Paul Parsons

The Beginning and the End of Everything

From the Big Bang to the End of the Universe

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Details

Imprint: O'Mara Books

Publication date: 01/11/2018

ISBN: 9781782439561

Subject: Non-Fiction

Category: Science - History - Philosophy

Binding: Hardback

Size: 234 x 153 mm

Extent: 288 pages

Illustration: b/w line drawings and pictures

Territorial Rights: World (All Languages)

Edition Status: Out of Print

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Summary:

'Prepare to have your mind blown! A brilliantly written overview of the past, present and future of modern cosmology.' – DALLAS CAMPBELL, author of Ad Astra

The Beginning and the End of Everything
is the whole story as we currently understand it – from nothing, to the birth of our universe, to its ultimate fate. Authoritative and engaging, Paul Parsons takes us on a rollercoaster ride through billions of light years to tell the story of the Big Bang, from birth to death.

13.8 billion years ago, something incredible happened. Matter, energy, space and time all suddenly burst into existence in a cataclysmic event that’s come to be known as the Big Bang. It was the birth of our universe. What started life smaller than the tiniest subatomic particle is now unimaginably vast and plays home to trillions of galaxies. The formulation of the Big Bang theory is a story that combines some of the most far-reaching concepts in fundamental physics with equally profound observations of the cosmos.

From our realization that we are on a planet orbiting a star in one of many galaxies, to the discovery that our universe is expanding, to the groundbreaking theories of Einstein that laid the groundwork for the Big Bang cosmology of today – as each new discovery deepens our understanding of the origins of our universe, a clearer picture is forming of how it will all end. Will we ultimately burn out or fade away? Could the end simply signal a new beginning, as the universe rebounds into a fresh expanding phase? And was our Big Bang just one of many, making our cosmos only a small part of a sprawling multiverse of parallel universes?

Reviews:

This one is a winner... delivers the oft-told tale with engaging lucidity

Nature Magazine

Paul Parsons is a steady and highly experienced hand, who is able to introduce some of the most esoteric aspects of modern science while still leaving the reader feeling that they have a grasp of what's going on. This is a wonderful introduction to one of the most exciting and engaging aspects of science.

Popular Science

Prepare to have your mind blown! A brilliantly written overview of the past, present and future of modern cosmology.

Dallas Campbell, author of 'Ad Astra

Sales points:

  • A comprehensive and fascinating tour of the birth and eventual death of the universe, to engage the non-scientist. From ancient beliefs about the stars and the planets, to the discovery that the universe is expanding, Einstein’s general theory of relativity and Hawking's quantum theory of gravity, through to the Big Bang cosmology of today – all this has led us to understand that the existence of the universe is finite.

  • Exciting observations in 2015 and 2017 of gravitational waves, which potentially allow observations of the birth of the universe for the first time in history, have piqued interest in cosmology and specifically the Big Bang

  • Paul Parsons, a former theoretical cosmologist, is a science journalist, author and former editor of BBC Focus Magazine. He has frequently appeared on radio and TV and is available for PR

  • Comparative titles: A Universe from Nothing by Lawrence M. Krauss (S&S, 2012); Origins by Neil DeGrasse Tyson (W. W. Norton, 2014)

About the Author:

Paul Parsons

Dr Paul Parsons has been a science writer and journalist for over twenty years. He was Editor of BBC Sky at Night magazine and has also written for New Scientist, the Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Men’s Health, National Geographic and many others. He is the author of several books including The Science of Doctor Who, The Periodic Table, 3-Minute Stephen Hawking and 50 Science Ideas You Really Need to Know. He is also a fellow of the Royal Statistical Society and a consultant to Guinness World Records.

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