Start gifting
Libro.fm for Business
Start a membership, get two free audiobooks
Almost ready!
In order to save audiobooks to your Wish List you must be signed in to your account.
Log in Create account
Shop the sale
In celebration of Independent Bookstore Day, shop our limited-time sale on bestselling audiobooks from April 22nd-28th. Don’t miss out—purchases support your local bookstore!
Shop nowThe Black Hole War
This audiobook uses AI narration.
We’re taking steps to make sure AI narration is transparent.
Learn moreThis is the inside account of the battle over the true nature of black holes—with nothing less than our understanding of the entire universe at stake.
What happens when something is sucked into a black hole? Does it disappear? Three decades ago, a young physicist named Stephen Hawking claimed that it did—and in doing so, put at risk everything we know about the fundamental laws of the universe. Leonard Susskind and Gerard ’t Hooft realized the threat and responded with a counterattack that changed the course of physics.
The Black Hole War is the thrilling story of their united effort to reconcile Hawking’s theories of black holes with their own sense of reality, an effort that would eventually result in Hawking admitting he was wrong and Susskind and ’t Hooft realizing that our world is a hologram projected from the outer boundaries of space. A brilliant book about the deepest mysteries of modern physics, The Black Hole War is mind-bending and exhilarating reading.
Leonard Susskind is the Felix Bloch professor of theoretical physics at Stanford University. The author of The Cosmic Landscape, he is a member of the National Academy of Arts and Sciences and a recipient of numerous prizes, including the science writing prize of the American Institute of Physics for his article in Scientific Americanon black holes.
Ray Porter is a prolific voice actor that has recorded for over 100 audio books and dozens of television series, video games and video shorts. Among his wide variety of audiobook credits are The Silver Linings Playbook, The Black Hole War, and the Joe Ledger series. He claims, “With every book I’ve done, I have found that the author has a voice and if I can just do my best to stay out of the way of that voice, then the writer will convey what he’s trying to put across. So for me, it’s really more about enabling the text and what the author is trying to say.”
Reviews
“As good an introduction as you’re going to find to the strange world of black hole astrophysics. Add that to the chance to ride along as real scientists resolve a fundamental issue and you have the makings of a great read.”
“An interesting view of today’s physics as it moves into ever more abstract areas. Writing for the general public, Susskind…uses a relaxed and often humorous style of presentation.”
“In a remarkably skilled reading, Ray Porter goes beyond Susskind’s mostly deft, engaging, and comprehensive writing to add energy and nuance to passages that could have been dry…A resourceful, intelligent reading of a fine book. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
Expand reviews