Conville & Walsh
literary agency
Big Bang
- Author: Simon Singh
- Category: Non-fiction Science
- Publisher: Fourth Estate(UK)/Fourth Estate(US)
- Pub date: 4 October 2004
- Length: 544 pages
About Big Bang
Comprehensive yet eminently comprehensible… Singh explains even the most complicated ideas with subtlety, grace and wit.
- ECONOMIST
A winning formula
- Sunday Telegraph
Singh is a very gifted story teller who never misses a chance to make his subject clearer or more entertaining… a brilliant book
- INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY
The bestselling author of FERMAT’S LAST THEOREM and THE CODE BOOK tells the story of the brilliant minds that deciphered the mysteries of the Big Bang. A fascinating exploration of the ultimate question: how was our universe created?
Albert Einstein once said: ‘The most incomprehensible thing about the universe is that it is comprehensible.’ Simon Singh believes geniuses like Einstein are not the only people able to grasp the physics that govern the universe. We all can. As well as explaining what the Big Bang theory actually is and why cosmologists believe it is an accurate description of the origins of the universe, this book is also the fascinating story of the scientists who fought against the established idea of an eternal and unchanging universe. Simon Singh, renowned for making difficult ideas much less daunting than they first seem, is the perfect guide for this journey. Everybody has heard of the Big Bang Theory. But how many of us can actually claim to understand it? With characteristic clarity and a narrative peppered with anecdotes and personal histories of those who have struggled to understand creation, Simon Singh has written the story of the most important theory ever.
About the Author
Simon Singh was born in Somerset of Punjabi descent, studied physics at Imperial College, London, and took a PhD in particle physics at the University of Cambridge.
In 1990 he joined the BBC’s Science Department, where he was a producer and director in programmes such as Tomorrow’s World and Horizon. In 1996 he directed Fermat’s Last Theorem, a BAFTA award winning documentary about the world’s most notorious mathematical problem. The documentary was also aired in America as part of the NOVA series. The Proof, as it was re-titled, was also nominated for an Emmy.
Since then, Simon has researched the history of code-breaking, writing books and presenting a Channel 4 series about the topic. He has also become interested in studying the effectiveness of alternative therapies, and recently teamed up with Professor Edzard Ernst to write TRICK OR TREATMENT? : Alternative Medicine on Trial.