Fascinating
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Anyone interested in cosmology (the large-scale structure of space and time - including the question about the beginning of time) should read this book. It describes, in a very interesting way, a cyclic universe alternative to the prevailing cosmological orthodoxy of the Big Bang being followed by a period of Inflation (in which space is stretched incredibly huge in the merest instant of time).
The cyclic universe model also has a Big Bang, but dispenses with the need for Inflation. In fact the model has a whole series of Big Bangs. This may sound like rather ancient metaphysics, but the authors review how it is a plausible consequence of very contemporary mathematics known as M-theory, which involves multi-dimensional [mem]branes.
There's no mathematics in the book, but there's plenty of pictures, so it's accessible to lay readers. What's really intriguing is that the idea may have observational consequences. The book has value in highlighting some significant issues with Inflation, and in giving fascinating accounts of the development of cosmological theories
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