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The Order of Time cover art

The Order of Time

Written by: Carlo Rovelli
Narrated by: Benedict Cumberbatch
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Publisher's Summary

One of TIME’s Ten Best Nonfiction Books of the Decade

"Meet the new Stephen Hawking . . . The Order of Time is a dazzling book."—The Sunday Times

From the bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, Reality Is Not What It Seems, Helgoland, and Anaximander comes a concise, elegant exploration of time.

Why do we remember the past and not the future? What does it mean for time to "flow"? Do we exist in time or does time exist in us? In lyric, accessible prose, Carlo Rovelli invites us to consider questions about the nature of time that continue to puzzle physicists and philosophers alike.

For most this is unfamiliar terrain. We all experience time, but the more scientists learn about it, the more mysterious it remains. We think of it as uniform and universal, moving steadily from past to future, measured by clocks. Rovelli tears down these assumptions one by one, revealing a strange universe where at the most fundamental level time disappears. He explains how the theory of quantum gravity attempts to understand and give meaning to the resulting extreme landscape of this timeless world. Weaving together ideas from philosophy, science and literature, he suggests that our perception of the flow of time depends on our perspective, better understood starting from the structure of our brain and emotions than from the physical universe.

Already a bestseller in Italy, and written with the poetic vitality that made Seven Brief Lessons on Physics so appealing, The Order of Time offers a profoundly intelligent, culturally rich, novel appreciation of the mysteries of time.

©2018 Carlo Rovelli (P)2018 Penguin Audio

What the critics say

"[Benedict Cumberbatch's] velvety bass voice is a delight to listen to - comforting and companionable, with perfect cadences to signal when the difficult concepts he's speaking about need extra attention (or a 30-second skip-back to hear again). The result is a performance that feels like a conversation with Professor Rovelli himself steadily guiding you as he dismantles all notions of time and helps you rebuild your understanding of it." (AudioFile)

“Highly original.... Chapter by chapter, Rovelli shows how modern physics has annihilated common understandings of time...the many other excellent explanations of science, the heart and humanity of the book, its poetry and its gentle tone raise it to the level and style of such great scientist-writers as Lewis Thomas and Rachel Carson.” (Alan Lightman, New York Times Book Review)

“An elegant grapple with one of physics’ deepest mysteries.... A masterly writer.... In this little gem of a book, Mr. Rovelli first demolishes our common-sense notion of time...an ambitious book that illuminates a thorny question, that succeeds in being a pleasurable read.” (Wall Street Journal)  

What listeners say about The Order of Time

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More like this please

Stimulating, clear, and nicely written. It's really great when scientists can write and Carlo Rovelli is one of them. i would say it's the right balance between physics and philosophy.
And having Benedict Cumberbatch as a narrator makes this book so pleasing to listen to.

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A beautiful work

At times difficult to follow as I lack a background in physics, but thoroughly enjoyed the topic. the last few chapters were actually quite heartwarming.

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Not for the average human

I was hoping to be able to grasp some of the content of this book but it's way over my head. If you are not a physicist or if you are looking for a book to learn about the concept of time, this is probably not a good start. On the other hand, if you are quite familiar with quantum mechanics, then you will definitely enjoy this book.

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Timeless piece!

Admire the author and depth of the research. I might not align with Carlo’s view on gravity as I theorize that gravity is not of quantum nature.

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Wow!

I can’t say I understood it all, even after a second listen, but it was a great experience trying. I was initially disappointed Carlo was not reading — I so enjoyed his accent in Seven Brief Lessons… — but Cumberbatch was superb— 5 stars does not do him justice. This may be the best presentation in all of Audible. Thanks to both of them for a challenging and rewarding “time”!

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Amazing content and incredible narrator

Rovelli has a marvellous way to simplify a difficult content, helped here by the mesmerizing voice of Benedict Cumberbatch.

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Excellent!

The content and the narration will energize your sense of wonder about ‘Life, the Universe, and Everything’.

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Educational and poetic, great one!

Very good book, educational and poetic at the same time, while also to the point. The narration is excellent.

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Interesting but occasionally dense

I found the order of time to be very interesting, and provided a good balance of introduction and details about the topic. There were times when I had to replay it over in order to catch the premise that was being presented, and I’m not entirely certain I understood it correctly. However, I did enjoy this and would recommend it.

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Worth your time!

While I did not understand much of the first part of the book, the one containing physics knowledge beyond my understanding, I grasped some priceless pieces of information from this book. The profound alterations in my perception of time and space make up for how challenging this book was to listen to at times.

The most important concept i took from this book is that the laws of physics in the way we think of them don't exist. Time and space can warp and operate at speeds unlike what we "normally" expect...and while most accept that a clock tells time and everything moves along in expected time frames, it is when we see BEYOND limited perspectives, perceptions and expectations that we can start to understand our own potential, within a reality that is much more malleable than we give it credit for.

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