An Immense World
An Immense World by Ed Yongby Ed Yong
Shares rank 33 of 50 popular science books by recommenders
Recommended for its vivid animal chapters, such as those on bats and eels. The most common caveat is that it is not an easy or fun read.
Recommended for its vivid animal chapters, such as those on bats and eels. The most common caveat is that it is not an easy or fun read.
3 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 3
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 2 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 3 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 2 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Vivid chapters on bats and eels
“The chapters on bats and eels are absolutely crazy.”
Comment from 12 Aug 2026 in “My favorite nonfiction animal books that make you go holy shit” Widely praised by recommenders
“I keep hearing great things!”
Comment from 12 Aug 2026 in “My favorite nonfiction animal books that make you go holy shit”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Not an easy or fun read
“it’s also not an easy/fun read either”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
Other popular science books people recommend
The four most recommended other popular science books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gödel, Escher, Bachby Douglas R. Hofstadter | 47 | 10 | 82% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Thinking, Fast and Slowby Daniel Kahneman | 17 | 13 | 57% | 9 | — | — |
| Thinking in Systemsby Donella H. Meadows and Diana Wright | 17 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | Approved |
| The Selfish Geneby Richard Dawkins | 14 | 5 | 74% | 8 | — | Approved |
| An Immense Worldby Ed YongThis page | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
All 3 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“it’s also not an easy/fun read either”
“I keep hearing great things!”
“The chapters on bats and eels are absolutely crazy.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.