goodreads.com%2Fusers%2F1645808644i%2F7494844._UX200_CR0%2C6%2C200%2C200_.jpg&w=128&q=75)
March 18, 2023
A poppy, irreverent and insightful look at the history (and future) of our little ol' galaxy that was so much fun to read!
When I realized that this took the definition of autobiography seriously and went with a first person narrative approach, I was a little worried that it was a schtick that would grow old quickly, but Dr McTier made it so fun throughout that I was laughing inappropriately at work while weeding books.
Dr McTier makes astrophysics fun and accessible with a Milky Way main character who is...a big bit of an asshole (I was going to say a dick but as I learned, Ol' Milky has a weenie weenie).
When I realized that this took the definition of autobiography seriously and went with a first person narrative approach, I was a little worried that it was a schtick that would grow old quickly, but Dr McTier made it so fun throughout that I was laughing inappropriately at work while weeding books.
Dr McTier makes astrophysics fun and accessible with a Milky Way main character who is...a big bit of an asshole (I was going to say a dick but as I learned, Ol' Milky has a weenie weenie).
September 21, 2022
What if the Milky Way can tell its own stories? What if it can talk directly to humanity? The concept is novel and interesting, but does the Milky Way have to be so snarky? I understand that humanity is but a small bit of dust in the face of the expanse of the universe. Our lives are laughably short when billions and billions of years are taken into account. There is humour in this book and I'm sure the snarkiness presented is meant to be in good fun. Did I learn some things? Yes, I did. But the book did get quite technical. That I listened to the audiobook could be the reason why it's harder to follow. I also it's not easy to describe the workings of the universe in lay-people's terms. If one is curious about the galaxy where we live and how and why things come about, it's not a bad book to pick up.
January 28, 2023
If you want to read a book about how stupid and unimportant you are from the point of view of a galaxy then this is the book for you. If you just want to learn more about the Milky Way, look elsewhere.
August 23, 2022
In The Milky Way: An Autobiography of Our Galaxy, Moiya McTier combines her Ph.D. in astrophysics with her knowledge and love of mythology to write an autobiography of the Milky Way.
Speaking in the first-person voice, the Milky Way announces it wants to tell its own story instead of relying on others to speak on its behalf. Accordingly, it describes its origins, its structure, its size, its changes over time, the birth and death of its stars, its neighbors, its enormous black hole, its likes and dislikes, and its ultimate demise. The language is conversational, but the science is detailed and extremely complex. It is quite the challenge to wrap one’s head around the billions of years of our galaxy’s existence; the billions of stars it encompasses; the magnitude of what is in our galaxy and beyond; and the distances measured in difficult-to-fathom light years.
The Milky Way describes our ancestors’ attempts to explain its presence through mythology, as well as the pivotal role it has played in advancing human culture and civilization. It explains astronomical discoveries of the past through to the present and shows how discoveries and calculations, building on each other, are constantly revised as new knowledge and information becomes available. And it reminds us of how much we have yet to learn.
The measurements, concepts, and terminology can be baffling for anyone with even a rudimentary background in astrophysics. Dr. McTier tries to demystify the complex educational content by peppering her discussion with references to popular movies and entertainment figures, adopting an irreverent tone, injecting an upbeat humor, and ridiculing human foibles. Her sardonic humor works up to a point, but some may find its excessive use tiresome after a while.
Any attempt to demystify science and to inject us with a dose of humility by reminding us of our barely-a-dot existence in the vastness of space is well-deserving of accolades. Kudos to Dr. McTier for having the courage to communicate what we have learned so far about the Milky Way in a fresh, highly original, accessible, and entertaining manner. Although much of the scientific information may be challenging to digest, there is still plenty to glean about the nature of our galaxy from her effort.
We are just an infinitesimal dot in the universe, but thanks to Dr. McTier, those of us who have no prior knowledge of astrophysics have a better understanding of just how infinitesimal we really are.
Recommended.
My book reviews are also available at www.tamaraaghajaffar.com
Speaking in the first-person voice, the Milky Way announces it wants to tell its own story instead of relying on others to speak on its behalf. Accordingly, it describes its origins, its structure, its size, its changes over time, the birth and death of its stars, its neighbors, its enormous black hole, its likes and dislikes, and its ultimate demise. The language is conversational, but the science is detailed and extremely complex. It is quite the challenge to wrap one’s head around the billions of years of our galaxy’s existence; the billions of stars it encompasses; the magnitude of what is in our galaxy and beyond; and the distances measured in difficult-to-fathom light years.
The Milky Way describes our ancestors’ attempts to explain its presence through mythology, as well as the pivotal role it has played in advancing human culture and civilization. It explains astronomical discoveries of the past through to the present and shows how discoveries and calculations, building on each other, are constantly revised as new knowledge and information becomes available. And it reminds us of how much we have yet to learn.
