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Forces of Nature

By: Professor Brian Cox,Andrew Cohen
Narrated by: Samuel West
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Publisher's Summary

A Sunday Times best seller.

A breathtaking and beautiful exploration of our planet, this groundbreaking audiobook accompanies the BBC One TV series, providing the deepest answers to the simplest questions.

'What is motion?'

'Why is every snowflake different?'

'Why is life symmetrical?'

To answer these and many other questions, Professor Brian Cox uncovers some of the most extraordinary natural events on Earth and in the universe and beyond.

From the immensity of the universe and the roundness of Earth to the form of every single snowflake, the forces of nature shape everything we see. Pushed to extremes, the results are astonishing. In seeking to understand the everyday world, the colours, structure, behaviour and history of our home, we develop the knowledge and techniques necessary to step beyond the everyday and approach the universe beyond.

Forces of Nature takes you to the great plains of the Serengeti, the volcanoes of Indonesia and the precipitous cliffs in Nepal to the humpback whales of the Caribbean and the northern lights of the Arctic. Brian will answer questions on Earth that will illuminate our understanding of the universe.

Think you know our planet?

Think again.

©2017 Professor Brian Cox and Andrew Cohen (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic Reviews

"In this book of the acclaimed BBC2 TV series, Professor Cox shows us the cosmos as we have never seen it before - a place full of the most bizarre and powerful natural phenomena." ( Sunday Express)
"Engaging, ambitious and creative." ( Guardian)
"Cox's romantic, lyrical approach to astrophysics all adds up to an experience that feels less like homework and more like having a story told to you. A really good story, too." ( Guardian)

What listeners say about Forces of Nature

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  • Ben
  • 27-08-2019

Engaging and compelling discussion of nature

A fantastic introduction to some basic principles of science and nature, put forward in an engaging and understandable way. The jargon and mathematics are kept brief and optional, and the ideas complex and simple are presented in a way that is easy to follow and grasp. The orator was perfect and his performance in the reading was thoroughly enjoyable.

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3 people found this helpful

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Mind-blowing made more digestible

Will certainly be revisiting a few times...wish I’d had this when studying physics at school! Great combination of the factual set in the context of the real world...and very interesting to hear the how and who surrounding various discoveries. Initially disappointed Professor Brian Cox not narrating, but soon got over it.

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summary of formation of life

loved it! great explanation of physics, astronomy, chemistry, biology and optics and how they all combine to produce life

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Great book if you’re smart enough

I found this really interesting but had to relisten so many times ‘cause I’m just not smart enough :)

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A great intro to some big subjects

Great book, well narrated. These concepts can be hard to understand, especially in audio form. In this case Brian’s takes you through the story and history really clearly. I’d recommend this to friends starting out on these subjects. I’d also love to see more books from Brian diving more deeply into one of the topics.

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Best one so far

All the things I wanted to know is in one place.. Listened to it twice so far.. might do another round after a few months :)

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The book of life

Required reading for all earthlings, A seminal work that provides a lucid explanation of life.

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OMG!!! My Brain hurts.

After the third read I’m still in awe. I love this book, it’s such an eye opening read/listen

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Learned so much

If you love science and have a high school level of knowledge of it, you should find this book a great listen.

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Unphiloshhical

Enjoyed the book and learnt a great deal.
The one critique of Brian is his thought is so reductionist in nature, which makes some of his narratives illogical.
An example of this is when he states he is happy to forego free will only to say how much he enjoys that the past still exists. You don’t have free will you also don’t have personal preference. Where that leaves the rest of emotions and ethics is also ignored.

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