Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Mark Thompson created an interesting read, which includes lots of beautiful images for the eyes to enjoy as well. The title is no lie: I learned many new facts and was happily amazed all throughout the book. Would recommend to anyone interesting in expanding their knowledge!

This book was full of interesting facts about space I wish it had a little more detail to some of the facts but overall worth a read.

There were some really great facts in this book. For my personal taste, it dragged on a bit. When I see titles like this one I anticipate a list, which is somewhat what the author did, but he just went into SO much detail. I would have preferred the list and maybe a paragraph under each fact. It was almost boring and just waiting to get through it by the end because there was so much detail. There were some really neat photographs throughout the book.

Space rocks. I love space. This is amazing. Lots of fun. As a space enthusiast I knew a lot of this but still some of it was super cool to learn.

Definitely what it says on the title. Fascinating and with tons of facts about space that both interested and surprised me. Would recommend to fellow casual astronomy fans looking for a fun read.

This book does exactly what it says it will -- tell interesting facts about space (many of which I didn't know). I think that students will also enjoy these facts, especially since each fact is a stand-alone chapter (so that kids can read it in parts, or skip around).

As you must have already guessed, the book consists of 101 chapters, each dedicated to one particular ‘fact’ about space. All chapters are self contained and self sufficient; except one or two instances, no chapter refers to the information presented in earlier chapters. So you may easily open the book at random and read the chapter open in front of you. Length of each chapter is nearly same and short, so you can very easily go through it within 15 minutes or less — while waiting in queue, in daily commute, or having tea/coffee, or in between your daily schedule ‘just for a change/break’. However, rigour has not been sacrificed in major portion of the book. So you can enjoy the excitement and wonder of space in small morsels of knowledge and information.

Though the title of the book mentions facts about space, nearly whole of the book deals with astronomy and astrophysics. The foremost positive point of the book is the compilation of around 100 facts on space physics. Selection of the topics itself must have involved a lot of thinking and contemplation. The writer definitely deserves appreciation for this successful effort. Surely, the selection of chapters would most probably suffer from his personal bias, and any other writer would have most probably selected different topics. But it does not make a cause for much concern. The aim of the writer is simply to introduce a layperson to the fascinating world of space science and he has accomplished that task with much success.

The language is simple and you won’t need to open your dictionary even once. The explanation of all facts are given in very simple terms, in fact too simple. He never — and by that I mean absolutely never — assumes that the reader must be already familiar with a particular concept. He never takes anything for granted and gives short definition/description of even trivial concepts. As an example, consider this paragraph: “. . . astronomers need to use an instrument called a spectroscope which separates the incoming light into its component parts known as a spectrum. You will have seen a spectrum before, when our sky is graced by a rainbow . . . ” And yes, there are no equations; however, there are photographs, one in each chapter, mostly in colour.

Writers of any book of this nature usually try to give a glamorous titles to chapters, making them crispy and curious. However, they end up giving highly ambiguous titles which do not convey what the chapter is about. Fortunately, this book is free from such tricks. Thompson has given chapter titles which are in general apt and accurate, i.e., give a sense of what to expect in the chapter, and at the same time has made them interesting and fit to arouse your curiosity. Some examples are ‘Venus and Uranus are upside down’, ‘Black holes are not actually holes’, ‘It is likely that the Sun will one day swallow up the Earth’, ‘A teaspoon of neutron star material weighs 10 million tonnes’.

It was pleasant to read about Cassini Huygens probe, which was about the time I had started my PhD and I can clearly remember one of my batchmates giving lecture on the mission and its program objectives. My Indian friends would feel pride to note that Chandrayaan 1 is included among these 101 facts of space. The chapter is titled ‘There is water on the Moon’ (Fact 61).

First few chapters of the book suffer from an abrupt ending. The writer gives background information about the subject and builds the story nicely, but the moment he states the fact and its explanation, he stops. This gives a sense of abrupt ending and the reader feels dissatisfied. However, only the first few chapters suffer from this incomplete description. Chapters in the remainder of the book are all well-crafted, well-written and well-described.

A major disappointment of the book is the large number of typographical errors. I am not sure whether what I have received is the final pre-print of the book or an initial draft. In either case, it definitely demands a careful proof reading.

The book would reach a far greater audience if paperback and Kindle editions are also brought out. I sincerely believe that the publishers should consider this option.