The measurements, concepts, and terminology can be baffling for anyone with even a rudimentary background in astrophysics. Dr. McTier tries to demystify the complex educational content by peppering her discussion with references to popular movies and entertainment figures, adopting an irreverent tone, injecting an upbeat humor, and ridiculing human foibles. Her sardonic humor works up to a point, but some may find its excessive use tiresome after a while.
Any attempt to demystify science and to inject us with a dose of humility by reminding us of our barely-a-dot existence in the vastness of space is well-deserving of accolades. Kudos to Dr. McTier for having the courage to communicate what we have learned so far about the Milky Way in a fresh, highly original, accessible, and entertaining manner. Although much of the scientific information may be challenging to digest, there is still plenty to glean about the nature of our galaxy from her effort.
We are just an infinitesimal dot in the universe, but thanks to Dr. McTier, those of us who have no prior knowledge of astrophysics have a better understanding of just how infinitesimal we really are.
Recommended.
My book reviews are also available at www.tamaraaghajaffar.com
February 14, 2024
De mulți ani cărțile de știință sunt scrise într-un mod foarte accesibil, iar cartea asta e scrisă în cel mai simplificat mod cu putință. De aceea ar putea fi potrivită și pentru cei care evită domeniul astrofizicii nu pentru că nu le-ar plăcea, ci de teama de a nu înțelege. Ar fi putut să o scurteze, într-adevăr, multe glume parcă nu prea au ce căuta acolo, pe lângă fraze și cuvinte de umplutură. Asta nu prea mi-a plăcut la ea. Un pic iritant a fost și felul exprimării, deși ai putea să te aștepți la asta de la o galaxie care se crede zeiță. Și care, de fapt, chiar a fost dacă ne gândim la personificarea ei cam în toate mitologiile lumii. A fost arogantă și dură la început, însă tonul s-a mai îmblânzit după a doua jumătate, a devenit tolerantă cu existența noastră mică de paraziți. Și apropo de faptul că ne vorbește direct, ca și cum ar fi o ființă reală, chiar există o doctrină filosofică numită panpsihism, care afirmă că toate lucrurile din Univers ar fi înzestrate cu un anumit grad de conștiință.
Mi-a plăcut pentru informațiile despre spațiu, am întâlnit acolo multe chestii pe care nu le știam despre Andromeda, nașterea galaxiilor, despre felul în care se măresc și supraviețuiesc mâncând galaxii mai mici. Dar așa cum spuneam la început, aș recomanda-o doar profanilor care n-au mai deschis o carte asemănătoare.
Recomand și Exolore, podcastul autoarei, unde vorbește cu diverși invitați despre worldbuilding (artă, muzică, social, interacțiuni, joburi, amenințări și supraviețuire) în diferite scenarii, de la planete cu mai multe luni până la o Terra unde locuitorii ei s-au ascuns în subteran din cauza meteoriților care au bombardat planeta. Fiind și folcloristă, Moiya McTier încearcă să explice din punct de vedere științific și ființe precum vampiri, dragoni sau banshee, ceea ce e foarte amuzant.
Mi-a plăcut pentru informațiile despre spațiu, am întâlnit acolo multe chestii pe care nu le știam despre Andromeda, nașterea galaxiilor, despre felul în care se măresc și supraviețuiesc mâncând galaxii mai mici. Dar așa cum spuneam la început, aș recomanda-o doar profanilor care n-au mai deschis o carte asemănătoare.
Recomand și Exolore, podcastul autoarei, unde vorbește cu diverși invitați despre worldbuilding (artă, muzică, social, interacțiuni, joburi, amenințări și supraviețuire) în diferite scenarii, de la planete cu mai multe luni până la o Terra unde locuitorii ei s-au ascuns în subteran din cauza meteoriților care au bombardat planeta. Fiind și folcloristă, Moiya McTier încearcă să explice din punct de vedere științific și ființe precum vampiri, dragoni sau banshee, ceea ce e foarte amuzant.
April 8, 2023
While the concept of a personified Milky Way telling its own biography is intriguing, the way that the author would just continuously flame humanity every other sentence became very tiring, very quickly. And I think that's such a disappointment because the content itself was great, but when it's been served to you with a heaping pile of insults, it's a little hard to consume.
February 25, 2024
Autoarea a studiat astronomia și mitologia și are un doctorat în astrofizică. Te-ai aștepta să fie o persoană scorțoasă care scrie într-un limbaj arid de Harvard. Nimic mai greșit. Ideea ei strălucită a fost să se dea drept Calea Lactee, să personifice galaxia noastră grozavă, care ne explică cu superioritate dar pe un ton familiar, uneori cu accente vulgare, cum vine treaba cu stelele. Cred că și-a dorit foarte mult să fie o carte citită de zeci de mii de oameni, având în vedere că în lume există 10 000 de astronomi, însă un studiu de astronomie este citit de cel mult 20 de oameni, din cei 8 miliarde.
