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  • Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs

  • The Astounding Interconnectedness of the Universe
  • By: Lisa Randall
  • Narrated by: Adam Sims
  • Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (92 ratings)

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Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs

By: Lisa Randall
Narrated by: Adam Sims
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Summary

In this brilliant exploration of our cosmic environment, the renowned particle physicist and New York Times best-selling author of Warped Passages and Knocking on Heaven's Door uses her research into dark matter to illuminate the startling connections between the farthest reaches of space and life here on Earth.

Sixty-six million years ago, an object the size of a city descended from space to crash into Earth, creating a devastating cataclysm that killed off the dinosaurs along with three-quarters of the other species on the planet. What was its origin?

In Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs, Lisa Randall proposes it was a comet that was dislodged from its orbit as the solar system passed through a disk of dark matter embedded in the Milky Way. In a sense, it might have been dark matter that killed the dinosaurs.

Working through the background and consequences of this proposal, Randall shares with us the latest findings - established and speculative - regarding the nature and role of dark matter and the origin of the universe, our galaxy, our solar system, and life, along with the process by which scientists explore new concepts.

In Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs, Randall tells a breathtaking story that weaves together the cosmos' history and our own, illuminating the deep relationships that are critical to our world and the astonishing beauty inherent in the most familiar things.

©2015 Lisa Randall (P)2015 Audible, Ltd
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Critic reviews

"[Randall’s] is a fascinating, tantalizing theory, linking life on Earth - or the extinction thereof - with the very origins of our universe." (Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Dark Matter and the Dinosaurs

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

aye worth a read but not a belta

some great ideas and insights not sure about the narrator not the best sounding voice not the worst, overall the concept could have been brought across with a shorter book,

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2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

All The Es - Exotic - Exciting - Expansive - Ente

A mighty work of intellectual achievement. Another pair of giant shoulders for us to stand on.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

narrator

the male narrator is fine BUT why male ??... distracting and strange decision

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it!

This book combined physics, astronomy and a tiny bit of palaeontology, the perfect combination for my liking. There's an interwoven, hidden message too, about current affairs and how to go about it. Great listen!

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

science at it's most appealing

I thoroughly enjoyed this fascinating and informative book. As a layman the author made a difficult topic interesting and understandable

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3 people found this helpful

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

hit and miss

some interesting chapters but for the most part disjointed, didn't find the book flowed very well. I felt the book would have worked better without the middle section on geology.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

truly Awful

without doubt the worst science book, neigh worse book I've had on audible. took me A year to finish it.

the narrative is self absorbed, self aggrandizing And self obsessed. it portrays opinion as fact and speculation as excepted wisdom.

the narration just reinforces the portrayal of 'it's all about me'

Terrible, It gets two stars as it did make me start fact checking.

awful.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Lisa lacks self awareness.

some really interesting science in here , described by someone who obviously has a passion for the subject and talent for writing.
so why the low score? well Lisa seems unable to talk about the science without talking about herself, she is constantly telling us about her trip to one exotic location or another, or talking about people she met while flying to some speaking engagement. This would have been tolerable if she hadn't spent the entire last chapter berating us for using too many resources and then tries to justify the resources spent on massive projects, like the LHC, by pointing to the consumer products that resulted from them.

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Too much digression and an uninspiring conclusion

Struggled to listen - bad accent. Poor connections. How science books should not be written.

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1 person found this helpful