The Universe in Your Hand: A Journey Through Space, Time, and Beyond

I am dumb. This is written so even I can understand and it is completely mind-blowing. As Dr Peter Venkman said, "... for a moment, pretend that I don't know anything about metallurgy, engineering or physics, and just tell me what the hell is going on."Looking up at the stars takes on a whole new meaning for me now...

beautiful style of writing and easy to understand.From big to small and link small to big again.Highly recommended.

This book is annoying at almost every level. First, the prose is really bad. With lots of dramatic non-sentences. In. Every. Paragraph. For Emphasis. (In case you were not inclined to be awed by the author's revelations, the prose is guaranteed to make you pause. For breath. Often. Really.)Second, most of the explanations are simplistic in the extreme, or merely omitted. String theory is presented as a given fact, without much lead-in: (to paraphrase) Quantum particles can also be thought of as vibrating strings. Maybe thinking of everything as a string will lead to a unified theory of Everything.Third, some of the explanations or discussions are contrived or unconvincing or left hanging. For example: No matter which way you look in the sky, the temperature everywhere in deep space seems to be perfectly uniform. Since the information about this temperature is coming toward us from every direction at the speed of light, it follows that those disparate areas of space cannot be "communicating" ("agreeing" what temperature to be), therefore everything we see in the cosmos was once connected. [If you are at sea and everywhere around you see salt water, does that prove that all those water molecules were once One?] But wait, the temperature isn't perfectly uniform everywhere after all, otherwise stars would never form. . . Which leaves his argument where? Galfard never bothered to explain by what method he or others measured the temperature in every direction in space; evidently he expects readers to just accept it as handed down by God.Fourth, he is constantly talking down to his audience. The general tone is "I will dumb this down for you; and if I don't explain something, just take my word for it, because if I tried to explain it, you wouldn't understand it".I have read a few other books about quantum physics for laymen, and this one is by a wide margin the worst in almost every respect.

I liked this book, but to me, it felt like sometimes he finds the perfect way for simple mortals to understand things by comparing them to something or by creating scenarios that help you understand the concepts. However, sometimes it felt, TO ME, like he didn't do what I mentioned before and just presented the idea as if a physicist was reading it and I was like "What?!", lol. Maybe I'm just dumb and helpless, but I like to read and learn, which I did. :)

Wonderful book that gives the reader an excelent picture of current state of knowledge & theory of the universe and the quantum world. Well a creatively written. Highly recommend for non scientist that enjoy physics.

This book is interesting in its attempt to bring theoretical physics down to earth. It is a religious book in that it is seeking eternal life for the species and says so in its final sentence. I find looking at the heavens a beautiful experience, but string theory as explained here lacks inspiration. I am sure it must be much more interesting when expressed mathematically. I found most intriguing the notion of the inflation epoch. So far this world has been impenetrable to the mathematical mind. This reinforces my belief that behind it all life is at its core a world of mystery. I recommend this book for those who want to know what all those wacky academic scientists are up to--not much that I can relate to, but when it trickles down to applied technology such as chips, GPS, etc, I am happy to reap its benefits.

Love this book!!! A book about the most complex theories ever realized by the greatest minds this world has seen and you get it! I never felt so smart and all because of the magic Christophe Galfard performs. And if like me, you finish and want to start again, try reading it aloud with someone you love - of any age, gender or political persuasion - for the fun of going together on the best true adventure experience ever!!!

I can't praise this book enough. Although at times I had to read a few paragraphs more than once, I've been well rewarded for the effort. It is clear and conversational in tone, but at the same time delivers the science in concise and accurate doses (even when the science is not all that clear in itself). I confess to tuning-out to "string theory", but perhaps at a later time I'll give it another look. Highly recommended for any non-scientist who wants to get a feel for what those scientific-theorist are proposing as the present state of our understanding of the universe.

I'm only 3/4 of the way through but this book is blowing my mind. I'm new to this subject and just starting to step back into the world of physics since my GCSE days (a long time ago). I tried some of the other 'introductory' books but I think they still assume a certain level of understanding. This really is a step by step guide, taking you on a journey through one of the most exciting subjects there is. I'm so glad I found this book because it's opened up a whole new interest for me. This being said, I think somebody with a more extensive knowledge would also enjoy it - my father in law has read Hawkings etc but has his own copy of this and has found it 'a joy' (his words), I think Galfard's writing style is so enjoyable and accessible that anyone would find this captivating.I would highly, highly recommend. Especially if you are just taking your first tentative steps into these ideas and concepts.

The subject matter is immense, the ideas and proven facts are mind bending! All the way I kept thinking, can this be, it doesn't make sense! But there it is, common sense is of little use on these scales.The quality of this work is exceptional, clear, focused and light.Probably one of the most important books I've ever read. Don't miss it,if you grasp 10% of it, it will change your perspective.

Have been interested in Astronomy since a youngster but never really looked into the history side. Decided to give this book a try. It is written with the layman in mind. It is fascinating stuff but really difficult to get ones head around. So much to know and learn about our very existence and how we are all part of one big soup... From the smallest atom to the biggest galaxy and beyond. I have got to say that a lot of the stuff was really hard to comprehend even explained as it is in the book.But I would still recommend it because it does in part shed light on what we are all about and the way it is written makes it entertaining.

I have read, over the years, quite a few popular books about cosmology and quantum physics. I learned a bit from each one BUT I was always left with a less than adequate understanding.Christophe Galfard has changed all that for me. In a gentle conversational style, using lots and lots of analogies he has taken me on a mind blowing journey through the universe and beyond.Beautiful explanations of Einstein's E=mc2, spacetime, gravity, the quantum world, antimatter, string theory etc etc.... all delivered in exciting and easily digestible prose. I cant praisevthis book highly enough.If you are curious about the universe we all inhabit ... read this wonderful book now!

This book is aimed squarely at the layman, and presupposes little or no knowledge of cosmology. As such, it does not (and makes no claim to) go into the subject in any depth. However, the accessible and interesting writing style means that those with knowledge of the area already should also gain new insights, or at least see things from a slightly different perspective.I bought this as a Kindle Daily Special, at which knock-down price (99p) it can be heartily recommended to all.