I’ve
read a lot of books about space but this was the first book I read about an
astrophysicist and his life. You may be familiar with this author, some know
him as Neil DeGrasse Tyson. You may know him as the director of
the Museum
of Natural History!
He calls this book, The Sky is Not the Limit. It's a great book if you want to
learn about Neil's struggles and hardships and how he became an astrophysicist,
or if you just want to learn a little about what makes up the night sky.
However, if you're looking for a more in-depth science book, this book doesn't
talk as much about science as it is more of an autobiography. In this book, we can see how rare it is for an African American to be a
famous physicist because most African Americans
usually pursue other jobs as Neil explains to us. He shows us how his school
life was affected because he was black and all the challenges that he
faced as a result. Despite the difficulties, he was still a very talented
young man and many people looked beyond their stereotypes and recognized this.
Thus, he got scholarships and was allowed to participate in a lot of
trips that involved very famous people, such as Neil Armstrong and Isaac
Asimov, to name but a few. He also goes on to tell us that being an
astrophysicist is an unusual profession for a black person and most people
didn't expect him to pursue the sciences but he never gave up on his life
dream. So, even though he is already a famous physicist, he is even more
renowned now because of his ethnicity, making him one of the few well
known black physicists in the entire world. This book is also humorous and funny and shows us how science and math can be fun and interesting because you can always expand your knowledge and try new things. He tells us why science and math are necessary skills in everyday life, whether you're trying to apply for a job or get a 100% on your next science test. To support this point, he gives several humorous examples from his own life, with people who were unfamiliar with the sciences and said very inexact and often times hilarious statements. For example, a news reporter once said on a cold day when the temperature was rapidly approaching 0 degrees, "There is almost no temperature left."
Overall, I thought this book was very interesting because it showed us a view from the very unique perspective of a black astrophysicist. I also thought it was cool how throughout many hardships, Neil never backed down, never surrendered and did whatever it took to realize his dream. This story shows us courage, sacrifice and a will to keep going even when all seems lost. It shows all of us that if we work hard, we can be whoever we want to be, do whatever we want to do and literally, reach the stars themselves.
