Alex Vilenkin does an amazing job at describing in laymen’s terms the recent findings in astrophysics and cosmology. His book traces cosmology’s emerging picture of the universe from the big bang and inflation to quantum cosmology and multiple universes. He also covers his personal theory of how the universe originated from nothing.

It’s sprinkled with funny anecdotes and makes for an extremely interesting and humbling read as we get lost in the universe’s enormous scale. This book was also the perfect prelude for the next book I read during the Costa Rica trip, The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins, which I will review tomorrow.