Neil deGrasse Tyson's Reading List
The 5 books that shaped Neil deGrasse Tyson — astrophysicist & science communicator.
Carries Carl Sagan's torch as America's most visible science communicator, inspiring curiosity about the cosmos.
Influential Books
Cosmos
Carl Sagan(1980)
Sagan's masterwork inspired Tyson to become an astrophysicist. Meeting Sagan at 17 changed his life.
Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
Neil deGrasse Tyson(2017)
Tyson's bestselling primer — the universe distilled into accessible, witty chapters for busy readers.
A Brief History of Time
Stephen Hawking(1988)
Hawking's popular physics classic that Tyson credits with bringing cosmology to the mainstream.
The Demon-Haunted World
Carl Sagan(1995)
Sagan's toolkit for scientific thinking — Tyson carries on this tradition of championing critical thought.
Principia Mathematica
Isaac Newton(1687)
Tyson frequently cites Newton's masterwork as the most important scientific publication in human history.