Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson對天文迷讀者來說並不陌生，他是好幾本大眾科普天文學暢銷書的作者，專精宇宙與天文知識，並時常錄製節目與訪談，開朗風趣的個性吸引許多觀眾，一生以推廣大眾天文學為職志。

Neil deGrasse Tyson這次將視野投射到現代社會，從天文和宇宙的角度出發，檢視現代社會中的許多歧見與爭端，再延伸到全球衝突，其實若回歸到科學的觀點，用理性思考分析其中的爭議，參考真實數據，便能得到解方。

其中討論的議題十分廣泛，包含種族、性別認同、素食主義、賭博、墮胎與生死議題等，確實都是一些很容易積起正反兩方爭辯的問題，而不同於一般科學著作冷冰冰的數據與沒有感情的敘述，Neil deGrasse Tyson的語調親近但不失同理心，總能用溫和的口吻理性討論，這也是他第少數不是以介紹天文學為主軸的著作。

Bringing his cosmic perspective to civilization on Earth, Neil deGrasse Tyson, bestselling author of Astrophysics for People in a Hurry, shines new light on the crucial fault lines of our time–war, politics, religion, truth, beauty, gender, race, and tribalism–in a way that stimulates a deeper sense of unity for us all.

In a time when our political and cultural perspectives feel more divisive than ever, Tyson provides a much-needed antidote to so much of what divides us, while making a passionate case for the twin engines of enlightenment–a cosmic perspective and the rationality of science.
After thinking deeply about how a scientist views the world and about what Earth looks like from space, Tyson has found that terrestrial thoughts change as our brain resets and recalibrates life's priorities, along with the actions we might take in response. As a result, no outlook on culture, society, or civilisation remains untouched.

In Starry Messenger, Tyson reveals just how human the enterprise of science is. Far from a cold, unfeeling undertaking, scientific methods, tools, and discoveries have shaped modern civilisation and created the landscape we've built for ourselves on which to live, work, and play. Tyson shows how an infusion of science and rational thinking renders worldviews deeper and more informed than ever before–and exposes unfounded perspectives and unjustified emotions.

With crystalline prose and an abundance of evidence, Starry Messenger walks us through the scientific palette that sees and paints the world differently. From lessons on resolving global conflict to reminders of how precious it is to be alive, Tyson reveals, with warmth and eloquence, ten surprising, brilliant, and beautiful truths of human society, informed and enlightened by knowledge of our place in the universe.