At the Edge of Time

Beginning with Carl Sagan's Cosmos in 1980, Big Bang books have become a genre that curious readers should check out every few years to keep up with breakthroughs (gravity waves being the latest). They can't go wrong with Hooper's. A lucid account that is neither dumbed down nor overly difficult. * Kirkus, starred review * If you're mystified and curious about the mysteries of the Universe, including dark matter, dark energy, and cosmic inflation, and want a unique take on all of these puzzles with a peek behind how science-in-action works, you won't want to miss this book. ---Ethan Siegel, Forbes This is definitely a book that will leave you musing on what might be the next big cosmological discovery. ---Deb Farkas, California Classroom Science Scientists know precious little about what happened when the universe got its start: many cosmologists think space and time underwent an extremely rapid expansion called inflation, yet this theory raises as many questions as it answers. . . . Hooper takes readers on a mind-bending expedition through these questions and shows how they all connect to the beginning. ---Clara Moskowitz, Scientific American Hooper takes the reader on a tour of our collective ignorance about the early universe. . . . Science is a messy endeavor, with dead ends and false alarms and backtracking; that can still be an interesting story, and this book succeeds in explaining both what we do know about the universe's origins and what remains unknown. ---Jeff Foust, The Space Review [At the Edge of Time]'s enthusiasm for its subject is contagious. From Einstein's theories and Edwin Hubble's discoveries to the Large Hadron Collider, the text presents scientific advancement as an exciting odyssey-if one that is, for the time being, often characterized by questions, to be answered at a future date to the satisfaction of all. ---Rebecca Foster, Foreword Reviews I found myself getting wonderfully lost in this book, and swapping my usual pre-bedtime read for this. This is not something that has ever happened to me before with a popular science book!. . . I love that the book does not shy away from controversial or tough concepts. . . . This is essential reading for any cosmology enthusiast. ---Dr. Laura Nuttall, BBC Sky at Night [An] informed introduction to 'the mysteries of our universe's first seconds'. ---Andrew Robinson, Nature I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. . . . [At the Edge of Time is] a brief but comprehensive account of the general development of current cosmological knowledge, written by an enthusiastic expert in the field and easy for the layman to follow. ---Colin Cooke, The Observatory Hooper's writing style has an almost palpable sense of excitement, which creates an incredibly engaging read as we travel back in time. ---Matthew Hodgson, Astronomy Now