Mie mi-a plăcut abordarea autoarei și am parcurs toată cartea (nu e mare, mai are și desene), aflând ceva nou la fiecare pagină. A fost gândită pentru adulții tineri și cei care nu au în clin și în mânecă cu astronomia, dar le place să citească orice. Dacă ați citit cărțile lui Stephen Hawking, Brian Cox, Cristian Presură etc., nu vă apropiați de cartea asta, sau citiți-o în vacanță. Nivelul științei e sub linie, pentru noi ăștia care n-am auzit de undecilioane și kiloparseci, abia știm să socotim cu creionul pe hârtie câte zerouri are un trilion.
În carte sunt și explicații științifice redate accesibil, dar mai ales povești împletite cu mituri despre Bing Bang, formarea unei galaxii, găurile negre, cum funcționează sateliții, cum se poate extinde și cum va sfârși universul..
Cu mine cartea și-a atins scopul, mi-a schimbat perspectiva și acum citesc cu plăcere articole din presă despre astronomie, pe care altă dată le săream.
„... dacă un copil te întreabă cum se nasc galaxiile, poți să-i spui că, atunci când un nor de gaz se iubește foarte mult, se strânge singur în brațe foarte tare și, după câteva sute de milioane de ani, se naște o galaxie-copil. Dar lasă berzele în pace, te rog.”
„O iubesc pe Andromeda. Este oare atât de greu de crezut că îmi iubesc și stelele, după ce am petrecut miliarde de ani încercând să le fac pe fiecare cele mai bune stele? Sper că nu.
Dar, sub toate aceste sentimente, în miezul adânc al ființei mele, dar și presărat prin ea, este o ură de sine alimentată de vinovăție, din faptul că știu că-mi condamn toate stelele la moarte, ca să trăiesc eu. Tot corpul meu este presărat cu abisuri infinite de disperare, găuri negre metaforice care se suprapun, ironic, cu cele reale, ambele imposibil de părăsit.”
„În viziunea nordicilor, sfârșitul lumii începe cu Fimbulwinter, o serie de trei ierni foarte grele, fără nicio vară între ele. [...] O pereche de lupi vor mânca soarele și luna, iar stelele vor dispărea, aruncând lumea voastră în întuneric, de parcă ceva atât de puternic ca strălucirea mea ar putea fi stins de două canine nesuferite. Dar acesta ar fi doar începutul sfârșitului.”
Mie mi-a plăcut abordarea autoarei și am parcurs toată cartea (nu e mare, mai are și desene), aflând ceva nou la fiecare pagină. A fost gândită pentru adulții tineri și cei care nu au în clin și în mânecă cu astronomia, dar le place să citească orice. Dacă ați citit cărțile lui Stephen Hawking, Brian Cox, Cristian Presură etc., nu vă apropiați de cartea asta, sau citiți-o în vacanță. Nivelul științei e sub linie, pentru noi ăștia care n-am auzit de undecilioane și kiloparseci, abia știm să socotim cu creionul pe hârtie câte zerouri are un trilion.
În carte sunt și explicații științifice redate accesibil, dar mai ales povești împletite cu mituri despre Bing Bang, formarea unei galaxii, găurile negre, cum funcționează sateliții, cum se poate extinde și cum va sfârși universul..
Cu mine cartea și-a atins scopul, mi-a schimbat perspectiva și acum citesc cu plăcere articole din presă despre astronomie, pe care altă dată le săream.
„... dacă un copil te întreabă cum se nasc galaxiile, poți să-i spui că, atunci când un nor de gaz se iubește foarte mult, se strânge singur în brațe foarte tare și, după câteva sute de milioane de ani, se naște o galaxie-copil. Dar lasă berzele în pace, te rog.”
„O iubesc pe Andromeda. Este oare atât de greu de crezut că îmi iubesc și stelele, după ce am petrecut miliarde de ani încercând să le fac pe fiecare cele mai bune stele? Sper că nu.
Dar, sub toate aceste sentimente, în miezul adânc al ființei mele, dar și presărat prin ea, este o ură de sine alimentată de vinovăție, din faptul că știu că-mi condamn toate stelele la moarte, ca să trăiesc eu. Tot corpul meu este presărat cu abisuri infinite de disperare, găuri negre metaforice care se suprapun, ironic, cu cele reale, ambele imposibil de părăsit.”
