He has incredible things to say about the cosmos. The sleeve mugshot shows an elderly gent with a lovely beaming smile, but he's the last man in the universe who ought to be reading his own account of the history of the solar system. His delivery is flat, monotonous, mis-emphasised and indistinct. Perhaps worst of all, he flutes like Margaret Thatcher when her teeth give her gyp. It is such a terrible shame.
Space is awesome, mind-cracking stuff.
Of any reader it demands clarity, resonance and, above all, the ability to sound awed.