Editorial Reviews

"… the reader will enjoy the clear and non-technical explanations strewn with historical anecdotes about the heroes of this quest for the understanding of what is space and time … Al-Khalili takes us by the hand to a fascinating world from which you may not return…"
-Jean-Phillipe Uzan, Laboratoire de physique theorique, University of Paris, France

"This is precisely the kind of book that I like reading. The pace of the journey as the ever more complex theories unfold is well handled. Jim Al-Khalili uses layman's language to his credit."
-Vernon Nash

"I know of no other book on this subject that is so accessible to the reader for whom relativity and quantum mechanics are new. The author's explanations are unusually clear, and he writes at a simple level without being patronizing or slow-paced. The tone is consistently good-humored, almost playful at times."
-Publisher Tom Quinn

"Jim Al-Khalili has produced, with earnest intentions, a concise, well written book … this is on the whole a pleasant, readable book."
-Physics World

"If you want to know about time, this is the book. I don't know of another nearly as good and I've read a lot of them. But more than telling you about time, what makes this book exceptional is that it conveys a wonderful sense of the beautiful excitement of scientific ideas."
-David Malone, Producer of BBC's Documentary "The Flow of Time"

"Jim Al-Khalili has written a splendid popular book … The book would be an excellent resource for school teachers in both mathematics and physics to enrich their teaching, and to enthuse their students. … Many physicists will enjoy this easy-to-read book … I highly recommend it for teenagers with an interest in science and for non-scientists interested in the deep questions of our universe."
-Professor David G. Blair, University of Western Australia, The Physicist

"Jim Al-Khalili's [book] is another of the many books about the wonders of the Universe and what we know about them. But with a difference, though. Enthusiasm to make everything understandable to the most untutored comes from every page. It's successful, it's humorous, and it's up to date. A great crib for furtive, refreshing use."
-New Scientist

"This is a popular book on general relativity and cosmology including black hole physics. Also, the history of these subjects is described, and a valuable list of references, including both popular and advanced levels, is attached … the book contains several nice figures to help understanding properties of relativity theory."
-Hans-Jurgen Schmidt, Zentralblatt Math

"Throughout the book, everything is surprisingly clear and the readers are left with lots of room for her/his imagination to follow their own thoughts, though not losing track of the trend … It is actually fun reading this book … This book gives a good impression of how special and general relativity affect our environment."
-Karsten Markus, Department of Astronomy, UCT