„În viziunea nordicilor, sfârșitul lumii începe cu Fimbulwinter, o serie de trei ierni foarte grele, fără nicio vară între ele. [...] O pereche de lupi vor mânca soarele și luna, iar stelele vor dispărea, aruncând lumea voastră în întuneric, de parcă ceva atât de puternic ca strălucirea mea ar putea fi stins de două canine nesuferite. Dar acesta ar fi doar începutul sfârșitului.”
September 29, 2022
One of my favorite things to do when it’s not a million degrees outside and gets dark at a reasonable time is to take a walk outside and stare at the stars in wonder and feel small. Space is wild. So this book falls very much within my interests, and though often struggle a bit with nonfiction, I’m happy to say that this was a thoroughly entertaining read. At no point did I have a full grasp on what exactly the author was talking about, but I was delighted anyway. Moiya McTier is clearly a genius, both for all of the space things she knows, but also for her ability to give the Milky Way so much personality. I was particularly impressed by the metaphor of black holes as depression. And the ideas of the way the universe might ultimately end kind of blew my mind. You’re gonna wanna read this one.
December 21, 2022
Different from my usual reads, in a good way. Had to keep backing up to catch terms I didn't understand or something I missed cause my concentration was off, it didn't lessen my enjoyment any.
I liked the snark of the "Milky Ways voice" 🌌 (wouldn't mind seeing it up close), sometimes it felt more like a teenager in tone but it didn't really bother me.
A few things did make me wonder :)
Interesting book.. not sure if I'd read it again or not *shrugs* I do like learning new things though.
You can tell the author had fun writing it.
I liked the snark of the "Milky Ways voice" 🌌 (wouldn't mind seeing it up close), sometimes it felt more like a teenager in tone but it didn't really bother me.
A few things did make me wonder :)
Interesting book.. not sure if I'd read it again or not *shrugs* I do like learning new things though.
You can tell the author had fun writing it.
December 9, 2022
Gorgeous, gorgeous cover that definitely caught my eye no doubt about it. Kind of fun how Dr. McTier anthropomorphizes our home galaxy—but not totally sure the first person voice landed for me. Quirky and mildly humorous, “The Milky Way” tells its own story from origin to neighbors, black holes, and potential future demise including various human discoveries throughout history. Intended to be approachable it might be better for a YA audience.
February 27, 2023
I don’t want to live in this galaxy anymore
October 3, 2022
This was an interesting blend of astrology nonfiction and mythology, where the Milky Way Galaxy is the narrator speaking their story. It definitely made the material more approachable. All the information is great, good for intro levels to astronomy, and answers all the questions that tend to come up about the universe (will it end? when will our sun die? are there aliens? lol).
I don't know if this book is supposed to be YA, but I'm going to mark it as such. My reasoning being mostly for the strange butt/bulge/sexual jokes. I felt very much like I wasn't the target audience for this, which sucks, but happens. My main complaint though was that the narrative voice either wasn't indifferent enough for the consciousness of a galaxy, or it was just condescending, but not really in a fun or good way.
3/5. Would probably be more received by teens 16-19.
I don't know if this book is supposed to be YA, but I'm going to mark it as such. My reasoning being mostly for the strange butt/bulge/sexual jokes. I felt very much like I wasn't the target audience for this, which sucks, but happens. My main complaint though was that the narrative voice either wasn't indifferent enough for the consciousness of a galaxy, or it was just condescending, but not really in a fun or good way.
3/5. Would probably be more received by teens 16-19.
Read
May 26, 2023Off to a good start. I was dubious about the concept of the Milky Way 'writing' an autobio, but the author has a fine light touch. Who knows, maybe I'll actually learn something, along with being entertained . . .
Well. The F&SF element was getting pretty strained, so I've set it aside for now. We'll see if I have any urge to try again.... Set aside 4/1/23.
OK. This one has been gathering dust since April Fools, not a good sign. Ultimately, too cutesy for me, and I wasn't really learning anything. I don't think I'm her intended audience. Left unrated, since I didn't read that much of it. But I can't recommend the book to adults with a decent background in astronomy. DNF.
Well. The F&SF element was getting pretty strained, so I've set it aside for now. We'll see if I have any urge to try again.... Set aside 4/1/23.
OK. This one has been gathering dust since April Fools, not a good sign. Ultimately, too cutesy for me, and I wasn't really learning anything. I don't think I'm her intended audience. Left unrated, since I didn't read that much of it. But I can't recommend the book to adults with a decent background in astronomy. DNF.
May 19, 2022
Many thanks for the ARC of this new work. This was very well done. Slightly different from my normal reads but that is a good thing.
August 18, 2022
The personality that Moiya McTier has injected into the entity that is the Milky Way is brilliant. A perfectly sassy and logical galaxy with just the right amount of condescension.
July 27, 2023
Moiya McTier to astrofizyczka i folklorystka, studiowała zarówno mitologię, jak i astronomię na Harvardzie, uzyskała doktorat astrofizyki na Uniwersytecie Columbia, jej ścieżka kariery jest imponująca.
