The Ascent of Gravity cover art

The Ascent of Gravity

The Quest to Understand the Force That Explains Everything

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

The Ascent of Gravity

By: Marcus Chown
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £14.35

Buy Now for £14.35

About this listen

Gravity is the weakest force in the everyday world, yet it is the strongest force in the universe. It was the first force to be recognised and described, yet it is the least understood. It is a 'force' that keeps your feet on the ground, yet no such force actually exists. Gravity, to steal the words of Winston Churchill, is 'a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma'. And penetrating that enigma promises to answer the biggest questions in science: what is space? What is time? What is the universe? And where did it all come from?

Award-winning writer Marcus Chown takes us on an unforgettable journey from the recognition of the 'force' of gravity in 1666 to the discovery of gravitational waves in 2015. And as we stand on the brink of a seismic revolution in our worldview, he brings us up to speed on the greatest challenge ever to confront physics.

Read by Adjoa Andoh.

©2017 Marcus Chown (P)2017 Orion Publishing Group History History & Philosophy Physics Science Mathematics Black Hole Feel-Good Astronomy Cosmology Solar System
All stars
Most relevant
The audio book the ascent of gravity is a very well rounded picture of everything we know about physics from the classic laws through to the cutting edge of theoretical physics

A book much bigger than it's title

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The analogues are well made, enabling clear and logical explanation of immensely complicated theories and ideas.

A fascinating and well rounded book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
or does it?

Great book well read.

Great value as you will need to listen to this book several times to understand how gravity works.
And once you think you understand you will join a club of 3 who do.
At this point you will then realise that actually you don't understand it and you'll have to start again or move on to something a little more simple...try a little Douglas Adams.
enjoy xx

gravity sucks!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Who made this poor lady do all those accents and impressions. Spoiled an otherwise good performance. To the producers: these embellishments were really not needed.

Questionable narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Narration is everything with an audiobook (I have abandoned many due to poor narration .....dull, monotone being prime amongst the reasons) but Ashoka Andoh is brilliant. Great author (Chown is probably the best popular physics writer in the world right now) with a truly engaging "story". I can't recommend this book highly enough!

Brilliant and engaging!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews