About the Author

Fred Adams is an Associate Professor in the Physics Department at the University of Michigan. He won the Helen B. Warner Prize from the American Astronomical Society and the National Science Foundation Young Investigator Award. Gregory Laughlin is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of California and an expert in the use of supercomputers to simulate astrophysical phenomena.

Reviews

'Adams and Laughlin have magically woven a fascinating narrative' GUARDIAN

'Adams and Laughlin have magically woven a fascinating narrative' GUARDIAN

In order to tell the story of the universe from its origin to its ultimate demise, the authors (both well-known astrophysicists) have divided all of time into five eras. The first, the Primordial Era, begins with the big bang and the eventual synthesis of hydrogen that makes stars. The Stelliferious Era (meaning filled with stars) began just a few billion years ago, and we are currently in the middle of this era of bright stars and galaxies. The third era sees the diminution of the bright stars and the ascendance of white and brown dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. Black holes in fact become the only objects in the next era, naturally titled the Black Hole Era. Eventually, even the black holes evaporate, and the final Dark Era arrives, a time in which there are no stellar objects of any kind. Good illustrations help explain complex concepts, and the glossary is useful. This unusual history of the universe is accessible to the educated general reader and recommended for academic and large public libraries.James Olson, Northeastern Illinois Univ. Lib., Chicago