Teraz zaskakuje swoim niezwykłym debiutem książkowym "Droga Mleczna - autobiografia naszej Galaktyki".
Bohaterką swojej książki uczyniła Drogę Mleczną, jest to nie tylko osobliwa autobiografia naszej galaktyki, ale również literatura faktu.
Trzeba być ogromnie inteligentną osobą, a przy tym mieć niesamowitą wyobraźnię, żeby w przystępnej i niezwykle kreatywnej formie szczegółowo opisać, co ludzie odkryli na temat naszej galaktyki.
"Ludzie obserwowali mnie, zanim jeszcze stali się w pełni ludźmi. Ponad dwieście tysięcy lat myśliwstwa, nawigacji, mierzenia czasu i opowiadania historii przy świetle moich gwiazd. Śledziliście ich ruchy tak dokładnie, że nauczyliście się przewidywać, dokąd zmierzają. Następnie, w ciągu zaledwie kilku stuleci, wynaleźliście narzędzia do badania nie tylko tych gwiazd, ale także planet wokół nich i gwiazd stworzonych przez inne galaktyki. Zaszliście bardzo daleko, ale nawet po tysiącleciach spędzonych na badaniu mojej natury i opowiadania moich historii, wy ludzie, wciąż musicie się wiele nauczyć."
Wszystko zaczęło się jakieś trzynaście miliardów lat temu, kiedy chmury gazu rozproszone w pierwotnej plaźmie wszechświata uległy przyciąganiu grawitacyjnemu i narodziła się galaktyka, którą znamy jako Droga Mleczna.
Autorka oddaje jej głos, ta opowieść może zaskoczyć, choć początki w odbiorze mogą być trudne.
"Jestem Drogą Mleczną domem ponad stu miliardów gwiazd (wy wciąż uważacie, że wasza jest na tyle wyjątkowa, że zasługuje na osobne miano) oraz piędziesięciu sekstylionów ( to cyfra 5 z trzydziestoma siedmioma zerami) ton gazów pomiędzy nimi.
Jestem przestrzenią: składam się z przestrzeni i tkwię w jej otoczeniu. Jestem najwspanialszą galaktyką, jaką kiedykolwiek powstała."
Autobiografia przedstawia historię i przyszłość wszechświata w dość klarowny, ale pełny naukowych szczegółów sposób. Jest to podsumowanie dotychczasowej wiedzy astronomicznej człowieka i nie tylko, znalazło się tu miejsce i na mitologię i na legendy.
Droga Mleczna szczegółowo opisuje historię swojego życia, pełną dramatów, poważnych zmian, burzliwych relacji z sąsiednimi galaktykami i zarządzaniu stoma miliardami gwiazd.
Jest sporo wzmianek o człowieku, który wciąż jest obserwowany z góry i całkiem ostro oceniany.
"Wszystko, co kiedykolwiek widziałeś i czego dotknąłeś, jest częścią mnie.
Tak, nie wyłączając ciebie, ty próżny, obskurny zwierzaku. Ja to wszystko stworzyłam. Nieświadomie oczywiście."
Nie ukrywam w książce jest sporo złożonych pojęć naukowych, ale najbardziej zaskakującym aspektem książki jest to, że bohaterka - Droga Mleczna ma potężne poczucie humoru, jest to mocno sarkastyczny humor.
Autorka wie, o czym pisze, jest ekspertem w swojej dziedzinie, dostarcza ogromu wiedzy w dość przystępny i zabawowy sposób.
Kto ma ochotę niech czyta, ale zaznaczam, że mimo oryginalnego podejścia do tematu jest to wymagająca lektura.
Teraz zaskakuje swoim niezwykłym debiutem książkowym "Droga Mleczna - autobiografia naszej Galaktyki".
Bohaterką swojej książki uczyniła Drogę Mleczną, jest to nie tylko osobliwa autobiografia naszej galaktyki, ale również literatura faktu.
Trzeba być ogromnie inteligentną osobą, a przy tym mieć niesamowitą wyobraźnię, żeby w przystępnej i niezwykle kreatywnej formie szczegółowo opisać, co ludzie odkryli na temat naszej galaktyki.
"Ludzie obserwowali mnie, zanim jeszcze stali się w pełni ludźmi. Ponad dwieście tysięcy lat myśliwstwa, nawigacji, mierzenia czasu i opowiadania historii przy świetle moich gwiazd. Śledziliście ich ruchy tak dokładnie, że nauczyliście się przewidywać, dokąd zmierzają. Następnie, w ciągu zaledwie kilku stuleci, wynaleźliście narzędzia do badania nie tylko tych gwiazd, ale także planet wokół nich i gwiazd stworzonych przez inne galaktyki. Zaszliście bardzo daleko, ale nawet po tysiącleciach spędzonych na badaniu mojej natury i opowiadania moich historii, wy ludzie, wciąż musicie się wiele nauczyć."
