About the Author

Brian Keating is a professor of physics at the University of California, San Diego; a Fellow of the American Physical Society; a commercially rated pilot; and the director of the Simons Observatory. He received the 2007 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for his work on BICEP. He lives with his family in La Jolla, California.

Reviews

"[Keating] is a deft writer, interweaving the science with personal musings."
*Nature*

"A compelling personal memoir, a fascinating history of cosmology, and an interesting firsthand account of a dramatic scientific adventure."
*Physics Today*

"Brian Keating's compulsively readable book shows us the human side of science: the passion, the competition, the jealousies, the mistakes, the triumphs, the heartbreaks. A first-hand account of how science happens at the very highest levels."
*Sean Carroll, author of The Big Picture*

"By losing the Nobel Prize, Keating and BICEP2 has led us to an even greater victory: the recognition that there are more important things in this Universe, like scientific truths, than the fleeting glory of an earthly award."
*Forbes*

"A deeply personal journey that illuminates both the ultimate questions that cosmologists seek to answer, and the problems that we, as human beings, generate in the pursuit of those answers... Whether you're familiar with these ideas behind the evolution of our universe or have never heard the word 'inflation' before, Keating's narrative ensures you'll have the background you need to understand why this result was so sought-after."
*Astronomy.com*

"A riveting account of the rise and fall of the seeming confirmation of the cosmological theory of inflation… Keating offers vivid profiles of the personalities involved in shaping our modern view of the universe."
*Science*