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A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing Paperback – January 1, 2013

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 3,995 ratings

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Editorial Reviews

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"In A Universe from Nothing, Lawrence Krauss has written a thrilling introduction to the current state of cosmology—the branch of science that tells us about the deep past and deeper future of everything. As it turns out, everything has a lot to do with nothing—and nothing to do with God. This is a brilliant and disarming book."-- Sam Harris, author of The Moral Landscape

"Astronomers at the beginning of the twentieth century were wondering whether there was anything beyond our Milky Way Galaxy. As Lawrence Krauss lucidly explains, astronomers living two trillion years from now, will perhaps be pondering precisely the same question! Beautifully navigating through deep intellectual waters, Krauss presents the most recent ideas on the nature of our cosmos, and of our place within it. A fascinating read."

-- Mario Livio, author of
Is God A Mathematician? and The Golden Ratio

"In this clear and crisply written book, Lawrence Krauss outlines the compelling evidence that our complex cosmos has evolved from a hot, dense state and how this progress has emboldened theorists to develop fascinating speculations about how things really began."
-- Martin Rees, author of
Our Final Hour

“A series of brilliant insights and astonishing discoveries have rocked the Universe in recent years, and Lawrence Krauss has been in the thick of it. With his characteristic verve, and using many clever devices, he’s made that remarkable story remarkably accessible. The climax is a bold scientific answer to the great question of existence: Why is there something rather than nothing.”

-- Frank Wilczek, Nobel Laureate and Herman Feshbach professor at MIT, author of
The Lightness of Being

"With characteristic wit, eloquence and clarity Lawrence Krauss gives a wonderfully illuminating account of how science deals with one of the biggest questions of all: how the universe's existence could arise from nothing. It is a question that philosophy and theology get themselves into muddle over, but that science can offer real answers to, as Krauss's lucid explanation shows. Here is the triumph of physics over metaphysics, reason and enquiry over obfuscation and myth, made plain for all to see: Krauss gives us a treat as well as an education in fascinating style."
--A. C. Grayling, author of
The Good Book

"We have been living through a revolution in cosmology as wondrous as that initiated by Copernicus. Here is the essential, engrossing and brilliant guide."

--Ian McEwan

“Nothing is not nothing. Nothing is something. That's how a cosmos can be spawned from the void -- a profound idea conveyed in
A Universe From Nothing that unsettles some yet enlightens others. Meanwhile, it's just another day on the job for physicist Lawrence Krauss.”
-- Neil deGrasse Tyson, Astrophysicist, American Museum of Natural History

"Lively and humorous as well as informative… As compelling as it is intriguing.” ―
Publishers Weekly

“[An] excellent guide to cutting-edge physics… It is detailed but lucid, thorough but not stodgy… [an] insightful book… Space and time can indeed come from nothing; nothing, as Krauss explains beautifully. …
A Universe From Nothing is a great book: readable, informative and topical.” -- New Scientist

"Krauss possesses a rare talent for making the hardest ideas in astrophysics accessible to the layman, due in part to his sly humor… one has to hope that this book won't appeal only to the partisans of the culture wars – it's just too good and interesting for that. Krauss is genuinely in awe of the "wondrously strange" nature of our physical world, and his enthusiasm is infectious.” -- San Francisco Chronicle, Huffington Post, AP

“How physicists came up with the current model of the cosmos is quite a story, and to tell it in his elegant
A Universe From Nothing, physicist Lawrence Krauss walks a carefully laid path… It would be easy for this remarkable story to revel in self-congratulation, but Krauss steers it soberly and with grace… His asides on how he views each piece of science and its chances of being right are refreshingly honest…unstable nothingness, as described by Krauss… is also invigorating for the rest of us, because in this nothingness there are many wonderful things to see and understand.” -- Nature

"In
A Universe From Nothing, Lawrence Krauss, celebrated physicist, speaker and author, tackles all that plus a whole lot else. In fewer than 200 pages, he delivers a spirited, fast-paced romp through modern cosmology and its strong underpinnings in astronomical observations and particle physics theory.Krauss’s slim volume is bolder in its premise and more ambitious in its scope than most. He makes a persuasive case that the ultimate question of cosmic origin – how something, namely the universe, could arise from nothing – belongs in the realm of science rather than theology or philosophy." -- Globe & Mail

“An
eloquent guide to our expanding universe… There have been a number of fine cosmology books published recently but few have gone so far, and none so eloquently, in exploring why it is unnecessary to invoke God to light the blue touchpaper and set the universe in motion.”
-- Financial Times

"His arguments for the birth of the universe out of nothingness from a physical, rather than theological, beginning not only are logical but celebrate the wonder of our natural universe. Recommended." -- Library Journal

“Krauss possesses a rare talent for making the hardest ideas in astrophysics accessible to the layman, due in part to his sly humor… one has to hope that this book won't appeal only to the partisans of the culture wars – it's just too good and interesting for that. Krauss is genuinely in awe of the "wondrously strange" nature of our physical world, and his enthusiasm is infectious.” -- Associated Press

"With its mind-bending mechanics, Krauss argues, our universe may indeed have appeared from nowhere, rather than at the hands of a divine creator. There's some intellectual heavy lifting here—Einstein is the main character, after all—but the concepts are articulated clearly, and the thrill of discovery is contagious. 'We are like the early terrestrial mapmakers,' Krauss writes, puzzling out what was once solely the province of our imaginations." -- Mother Jones