Wszystko zaczęło się jakieś trzynaście miliardów lat temu, kiedy chmury gazu rozproszone w pierwotnej plaźmie wszechświata uległy przyciąganiu grawitacyjnemu i narodziła się galaktyka, którą znamy jako Droga Mleczna.
Autorka oddaje jej głos, ta opowieść może zaskoczyć, choć początki w odbiorze mogą być trudne.
"Jestem Drogą Mleczną domem ponad stu miliardów gwiazd (wy wciąż uważacie, że wasza jest na tyle wyjątkowa, że zasługuje na osobne miano) oraz piędziesięciu sekstylionów ( to cyfra 5 z trzydziestoma siedmioma zerami) ton gazów pomiędzy nimi.
Jestem przestrzenią: składam się z przestrzeni i tkwię w jej otoczeniu. Jestem najwspanialszą galaktyką, jaką kiedykolwiek powstała."
Autobiografia przedstawia historię i przyszłość wszechświata w dość klarowny, ale pełny naukowych szczegółów sposób. Jest to podsumowanie dotychczasowej wiedzy astronomicznej człowieka i nie tylko, znalazło się tu miejsce i na mitologię i na legendy.
Droga Mleczna szczegółowo opisuje historię swojego życia, pełną dramatów, poważnych zmian, burzliwych relacji z sąsiednimi galaktykami i zarządzaniu stoma miliardami gwiazd.
Jest sporo wzmianek o człowieku, który wciąż jest obserwowany z góry i całkiem ostro oceniany.
"Wszystko, co kiedykolwiek widziałeś i czego dotknąłeś, jest częścią mnie.
Tak, nie wyłączając ciebie, ty próżny, obskurny zwierzaku. Ja to wszystko stworzyłam. Nieświadomie oczywiście."
Nie ukrywam w książce jest sporo złożonych pojęć naukowych, ale najbardziej zaskakującym aspektem książki jest to, że bohaterka - Droga Mleczna ma potężne poczucie humoru, jest to mocno sarkastyczny humor.
Autorka wie, o czym pisze, jest ekspertem w swojej dziedzinie, dostarcza ogromu wiedzy w dość przystępny i zabawowy sposób.
Kto ma ochotę niech czyta, ale zaznaczam, że mimo oryginalnego podejścia do tematu jest to wymagająca lektura.
February 12, 2024
this book was an excellent combination of entertaining and informative. such a unique way of storytelling, using the Milky Way as the narrator, and laying out the relationships between other galaxies and celestial objects as a family dynamic. i learned a lot from this book, and I especially enjoyed the theories about the end of the universe and dark matter and energy (no matter how much i learn about these topics they still always blow me away- this book was definitely the most accessible explanation I’ve read so far). I also found myself very into the history and folklore of it all, which I didn’t really expect!
i especially loved the footnotes, and it inspired me to look more into the professional work of the author. A queer, black woman with four ivy league degrees in Astrophysics and folklore?? what a badass!
February 2, 2025
Fie ca stelele mele să te ghideze către un viitor plin de povești. Promit că o să le ascult.
July 13, 2025
Definitely a space book for people who know nothing about space. I found it so fascinating and easy to read!
February 13, 2024
Bu kitap, şaşırtıcı bir şekilde bir otobiyografi; kendi hikâyesini Samanyolu bize bizzat anlatıyor. Samanyolu’nun oldukça sarkastik, insan türünün zayıflıkları ve saçma alışkanlıkları için laf sokmaya meyilli bir dili var.
Gerçekten çok keyifliydi bu kitabı okumak, Samanyolu’na çok güldüm. Eğlenceli bir dille bir popüler bilim kitabı okumak istiyorsanız bu kitap çok iyi bir tercih olabilir.
Gerçekten çok keyifliydi bu kitabı okumak, Samanyolu’na çok güldüm. Eğlenceli bir dille bir popüler bilim kitabı okumak istiyorsanız bu kitap çok iyi bir tercih olabilir.
March 3, 2023
This is a remarkable book on many levels, and to start with I am not sure if it is fair to call it non-fiction entirely. This is a science book, and if you give yourself over to it, it will science the hell out of you.
The author and this book have been on my radar for a long before it was finished and out. McTeir was a regular guest on one of my favorite, now defunct podcasts - The Weekly Space Hangout. I also listened to her podcast Exolore. McTeir positioned herself for this book while studying at Harvard. The first person at that school (I heard it was pretty good) to study Astrophysics and mythology.
