This collection of [a:Neil deGrasse Tyson|12855|Neil deGrasse Tyson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1423292563p2/12855.jpg] essays from Natural History magazine seeks to provide "a foundational fluency in all the major ideas and discoveries that drive our modern understanding of the universe," as Tyson writes in his introduction. "If I've succeeded, you'll be culturally conversant in my field of expertise, and you just may be hungry for more."

He pretty much succeeds in his other goal, giving us all a "cosmic perspective." Starting with the Big Bang, and concluding with how an alien society might locate this exoplanet and assess its inhabitants, you will get a basic understanding of how the universe works, regardless of how you did in science class. If you've seen Tyson live, or watched his Star Talk show, you'll know he can be quite funny, and flashes of that show up here too. The brevity and conciseness does make this a very easy read.

While I wish he'd added some Further Reading to each chapter, for those who might want to dig deeper, I highly recommend this. Go pick it up.