The Island of Knowledge: The Limits of Science and the Search for Meaning

The Physics of Immortality: Modern Cosmology, God and the Resurrection of the Dead

Frank J. Tipler · 527 pages

Frank J. Tipler is a major theoretician in the field of global general relativity, the rarefied branch of physics created by Stephen Hawking and Roger Penrose. Like most modern scientists, Tipler was an atheist who gave little thought to questions of theology. Yet, in devising a mathematical model of the end of the universe, Tipler came to a stunning conclusion: Using the most advanced and sophis

The Big Picture: On the Origins of Life, Meaning, and the Universe Itself

Sean Carroll · 480 pages

Trespassing on Einstein's Lawn: A Father, a Daughter, the Meaning of Nothing, and the Beginning of Everything

Amanda Gefter · 418 pages

"Opening with the author's attempt to sneak herself and her father into a conference attended by the planet's great scientific thinkers (including Brian Greene, Max Tegmark, and coiner of the term "black hole" John Wheeler), Trespassing on Einstein's Lawn takes readers on an exhilarating and memorable journey to the mysterious heart of the universe"--

Time Reborn: From the Crisis in Physics to the Future of the Universe

Lee Smolin · 319 pages

One of our foremost thinkers and public intellectuals offers a radical new view of the nature of time, and explores its implications for everything from physics and cosmology to economics and climate change.

Why Does the World Exist?: An Existential Detective Story

Jim Holt · 309 pages

Why is there a world rather than nothing at all? This question remains the most curious and most enduring of all metaphysical mysteries. Moving away from the narrower paths of Christopher Hitchens, Roger Penrose and Stephen Hawking who insist that science alone is capable of explaining how our cosmos came into being, the author enters this debate as he examines our efforts to grasp the origins of

The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe

Roger Penrose · 1,099 pages

Un libro definitivo e imprescindible para tener en la mano, en un solo volumen, todo el saber acumulado hasta la actualidad sobre el universo, el espacio, las leyes que lo rigen y los conceptos esenciales.

About Time: Einstein's Unfinished Revolution

Paul Davies · 316 pages

The traditional association between time and creation is at the heart of science, cosmology, and religion. When scientists began to explore the implications of Einstein's time for the universe as a whole, they discovered that time is elastic, and can be warped by rapid motion or gravitation, that time cannot be meaningfully divided into past, present, and future, nor does time flow in the popular

Coming of Age in the Milky Way

Timothy Ferris · 495 pages

From the second-century celestial models of Ptolemy to modern-day research institutes and quantum theory, this classic book offers a breathtaking tour of astronomy and the brilliant, eccentric personalities who have shaped it. From the first time mankind had an inkling of the vast space that surrounds us, those who study the universe have had to struggle against political and religious preconcepti

Relativity: The Special and the General Theory

Albert Einstein · 158 pages

The present book is intended, as far as possible, to give an exact insight into the theory of Relativity to those readers who, from a general scientific and philosophical point of view, are interested in the theory, but who are not conversant with the mathematical apparatus of theoretical physics. The work presumes a standard of education corresponding to that of a university matriculation examina

The Grand Design

Stephen Hawking, Leonard Mlodinow · 200 pages

When and how did the universe begin? Why are we here? What is the nature of reality? Is the apparent grand design of our universe evidence for a benevolent creator who set things in motion? Or does science offer another explanation? In The Grand Design, the most recent scientific thinking about the mysteries of the universe is presented, in language marked by both brilliance and simplicity. The G

Reality Is Not What It Seems: The Journey to Quantum Gravity

Carlo Rovelli · 280 pages

Traces how the human image of the world has changed throughout history, demonstrating the evolution of the idea of reality while touching on subjects ranging from the Higgs boson to quantum gravity.