This was a great book. I loved the pictures and the way complex topics were explained in a way that even a layman like me would understand.

Definitely recommended.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley.

I consider myself a space junkie: in the sense that I am a space-lover, astronomy and astrophysics enthusiast ( I do not get that high to be able to reach stars neither physically nor mentally). I absolutely love learning about space and the universe and this compact little curiousity book has satisfied my mind and soul. Expectations met, I have learnt some very interesting facts and finished the book with a content sigh. The only downside was that each topic was a little unrelated from the previous one and I could not really adapt to the wide spectrum of subjects explained only for a couple of pages (e.g: astronauts’ feet features followed by silent space followed by star colors followed by metal that sticks in space, then days getting longer, neptune’s winds etc.).

This does what it says on the tin and is all the better for it.

Having a passing interest in all things space and the universe, this was a hugely enjoyable read and the perfect format for the casual/interested reader.

The facts are explained in detail but also in a way that is easy to understand and take no more than 2-3 pages each. You just marvel at what is around us and indeed what mankind has done in its brief history.

A lot of the facts are absolutely mind blowing and at times you have to remind yourself that this is a non fiction book, such is the wonder and majesty of our universe.

I read this on kindle but the ideal format is print. There are images accompanying each fact and although they work on kindle, they really need to be seen in their full colour glory.

If you even have a passing interest in space, the universe and science then this is the ideal book to get. Its ideal as a knowledge base or equally as a coffee table book that can be picked up dipped into and admired time and time again.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Mark Thompson and Pen And Sword publishing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Stunning images and bite size information make this book the perfect coffee table read for a scientifically minded person. I feel like it should also be good to get kids and teens more interested in space stuff - the curious facts and beautiful photos would be attractive to a younger reader (at least I wish I had a book like that lying around when I was younger!)

The facts are really interesting and there is quite a lot of info about each one (about a page of text, sometimes more). Some of them are more widely known (such as about the astronauts' footprints staying on the moon for thousands of years and why that happens), but others are quite new and wild (such as how Neptune may have seas of liquid diamond floating around or the volcanoes on Mars and how huge they are). Some facts will make you think, even philosophize (black holes are not... holes. Light particles take years and years and years to get out of the sun, and why this happens.) Some facts are something you may have been wondering about for a while now (like why does the moon seem so huge only when it's coming up in the night sky, but then seems to shrink to its normal size when it's in its normal spot?) And some facts are about how things are constantly misrepresented in movies (steaming hot meteorites and astronauts dying instantly when exposed to the space void.) All of this info was incredibly interesting, plus photos of the night sky, Hubble star snapshots or pictures from astronaut travels were a wonderful addition to the info.

I can definitely recommend this book!

I thank the publisher for giving me a free copy of the ebook in exchange to my honest review. This has not affected my opinion.

Well written with great facts, this book will delight any one from young adult up to any age. This book inspires the wonder of the cosmos with pictures full of informative detail and color. Even better is that this book neither dumbs it down nor overwhelms with complexity. It's just that well written. Well done, I highly recommend this book.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This book has completely blown my mind! I couldn't put it down and have read the whole book in a day!
This book contains so many interesting and fascinating facts about space that I never knew and have never come across before!
The photography that coincides with it is fantastic too!
I found this book easy to understand and so I absorbed the information alot better than some books with information.
I will be getting this in hardback when it is released for my daughter and my class at school as they will all love it!

I loved this book! The facts are so interesting and well explained so almost everyone ( I say this depending on the age of the reader) can understand even the most complex theories. The pictures are stunning and help visualize concepts. I will probably be purchasing this book for my classroom.

I was provided with an electronic ARC through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

I like to read about physics and astronomy.
Ant whenever any news related to Nasa or Spacex comes in news media, I wonder how fast we are gaining new insights into deep corners of universe.
This book is everything a science fan desires to hold in his hand.
It tells 101 interesting, solid, captivating facts about space with a enjoyable story linked to its discovery.
Their are lots of new things to know like lakes of Europa, shrinking venus, color of sun and many such amazing facts.
Few things are well known to general public like cosmic radiation, black holes, dark side of the moon but their are many new things worth pondering upon.
Best thing are amazing pictures with each fact.
A wonderful experience while reading non complicated astronomy book.
Thanks netgalley and publisher for review copy.