Official Review: Essence of Existence by Paul Roman

stoppoppingtheP · Post by **stoppoppingtheP** » 15 Dec 2015, 16:36

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Essence of Existence" by Paul Roman.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Trying to encapsulate the entire history of our existence plus the existence of matter itself can seem like quite a task, yet this book has managed to capture the essence of it all. Essence of Existence is written by Paul Roman, and is a non-fiction book that is rendered in the narrative form.

The book is divided into four main categories: The Cosmos, Life, Evolution and Man. In each of the categories, the author explains the sequence of events that occurs, and he seamlessly joins onto the next category, explaining how the events unfolded in order to get to where we are today. He explains a lot of the concepts with the use of scientific formulae and the theories put forth by scientists over the ages. However, the author does concede that perhaps we will never know exactly how life began:

“Perhaps only Nature knows exactly how life began and how it works. It is too complicated. In spite of that, with the help of appropriate simplifications, it is possible, even without much of proper education, to get a glimpse into the complicated workings of life.”

The thing I liked about this book is its easy reading style, even though the book is a non-fiction and is about heavy subjects such as the origin of man. However, much of the subject matter is based on theory, but the author writes about it as if it is a fact. One of the main points that the author tries to put across is the fact that time is one of the most important factors in the whole process:

“What probability was there that the chemical chaos would jump into the perfect order? Infinitesimal? Really high? Was it inevitable? Nobody knows. But one thing is certain; lots of time was required.”

This book is one that is based upon the explanation of our existence and therefore I assumed the author to be strictly scientific in his explanation, however from the quote below we can see that this is not always the case and it seems that he is perhaps trying to appease all of his readers.

“To imagine information is not easy. We can call it a set of rules, laws of nature, Mother Nature, Goddess or God, or anything else. In this story, we will call information simply Nature.”

I am rating this book four out of four stars, because I thought the book was very well written and well researched. The author obviously took the effort to try and explain such a lengthy and complicated subject simply, and I think that he has succeeded on most counts. I found this book very interesting and I think that I got what I was expecting out of it; a simplified explanation of how everything came about. Readers who are interested in this subject will definitely find this book worthwhile. What I especially appreciated about this book is the fact that everything is explained in simple terms, and one is not bogged down by scientific jargon.

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Essence of Existence
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PaulR · Post by **PaulR** » 30 Dec 2015, 13:37

Thank you StoppoppingtheP for taking the time to prepare the review of my book. It is nice to know that my simple presentation of fairly complicated science will be useful for some people.
Paul Roman

stoppoppingtheP · Post by **stoppoppingtheP** » 06 Jan 2016, 15:02

My pleasure.

Levi · Post by **Levi** » 11 Jan 2016, 00:33

@stoppoppingtheP I am always impressed with the intelligent tone of your reviews. This one is no exception. Great job, and congrats to the author! To wrote a book like this and make it understandable and enjoyable is quite the feat!

stoppoppingtheP · Post by **stoppoppingtheP** » 13 Jan 2016, 06:37

@Escapeartist Thanks for your kind words. I always try to choose books that I will enjoy. This one definitely lived up to my expectations. It was simple and clear.

kimmyschemy06 · Post by **kimmyschemy06** » 16 Jan 2016, 06:17

The title sounded very intellectual and complicated at first, but when I read the entire review, I concluded that this might be an easy read and a very interesting one. Congratulations to Paul Roman for such a wonderful book!

Post by **bookowlie** » 18 Jan 2016, 09:34

I agree with Escapeartist - there is an intelligent, thoughtful tone to your reviews. This one is no exception! I like that you mentioned that the book is easy to understand, especially considering the weighty subject matter. Nice job!

stoppoppingtheP · Post by **stoppoppingtheP** » 18 Jan 2016, 09:43

Wow. Thank you so much for the kind compliments. I'm blushing!

Post by **bookowlie** » 18 Jan 2016, 09:54

stoppoppingtheP wrote:Wow. Thank you so much for the kind compliments. I'm blushing!

The compliments are well deserved.

It's difficult to write a non-fiction review because the standard ways of reviewing a book don't apply as well to non-fiction. With fiction, you can always give your opinions about the pacing of the storyline, character development, various elements, etc.

rachel_bruhn · Post by **rachel_bruhn** » 18 Jan 2016, 10:04

I have to agree with previous comments regarding the "intelligent" feel to your post. I would have gone with "professional" or "sophisticated", but "intelligent" works too. There definitely was a different approach to the non-fiction review compared to other fiction reviews I have read. I liked that you included quotes from the book in your review. Congrats to the author for 4 stars!

stoppoppingtheP · Post by **stoppoppingtheP** » 18 Jan 2016, 10:18

bookowlie wrote:
stoppoppingtheP wrote:Wow. Thank you so much for the kind compliments. I'm blushing!
The compliments are well deserved. It's difficult to write a non-fiction review because the standard ways of reviewing a book don't apply as well to non-fiction. With fiction, you can always give your opinions about the pacing of the storyline, character development, various elements, etc.

It is true about it being more difficult to write a non-fiction review. I mostly choose fiction to review, probably because I find it more easier and fun. Non-fictions can also be more pedantic and boring to read.

CzechTigg · Post by **CzechTigg** » 18 Jan 2016, 17:43

^ Hi stoppopping... I notice you are reading Holding Fire as well. I have just 2 stories remaining, but one of them is quite sizable. I would gladly read your thoughts, if you are publishing them on your own blog too (?)

stoppoppingtheP · Post by **stoppoppingtheP** » 19 Jan 2016, 10:19

CzechTigg wrote:^ Hi stoppopping... I notice you are reading Holding Fire as well. I have just 2 stories remaining, but one of them is quite sizable. I would gladly read your thoughts, if you are publishing them on your own blog too (?)

@CzechTigg Yes, I did start reading Holding Fire some time ago, but I only read the first two stories. I sometimes do that. I read several books at a time. Hopefully when I finish it, I will give my opinion of it on this site. I don't have my own blog.

Heidi M Simone · Post by **Heidi M Simone** » 14 Dec 2016, 07:04

Thank you for a great review! I'm not a big Science fan, but this seems like a perfect easy-to-read book that even I may enjoy. When complicated concepts are explained in a simpler fashion, it makes me more prone to give a read like this a chance. Congratulations to the author for receiving such a positive review!

gali · Post by **gali** » 14 Dec 2016, 08:19

Not my cup of tea, but it seems like a good book for fans of the genre. It is good that it is easy to read the book even though it is about heavy subjects such as the origin of man. Thank you on the well-written review!