There are a buzillion books out there, and an equal number of podcasts, Tv shows, movies, and concerts so how does one get attention? They write a one-in-a-million book that only they can. Moiya McTeir did. Despite this book being hyped on podcasts, and in my Reading TBR shelf for more than a minute it lived up to the hype.
So the concept is what if our galaxy had a giant galactic brain and was telling us its story? As such this pulls on all of McTeir's abilities. Writing as the Milky Way is of course a creative writing exercise, and as such, it is impossible for this not to be just a little bit in McTeir's voice. That might lose some hard science folks. I personally liked that. I mean the reality is that you should come to this book not expecting a perfect galactic first person...what the hell would that be.
My favorite parts of the book are when we get the myths of the milky way. Larry and Sammy in this context are other galaxies. "Polynesian seafarers knew how to navigate by Larry and Sammy, the Maori in your modern New Zealand marked the clouds return in their sky to predict weather, and some groups native to Australia looked to them as the resting place for the spirits of their loved ones."
I use this as an example not just of some of my favorite parts of the book but the trick McTeir had to pull, writing like the milky way but using words and terms to communicate with the reader. and trust me it gets hard sciencey at times... "It's hard to maintain hydrostatic Equilibrium in anything heavier than 200 masses." (pulled out at random) but nothing was so far over my head I felt off-put. I admit that mathy math stuff in the new Sean Carroll book has put me off. It happens.
The Milky Way autobiography is going to get attention as a fun book, as a neat book. A fun concept for a science book but it is also an important book. We spend lots of time as a society figuring out how our planet works as our home. The milky Way in a larger sense is our home as well.
I love this book.
"
The author and this book have been on my radar for a long before it was finished and out. McTeir was a regular guest on one of my favorite, now defunct podcasts - The Weekly Space Hangout. I also listened to her podcast Exolore. McTeir positioned herself for this book while studying at Harvard. The first person at that school (I heard it was pretty good) to study Astrophysics and mythology.
There are a buzillion books out there, and an equal number of podcasts, Tv shows, movies, and concerts so how does one get attention? They write a one-in-a-million book that only they can. Moiya McTeir did. Despite this book being hyped on podcasts, and in my Reading TBR shelf for more than a minute it lived up to the hype.
So the concept is what if our galaxy had a giant galactic brain and was telling us its story? As such this pulls on all of McTeir's abilities. Writing as the Milky Way is of course a creative writing exercise, and as such, it is impossible for this not to be just a little bit in McTeir's voice. That might lose some hard science folks. I personally liked that. I mean the reality is that you should come to this book not expecting a perfect galactic first person...what the hell would that be.
My favorite parts of the book are when we get the myths of the milky way. Larry and Sammy in this context are other galaxies. "Polynesian seafarers knew how to navigate by Larry and Sammy, the Maori in your modern New Zealand marked the clouds return in their sky to predict weather, and some groups native to Australia looked to them as the resting place for the spirits of their loved ones."
I use this as an example not just of some of my favorite parts of the book but the trick McTeir had to pull, writing like the milky way but using words and terms to communicate with the reader. and trust me it gets hard sciencey at times... "It's hard to maintain hydrostatic Equilibrium in anything heavier than 200 masses." (pulled out at random) but nothing was so far over my head I felt off-put. I admit that mathy math stuff in the new Sean Carroll book has put me off. It happens.
The Milky Way autobiography is going to get attention as a fun book, as a neat book. A fun concept for a science book but it is also an important book. We spend lots of time as a society figuring out how our planet works as our home. The milky Way in a larger sense is our home as well.
I love this book.
"
July 6, 2022
Moiya McTier utilizes her unique loves of astrophysics and folklore to tell the story of the Milky Way in sassy, snarky tones that make what can be a difficult subject to understand relatable to the casual space geek. I can't remember ever laughing while reading an astronomy book, and there were points during this book where I howled with laughter. McTier both anthropomorphizes the galaxy and its companions, including a long-festering distaste for Larry (aka the Large Magellanic Cloud), the discomfort and shame of Sarge (aka the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy) and an adoration for Andromeda, while simultaneously pointing out how self-absorbed and puny humans can be. McTier covers not just the science of the universe and the Milky Way, but also delves into astronomical discoveries over time, and the mythologies that early civilizations had about the galaxy and night sky, making the story feel even more comprehensive in nature. Readers should take note that while this may look like a fiction book, it is non-fiction. As someone who has always had a love for astronomy and outer space, this is a perfect book for the fun, conversational way it conveys information about space. If you love the idea of space but find textbooks intimidating, this book is for you. If you're a teenager and want to read a book about space that namechecks Beyonce and "those hunky brothers from Australia" this book is for you. If you're uptight and think all books about astronomy should be dry, boring and only readable by people with a doctorate in astronomy or astrophysics this book probably isn't for you - but it wasn't meant to be, you stick-in-the-local neighborhood Larry! I absolutely loved this fresh, fun take on the Milky Way, the universe and physics in general. A copy of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.