The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality

Brian Greene · 576 pages

A magnificent challenge to conventional ideas' Financial Times'I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It manages to be both challenging and entertaining: it is highly recommended' the Independent'(Greene) send(s) the reader's imagination hurtling through the universe on an astonishing ride. As a popularizer of exquisitely abstract science, he is both a skilled and kindly explicator' the New York Times'Gr

A World Without Time: The Forgotten Legacy of Gödel and Einstein

Palle Yourgrau · 217 pages

It is a widely known but little considered fact that Albert Einstein and Kurt Godel were best friends for the last decade and a half of Einstein's life. The two walked home together from Princeton's Institute for Advanced Study every day; they shared ideas about physics, philosophy, politics, and the lost world of German-Austrian science in which they had grown up. What is not widely known is the

The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World

David Deutsch · 487 pages

"A bold and all-embracing exploration of the nature and progress of knowledge from one of today's great thinkers. Throughout history, mankind has struggled to understand life's mysteries, from the mundane to the seemingly miraculous. In this important new book, David Deutsch, an award-winning pioneer in the field of quantum computation, argues that explanations have a fundamental place in the uni

Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science

Carl Sagan · 398 pages

Explorers various aspects of several fields of science and examines the role of the intellect in scientific achievement.

The Emperor's New Mind Concerning Computers, Minds and the Laws of Physics

Roger Penrose, Martin Gardner · 480 pages

The Self-Aware Universe: How Consciousness Creates the Material World

Amit Goswami, Richard E. Reed, Maggie Goswami · 320 pages

Consciousness, not matter, is the ground of all existence, declares University of Oregon physicist Goswami, echoing the mystic sages of his native India. He holds that the universe is self-aware, and that consciousness creates the physical world.

A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing

Lawrence M. Krauss · 202 pages

"Internationally known theoretical physicist and bestselling author Lawrence Krauss offers provocative, revelatory answers to the most basic philosophical questions: Where did our universe come from? Why is there something rather than nothing? And how is it all going to end? Why is there something rather than nothing?" is asked of anyone who says there is no God. Yet this is not so much a philosop

Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos

Michio Kaku · 428 pages

Is our universe dying? Could there be other universes?In Parallel Worlds, world-renowned physicist and bestselling author Michio Kaku--an author who "has a knack for bringing the most ethereal ideas down to earth" (Wall Street Journal)--takes readers on a fascinating tour of cosmology, M-theory, and its implications for the fate of the universe.In his first book of physics since Hyperspace, Michio

Disturbing the Universe

Freeman Dyson · 304 pages

The classic intellectual autobiography of a great theoretical physicist Spanning the years from World War II, when he was a civilian statistician in the operations research section of the Royal Air Force Bomber Command, through his studies with Hans Bethe at Cornell University, his early friendship with Richard Feynman, and his postgraduate work with J. Robert Oppenheimer, Freeman Dyson has compos

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

Neil deGrasse Tyson · 209 pages

A short book for almost all ages, it’s simply astrophysics for people in a hurry, taught by acclaimed astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to know how the universe works!

The Tao of Physics: An Exploration of the Parallels between Modern Physics and Eastern Mysticism

Fritjof Capra · 352 pages

The Tao of Physics is a book about the relationship between physics and spirituality. The book explores the parallels between Eastern mysticism and modern physics. It discusses the similarities between the two fields, and how they can be used to help understand each other. The book also discusses the concept of the Tao, or the way, and how it relates to physics. The Tao of Physics is consid

Physics and Philosophy: The Revolution in Modern Science

Werner Heisenberg · 206 pages

The seminal work by one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century, Physics and Philosophy is Werner Heisenberg's concise and accessible narrative of the revolution in modern physics, in which he played a towering role. The outgrowth of a celebrated lecture series, this book remains as relevant, provocative, and fascinating as when it was first published in 1958. A brilliant scientist

Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics

Gary Zukav · 352 pages

With its unique combination of depth, clarity, and humor that has enchanted millions, this beloved classic by bestselling author Gary Zukav opens the fascinating world of quantum physics to readers with no mathematical or technical background. "Wu Li" is the Chinese phrase for physics. It means "patterns of organic energy," but it also means "nonsense," "my way," "I clutch my ideas," and "enlighte