"The author delivers plenty of jolts in this enthusiastic and lucid but demanding overview of the universe, which includes plenty of mysteries—but its origin isn’t among them. A thoughtful, challenging book." -- Kirkus

"People always say you can't get something from nothing. Thankfully, Lawrence Krauss didn't listen. In fact, something big happens to you during this book about cosmic nothing, and before you can help it, your mind will be expanding as rapidly as the early universe." -- Sam Kean, author of The Disappearing Spoon

"A very interesting read from a foremost physicist of our time." -- Santa Barbara Independent

About the Author

Lawrence Krauss, a renowned theoretical physicist, is the president of The Origins Project Foundation and host of the Origins Podcast. He is the author of more than 300 scientific publications and nine books—including the bestselling The Physics of Star Trek—and the recipient of numerous international awards for his research and writing. Hailed by Scientific American as a “rare scientific public intellectual,” he is also a regular columnist for newspapers and magazines and appears frequently on radio and television.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Atria; 33851st edition (January 1, 2013)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 240 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1451624468
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1451624465
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.7 x 8.38 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 3,995 ratings

About the author

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I was born in New York City and shortly afterward moved to Toronto, spending my childhood in Canada. I received undergraduate degrees in mathematics and physics from Carleton University in Ottawa Canada, and my Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1982.

After three year a stint in the Harvard Society of Fellows, I was a professor at Yale University for eight years and then, when I was 38 I moved to become Ambrose Swasey Professor of Physics, professor of astronomy, and Chairman of the Physics Department at Case Western Reserve University. Since then I have held endowed positions at a variety of Universities around the world in departments ranging from physics and astronomy, to earth and space exploration.I retired from academia in 2019 at age 65 when I became President of The Origins Project Foundation, (www.originsprojectfoundation.org) and independent non-profit foundation furthering the public understanding of science, and enhancing connections between science and culture. In the same year I became host of The Origins Podcast with Lawrence M. Krauss (www.theoriginspodcast.com), where I have extended video dialogues with the most interesting people in the world.

My research focuses on the beginning and end of the Universe. Among my contributions to the field of cosmology, I helped lead the search for dark matter, and proposed the existence of dark energy in 1995, three years before its observational discovery, which received the Nobel Prize in 2011.

I write regularly for national media, including The New York Times, The New Yorker, the Wall St. Journal, The Globe and Mail, The National Post, Quillette, Prospect, and other magazines, as well as doing extensive work on radio and television and most recently in feature films.

I am strongly committed to public understanding of science, and have helped lead the national effort to preserve sound science teaching, including the teaching of evolution, for which I was awarded the National Science Board's Award for the Public Understanding of Science. I also served on Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential campaign science policy committee. I was honored to be Chair of the Board of Sponsors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists from 2006-2018, and from 2010-2019 was on the Board of Directors of the Federation of American Scientists.

I became a scientist in part because I read books by other scientists, such as Albert Einstein, George Gamow, Sir James Jeans, etc, when I was a child, and was inspired meeting various scientist-heroes including Richard Feynman and my popular writing returns the favor. One of my greatest joys is when a young person comes up to me and tells me that one of my books motivated them to become a scientist.

I believe science is not only a vital part of our culture, but is fun, and I try and convey that in my books and lectures. I am honored that Scientific American referred to me as a rare scientific public intellectual, and that all three three major US Physics Societies: the American Physical Society, the American Association of Physics Teachers, and the American Institute of Physics, have seen fit to honor me with their highest awards for research and writing.

I have now written 12 popular books on various aspects of science and culture, including the two New York Times Bestsellers, The Physics of Star Trek, and A Universe from Nothing. These two books sold over 500,000 copies in English alone and the latter was translated into 25 languages.

My last book, The Physics of Climate Change, was published in March 2021. I wrote it during the pandemic, when I was able to take time to fully immerse myself in updating my knowledge of climate science and trying to translate it into popular language. This book cuts through the confusion by succinctly presenting the underlying science of climate change. It presents the underlying science behind climate change, free of political bias, or jargon so that all readers can understand one of the most important issues of our time, and allows laypeople to assess which climate predictions are firmest and which are more speculative . A departure from much of the focus of my previous books, it addresses a timely issue that should impact on the basis of ongoing public policy.

My newest book, The Edge of Knowledge: Unsolved Mysteries of the Cosmos (in the UK it is entitled The Known Unknowns: The Unsolved Mysteries of the Cosmos) is a roller coaster ride taking us to the limits of what we know, and more importantly, what we know we don't know about the Universe. Divided into 5 sections: Time, Space, Matter, Life, and Consciousness, it takes the greatest unsolved problems in science. It is a celebration of how far we have come in understanding the universe, while providing an invitation to the next generation of young people to take up the challenge. The Universe continues to surprise us, but it will only do that if we keep asking questions, and keep exploring it. The rewards are ultimately a better understanding of our own place in the cosmos, including where we came from, and where we are heading.

When not writing or doing research or relaxing at home with my family, I love to mountain bike, fly fish, and scuba dive.

You can find more about my research, my activities, and my opinions on my substack site Critical Mass at LawrenceKrauss.substack.com or web page lawrencemkrauss.com or on my twitter feed @Lkrauss1 or at https://wakelet.com/@LawrenceKrauss

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