September 5, 2022
My criteria for judging popular science books is: did I learn from it, or could I see using it in my classroom? I'm undecided on the classroom one, but I think it goes a little too in-depth for that. I did learn from it, which is the only reason I rated as high as I did. I didn't find it particularly enjoyable, because it's written as an autobiography and the attitude of the Milky Way is grating. The author chose to have the Milky Way be knowledgeable, snarky, aloof, and a little condescending. The purpose of that is to illustrate its old age and are short life spans and how insignificant we seem to be in the grand scheme of things. However since our knowledge of the science is limited, the Milky Way's knowledge also has to be limited. This is overcome by just having the Milky Way keeps secrets from us, but it's a play that's used too many times. There's lots of reference to mythology, and some of it is even held in esteem, but there's a lot of religion bashing - especially of Christianity. I can understand making an argument against Young Earth Ceationist as a science book, but beyond that on the book fails to stay in its lane. I feel like the attitude of the Galaxy could have been completely different. After all one of Carl Sagan's famous quotes is, "we are the universe's way of knowing itself." I think it may have been more difficult to write the book from that perspective, but I think the book could still work, be funny, and be less subjective in the process. I will say beyond learning from it, I did really enjoy the nicknames meet up for places and objects, like Trin & Larry for the Triangulum Galaxy and Large Magellanic Cloud. As I said this isn't really my cup of tea, and I would probably rate it a four or five out of 10, but since I learned from it I decided to be generous and rounded it a little bit.
March 8, 2023
I was really excited for this book. However, after a few minutes of listening to it, I knew this was going to be a difficult one to get through.
I can tell the author meant for the book to be approachable and cutesy, however, I found it insulting and condescending. Do you know the basics of the Milky Way and space in general? Then you probably know most of the information in this book.
The author anthropomorphized the Milky Way and referred to humans as “hairy meat bags” and human body parts as “fleshy bits.” I highly disliked how the author made the Milky Way and Andromeda “date.” It was so unnecessary. But the thing I disliked the most was how the author renamed all the other galaxies (I believe the Large Magellanic Cloud was “Larry”) and referred to them by this made up name. So if you can’t remember which galaxy was given which name, it was difficult to understand.
Also, several chapters had very little to do with the Milky Way and were just an explanation of what different groups (Norse, Egyptians, Hindu…) believe in the afterlife and death. This is unnecessary in a book about the Milky Way.
I’d love to know what informational books you’ve enjoyed on galaxies or space.
I can tell the author meant for the book to be approachable and cutesy, however, I found it insulting and condescending. Do you know the basics of the Milky Way and space in general? Then you probably know most of the information in this book.
The author anthropomorphized the Milky Way and referred to humans as “hairy meat bags” and human body parts as “fleshy bits.” I highly disliked how the author made the Milky Way and Andromeda “date.” It was so unnecessary. But the thing I disliked the most was how the author renamed all the other galaxies (I believe the Large Magellanic Cloud was “Larry”) and referred to them by this made up name. So if you can’t remember which galaxy was given which name, it was difficult to understand.
Also, several chapters had very little to do with the Milky Way and were just an explanation of what different groups (Norse, Egyptians, Hindu…) believe in the afterlife and death. This is unnecessary in a book about the Milky Way.
I’d love to know what informational books you’ve enjoyed on galaxies or space.
December 4, 2022
This is science dumbed down to the point where it is almost painful to read.
The book is written from the point of view of our Milky Way Galaxy, but anthromorphised as a sassy person from the USA. Sassy, because the author is constantly casting shade on humans and other cosmic entities. From the USA, because the author talks about dollars, Fahrenheit and uses examples of American sports and parts of the country. The audiobook version has plenty of sassy vocal fry to add to the attitude.
The worst thing is that the book simplifies everything to the level of a pre-teenager but the discussions of sex and dating seem to preclude that particular audience. I am really not sure who the book is for. It is a pity, because I did learn some things from the book, but I cannot recommend it to anyone because there are far better ways to learn the factual content.
The book is written from the point of view of our Milky Way Galaxy, but anthromorphised as a sassy person from the USA. Sassy, because the author is constantly casting shade on humans and other cosmic entities. From the USA, because the author talks about dollars, Fahrenheit and uses examples of American sports and parts of the country. The audiobook version has plenty of sassy vocal fry to add to the attitude.
The worst thing is that the book simplifies everything to the level of a pre-teenager but the discussions of sex and dating seem to preclude that particular audience. I am really not sure who the book is for. It is a pity, because I did learn some things from the book, but I cannot recommend it to anyone because there are far better ways to learn the factual content.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 365 reviews