The Inflationary Universe

This is the compelling, first-hand account of Alan Guth's paradigm-breaking discovery of the origins of the universe—and of his dramatic rise from young researcher to physics superstar. Guth's startling theory—widely regarded as one of the most important contributions to science during the twentieth century—states that the big bang was set into motion by a period of hyper-rapid “inflation,” lasting only a billion-trillion-billionth of a second. The Inflationary Universe is the passionate story of one leading scientist's effort to look behind the cosmic veil and explain how the universe began.

Alan Guth is V. F. Weisskopf Professor of Physics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In addition to being elected to the National Academy of Sciences and receiving many other academic awards, Newsweek has called him one of “The Top 25 American Innovators,” and Science Digest has ranked him among the “100 Brightest Scientists Under 40.”