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  • The Order of Time

  • Narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch
  • By: Carlo Rovelli
  • Narrated by: Benedict Cumberbatch
  • Length: 4 hrs and 18 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (1,069 ratings)
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The Order of Time

By: Carlo Rovelli
Narrated by: Benedict Cumberbatch
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Summary

Winner of the Specsavers Audiobook of the Year 2018. 

Penguin presents the audio edition of The Order of Time by Carlo Rovelli. The best-selling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics takes us on an enchanting journey to discover the meaning of time. 

Time is a mystery that does not cease to puzzle us. Philosophers, artists and poets have long explored its meaning while scientists have found that its structure is different from the simple intuition we have of it. From Boltzmann to quantum theory, from Einstein to loop quantum gravity, our understanding of time has been undergoing radical transformations. Time flows at different speeds in different places, the past and the future differ far less than we might think and the very notion of the present evaporates in the vast universe. 

With his extraordinary charm and sense of wonder, bringing together science, philosophy and art, Carlo Rovelli unravels this mystery, inviting us to imagine a world where time is in us and we are not in time. 

©2018 Carlo Rovelli (P)2018 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"A global superstar...Rovelli is making the grammar of the universe accessible to a new generation." (Channel 4 News)

"Benedict Cumberbatch's warm, resonant voice makes him a very fine narrator." (The Times)

"Cumberbatch possesses a deep and rich voice and reads the text in a precise but unhurried manner, with the result that we feel as if we are getting an exposition by an erudite but gentle teacher." (The New York Times)

What listeners say about The Order of Time

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Brilliant!

Like being sat down in a button back leather armchair and having chocolate poured into your ears until your mind is blown.

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33 people found this helpful

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Beautifully written and beautifully read.

Popular physics books can often by dry or full of technical language, but with Rovelli you get such wonderfully lyrical writing, drawing references from art and literature, and the wider cultural life, to illustrate the points he is making. A joy to read, or listen to, especially when read by Benedict Cumberbatch. A brief but profound book, that examines the physics and the philosophy of time. What is time? Does it even exist? What does the concept of now mean? This builds on Rovelli's earlier works, and is, I think, his best yet. Highly recommended.

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Well worth listening to

As someone with next to no previous knowledge on the subject, some parts where tricky to get my head around (and some for chunks I didn't manage it at all). Other sections, particularly the first few chapters, were very illuminating and really changed my perception of time.
The final chapter is beautifully written and quite philosophical, I teared up a few times, which I wasn't expecting.
The narration is excellent and really brought the text to life.
I think I'm going to give it a second listen...

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Tell me doctor, where are we going this time?

It’s has been some time, naturally from my own relative perspective that a book has so profoundly blown my mind to absolute smithereens. This book will take me a few reads to fully comprehend, but if you want to learn more about what time is, and what it is not then this work is for you. It’s poetic and beautiful and to have it read by Mr Cumberbatch is just ambrosia to the ears.

I will read this again, and again perhaps now or in the past; in the future or somewhere in between. Who knows?

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Literally the best thing I ever read.

Amazing. Profound. Illuminating. Beautiful. Moving. Measured. Passionate. Thoughtful. Mind-expanding. Mind-blowing. Astonishing. Graceful. Vast. Relatable. Perfect.

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Simply Beautiful

I usually avoid science books that have been translated or are not read by the author. You tend to lose so much in the translation or the text being spoken by a non scientist. NOT THE CASE HERE. Carlo Rovelli's writing is stunningly beautiful. Poetic and heartfelt. The translation has not damaged the beauty of the words and concepts in this book. Benedict Cumberbatch does a wonderful job of transposing the words on the page into deeply impactful narration. I felt the words and the most wonderful thing about this book. It left me feeling happy that I had heard it. Genuinely happy to have not missed this cracking book. If you like popular science books, they do not come better than this gem! 11/10

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Masterful and personal

This is partly a book about physics, partly consciousness, partly about being human and or limitations.

Rovelli spends a considerable amount of time discussing what physics has to say about time, before returning to the question of why we perceive time in the way that we do when the evidence is so strong that this is an illusion.

On the way he delves into philosophy, history, music, and literature and throughout cumberbatch's narration bring a resonance and erudition which make the journey an absolute joy.

As a physicist, there are points where the argument seems a little thin - the low entropy state of the early universe is dealt with as a dictation in a wider universe. Really just a statement of the anthropic principle, which is a little off hand. These are minor quibbles, though. The real point is the journey and the synthesis, which is masterly.

Thoroughly enjoyed this. I recommend it to anyone in a meditative frame of mind.

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Absolute poetry

Quite easily the best book I've listened to.

*completely unnecessary words to fill this review*

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Brilliant

An artful combination of science, philosophy and classics. You know when someone talks passionately about an interesting subject and you get so drawn in that you almost have an out of body experience? This book is that, with added physics.

Cumberbatch reads it extremely well too.

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A deeper understanding of time

Easily understandable physics but just as easily lost in philosophy. Cumberbatch could make a phone directory sound engaging. The physics of time is fascinating and well-explained. I personally disagree with Rovelli's philosophical perspective on time - which he describes clearly - and so a lot of the poetic musings in the latter part of the book are of less interest to me than the marvels of time dilation and black holes. It is, however a fascinating book and over all too quickly.

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