Big Bang

Description

The bestselling author of Fermat's Last Theorem and The Code Book tells the story of the brilliant minds that deciphered the mysteries of the Big Bang. A fascinating exploration of the ultimate question: how was our universe created? Albert Einstein once said: 'The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible.' Simon Singh believes geniuses like Einstein are not the only people able to grasp the physics that govern the universe. We all can. As well as explaining what the Big Bang theory actually is and why cosmologists believe it is an accurate description of the origins of the universe, this book is also the fascinating story of the scientists who fought against the established idea of an eternal and unchanging universe. Simon Singh, renowned for making difficult ideas much less daunting than they first seem, is the perfect guide for this journey. Everybody has heard of the Big Bang Theory. But how many of us can actually claim to understand it? With characteristic clarity and a narrative peppered with anecdotes and personal histories of those who have struggled to understand creation, Simon Singh has written the story of the most important theory ever.

Simon Singh is a science journalist and TV producer. Having completed his PhD at Cambridge he worked from 1991 to 1997 at the BBC producing Tomorrow's World and co-directing the BAFTA award-winning documentary Fermat's Last Theorem for the Horizon series. In 1997, he published Fermat's Last Theorem, which was a no 1 best-seller in Britain and translated into 22 languages. In 1999, he published The Code Book which was also an international bestseller and was the basis for the Channel 4 series The Science of Secrecy.

'Comprehensive yet eminently comprehensible ... Singh explains even the most complicated ideas with subtlety, grace and wit.' Economist '[Singh] is a gifted expositor, ready to venture to places other science popularisers don't even try to reach.' Mail on Sunday 'Singh's unerring eye for picturesque anecdotes and his capacity for simplifying complex scientific ideas is a winning formula' Sunday Telegraph Singh presents a tightly structured history of the key players in humankind's realisation of how much space really is out there. As Singh shows, coming up with a theory of how the universe began is possibly the most creative thing of all.' Guardian 'Singh is a very gifted story teller who never misses a chance to make his subject clearer of more entertaining ... Singh is also fastidious about crediting the true pioneers of science ... a brilliant book.' Independent on Sunday