0 ratings | 1 review | avg rating:0.0

#10 most followed

Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Followers (284,701)

Neil’s Bookshelves

to-read (15)
currently-reading (0)
read (7)

Neil’s Friends (580)

Sarah

668 books | 36 friends

Nikola Grozdanov

775 books | 24 friends

Alia

212 books | 298 friends

Jenny Youngblood

341 books | 21 friends

Alexis

941 books | 14 friends

135 books | 4 friends

Bram Macgregor

2,095 books | 71 friends

Saba Sajid

1,064 books | 17 friends

More friends…

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Goodreads Author

Born

in New York, New York, The United States

Website

https://neildegrassetyson.com

Twitter

neiltyson

Genre

Science, Nonfiction, Astrophysics

Influences

Carl Sagan ...more

Member Since

December 2017

edit data

Neil deGrasse Tyson was born and raised in New York City where he was educated in the public schools clear through his graduation from the Bronx High School of Science. Tyson went on to earn his BA in Physics from Harvard and his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia.

In 2001, Tyson was appointed by President Bush to serve on a twelve-member commission that studied the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry. The final report was published in 2002 and contained recommendations (for Congress and for the major agencies of the government) that would promote a thriving future of transportation, space exploration, and national security.

In 2004, Tyson was once again appointed by President Bush to serve on a nine-member commission on the Implementation o Neil deGrasse Tyson was born and raised in New York City where he was educated in the public schools clear through his graduation from the Bronx High School of Science. Tyson went on to earn his BA in Physics from Harvard and his PhD in Astrophysics from Columbia.

In 2001, Tyson was appointed by President Bush to serve on a twelve-member commission that studied the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry. The final report was published in 2002 and contained recommendations (for Congress and for the major agencies of the government) that would promote a thriving future of transportation, space exploration, and national security.

In 2004, Tyson was once again appointed by President Bush to serve on a nine-member commission on the Implementation of the United States Space Exploration Policy, dubbed the “Moon, Mars, and Beyond” commission. This group navigated a path by which the new space vision can become a successful part of the American agenda. And in 2006, the head of NASA appointed Tyson to serve on its prestigious Advisory Council, which guides NASA through its perennial need to fit ambitious visions into restricted budgets.

In addition to dozens of professional publications, Dr. Tyson has written, and continues to write for the public. From 1995 to 2005, Tyson was a monthly essayist for Natural History magazine under the title Universe. And among Tyson’s fifteen books is his memoir The Sky is Not the Limit: Adventures of an Urban Astrophysicist; and Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution, co-written with Donald Goldsmith. Origins is the companion book to the PBS NOVA four-part mini-series Origins, in which Tyson served as on-camera host. The program premiered in September 2004.

Two of Tyson’s other books are the playful and informative Death By Black Hole and Other Cosmic Quandaries, which was a New York Times bestseller, and The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet, chronicling his experience at the center of the controversy over Pluto’s planetary status. The PBS NOVA documentary The Pluto Files, based on the book, premiered in March 2010.

In February 2012, Tyson released his tenth book, containing every thought he has ever had on the past, present, and future of space exploration: Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier.

For five seasons, beginning in the fall of 2006, Tyson appeared as the on-camera host of PBS NOVA’s spinoff program NOVA ScienceNOW, which is an accessible look at the frontier of all the science that shapes the understanding of our place in the universe.

During the summer of 2009 Tyson identified a cadre of professional standup comedians to assist his effort in bringing science to commercial radio with the NSF-funded pilot program StarTalk. Now also a popular Podcast, for three years it enjoyed a limited-run Television Series on the National Geographic Channel. StarTalk combines celebrity guests with informative yet playful banter. The target audience is all those people who never thought they would, or could, like science. In its first year on television and in three successive seasons, it was nominated for a Best Informational Programming Emmy.

Tyson is the recipient of twenty-one honorary doctorates and the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest award given by NASA to a non-government citizen. His contributions to the public appreciation of the cosmos have been recognized by the International Astronomical Union in their official naming of asteroid “13123 Tyson.” And by zoologists, with the naming of Indirani Tysoni, a native species of leaping frog in India. On the lighter side, Tyson was voted “Sexiest Astrophysicist Alive” by People Magazine in 2000.

More recently, Tyson published Astrophysics for People In A Hurry in 2017, which was a domestic and international bestseller. This adorably readable book is an introduction to all that you’ve read and heard about that’s making news in the universe—consummated, in one plac ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Neil deGrasse Tyson questions, please sign up.

