Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

$0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Rutherford and Fry’s Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything cover art

Rutherford and Fry’s Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything

By: Hannah Fry, Adam Rutherford
Narrated by: Hannah Fry, Adam Rutherford
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

The Curious Cases of Rutherford and Fry: Series 1-10 cover art
Ask a Historian cover art
The Incredible Unlikeliness of Being cover art
Life, the Universe and Everything cover art
Everything to Play For cover art
222 QI Answers to Your Quite Ingenious Questions cover art
Evolution Talk cover art
The Compendium of (Not Quite) Everything cover art
The Audiobook of the Year cover art
How to Build a Universe cover art
The Clock Mirage cover art
Ignorance cover art
Fun Science cover art
The Blind Watchmaker cover art
I Am a Strange Loop cover art
It's Not Rocket Science cover art

Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

In the Rutherford and Fry's comprehensive guidebook, they tell the complete story of the universe and absolutely everything in it - skipping over some of the boring parts.

This is a celebration of the weirdness of the cosmos, the strangeness of humans and the very fact that amid all the mess, we can somehow make sense of life.

Our brains have evolved to tell us all sorts of things that feel intuitively right but just aren't true: the world looks flat; the stars seem fixed in the heavenly firmament; a day is 24 hours....

This book is crammed full of tales of how stuff really works. With the power of science, we have bypassed our monkey-brains and we're going on a journey from the origin of time and space, via planets, galaxies, evolution, the dinosaurs, all the way into our minds, with truly head-scratching questions, that only science can answer:

What is time, and where does it come from?

Why are animals the size and shape they are?

What is a thought?

How horoscopes work (Spoiler: they don't, but you think they do)

Does my dog love me?

Why nothing is truly round

Do you need your eyes to see?

©2021 Hannah Fry and Adam Rutherford (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"If only Adam Rutherford and Hannah Fry were on tap to all of us, all the time.... The pair have such a gift for making life, numbers and the forces at work in the universe all the richer, stranger, funnier and more marvellous." (Stephen Fry)

"A wonderfully engaging blend of wit, enthusiasm, clarity and knowledge." (Bill Bryson)

"Like the universe itself, this book is multi-faceted, surprising and full of wonders. It's also funny, wise and exceedingly brainy. You really owe it to yourself to read it." (Tim Harford, author of How To Make The World Add Up)

What listeners say about Rutherford and Fry’s Complete Guide to Absolutely Everything

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    302
  • 4 Stars
    52
  • 3 Stars
    8
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    295
  • 4 Stars
    21
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    264
  • 4 Stars
    40
  • 3 Stars
    10
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

My head hurts! (but I like it)

A little more serious than the pod casts but I think I understood the majority of this once explained so well by the authors.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic

Wonderfully fun and informative, read in the authors own expressive and conversational style. Highly recommended, especially to fans of The Curious Cases of Rutherford & Fry.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really enjoyable book!

Very well written, funny, articulate and very interesting book. Well read too by the authors.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

fascinating and well read

very enjoyable and instructive even though I don't conform to the stereotyped reader at all!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

pretty much like their radio show - brilliant

this has the pace, warmth and humour of their radio show. which is always brilliant. so if you like that, get this. if you've never heard it on the BBC, then get this and dive in later

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Not What I Expected But Brilliant All The Same

I wasn't aware of the authors before and I will certainly look out for them again. Although I was looking for and expecting a drier, more academical take on "Absolutely Everything", this book was informative and entertaining - highly recommend!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

One of the best audio books

Utterly brilliant. If you love curious cases or find uncovering scientific truths fascinating then this audio book is definitely for you.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyable.

This is definitely a book I shall be listening to again, really enjoyable and informative.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brilliant

This is like an extra long series of curious cases. Just get it. It's great

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Very interesting and enjoyable

Really instresting and as good as their podcast. Learnt loads of interesting information and as a third year Psychology student useful for this subject.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!