Combine Editions
Neil deGrasse Tyson’s books

Average rating: 4.09 · 315,548 ratings · 27,612 reviews · 91 distinct works • Similar authors

	Astrophysics for People in a Hurry 4.08 avg rating — 201,485 ratings — published 2017 — 14 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries 4.10 avg rating — 31,974 ratings — published 2006	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization 4.11 avg rating — 14,744 ratings — published 2022	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Origins: Fourteen Billion Years of Cosmic Evolution by Neil deGrasse Tyson (Goodreads Author), Donald Goldsmith 4.14 avg rating — 10,731 ratings — published 2004	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Letters From An Astrophysicist 4.06 avg rating — 8,567 ratings — published 2019 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Pluto Files: The Rise and Fall of America’s Favorite Planet 3.87 avg rating — 7,158 ratings — published 2008 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Space Chronicles: Facing the Ultimate Frontier by Neil deGrasse Tyson (Goodreads Author), Avis Lang (Editor) 3.99 avg rating — 6,942 ratings — published 2012 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Accessory to War: The Unspoken Alliance Between Astrophysics and the Military by Neil deGrasse Tyson (Goodreads Author), Avis Lang 3.65 avg rating — 4,977 ratings — published 2018 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Cosmic Queries: StarTalk's Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We're Going by Neil deGrasse Tyson (Goodreads Author), James Trefil, Lindsey N. Walker (Editor) 4.16 avg rating — 3,560 ratings — published 2021 — 17 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson (Goodreads Author), Gregory Mone (Goodreads Author) (Primary Contributor) 4.29 avg rating — 3,295 ratings — published 2019 — 35 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Neil deGrasse Tyson…

10 posts
Neil deGrasse Tyson's Blog

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

Few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly, with sparkling wit, in digestible chapters consumable anytime and anywhere in your busy day.

Release Date: May 2, 2017—Preorder now

Series by Neil deGrasse Tyson

Death by Black Hole: And Other Cosmic Quandaries (1 book)
by

Neil deGrasse Tyson (Goodreads Author)

4.09 avg rating — 33,526 ratings

Merlin (2 books)
by

Neil deGrasse Tyson (Goodreads Author),

Stephen J. Tyson (Illustrator)

3.96 avg rating — 2,322 ratings

Summer is winding down, but that’s OK, as long as there are good books to read. As it happens, there are some great new books coming in...

rss
Neil’s Recent Updates

Neil Tyson answered Lisa Munroe's question: I'm curious what you'd think of microscopic aliens visiting earth? Other than bacteria or viruses catching a ride on a meteoroid to us, this idea may only be realized in the realm of science fiction. Still I think it's an interesting thought that a microscopic earth life form might have the scientific advances of another civilization shared with it while humans are too busy on their phones to realize it. In a way, the COVID virus was a microscopic alien. Leading me to post this tweet on March 6, 2020: https://x.com/neiltyson/status/123607... Below a certain size, aliens are not building space-ships. Their technology would be too susceptible to forces See Full Answer
Jan 28, 2025 07:50AM · 16 likes · like
Neil Tyson answered G.G. Melies's question: Thanks, Neil, for answering my questions this year. I think I can say on behalf of many that you have enriched our lives. Merry Christmas and a prosperous new year! Have a good time with your family. I hope I haven't asked nonsense... Ha ha... But I have more where those came from. :) For when, the Spanish translation of Starry Messenger? Thank you for your kind words and well-wishes. Starry Messenger was translated almost immediately into Spanish by Paodós. And imprint of Grupo Planeta. -NDT
Dec 17, 2024 12:33PM · 12 likes · like

More of Neil's books…

Quotes by Neil deGrasse Tyson (?)

“For me, I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew yesterday and lessen the suffering of others. You'd be surprised how far that gets you.”
― Neil deGrasse Tyson

tags: inspirational, values

2791 likes

“The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it.”
― Neil deGrasse Tyson

2755 likes

“Recognize that the very molecules that make up your body, the atoms that construct the molecules, are traceable to the crucibles that were once the centers of high mass stars that exploded their chemically rich guts into the galaxy, enriching pristine gas clouds with the chemistry of life. So that we are all connected to each other biologically, to the earth chemically and to the rest of the universe atomically. That’s kinda cool! That makes me smile and I actually feel quite large at the end of that. It’s not that we are better than the universe, we are part of the universe. We are in the universe and the universe is in us.”
― Neil deGrasse Tyson

tags: astronomy, cosmology

1084 likes

See all Neil deGrasse Tyson's quotes »

Polls

Which nonfiction book would you like to with the group during December and January? Please vote here.

The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story by Hyeonseo Lee

60 votes, 25.2%

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson

59 votes, 24.8%

Gorilla and the Bird: A Memoir of Madness and a Mother's Love by Zack McDermott

35 votes, 14.7%

Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande

28 votes, 11.8%

The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey by Candice Millard

22 votes, 9.2%

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert

21 votes, 8.8%

Creative Homemaking Guide to Christmas Recipes, Traditions, and Crafts by Rachel Paxton

13 votes, 5.5%

238 total votes

8 comments

More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Seasonal Read...: Science Films	27	142	Aug 31, 2009 03:43AM
The Seasonal Read...: Summer Challenge 2010 Completed Tasks (do NOT delete any posts in this thread)	3022	3283	Aug 31, 2010 10:39PM
The Seasonal Read...: * Summer Challenge 2011 Completed Tasks (DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS)	2614	895	Aug 31, 2011 09:18PM
Fantasy Aficionados: Is there a correlation between religion and education?	156	109	Nov 16, 2011 10:16PM
The Sword and Laser: What Else Are You Reading - April 2012	200	580	May 04, 2012 09:44AM

More…