Flashes of Creation

Reviews

"Paul Halpern’s Flashes of Creation introduces us to the human side of the Big Bang: the debate about whether it happened and the effort to develop a consistent mathematical description of the early universe. Flashes of Creation is an engaging look at an important moment in the history of cosmology, and in the era of big data and large, diverse collaborations, it is a valuable retrospective of a distinctly 20th century approach to fundamental physics."
 —Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, author of, The Disordered Cosmos "Cosmology today is an established and exciting science, but in the mid-twentieth century it was looked at as somewhat disreputable. This engrossing book tells the story of the two audacious physicists who had the courage to envision the universe as a whole, disagreeing with each other but shaping our modern view of the cosmos."—Sean Carroll, author of, Something Deeply Hidden "An astute and deeply researched account of the argument between two of the most colorful characters in twentieth-century science, about the true nature of literally everything in existence. Flashes of Creation shows scientists at their most human, as they struggle to unravel riddles of cosmic importance."—Philip Ball, author of, Beyond Weird: Why Everything You Thought You Knew About Quantum Physics is Different "Beautifully written and thoroughly researched, Flashes of Creation offers a fresh look at the mid-20th century debate—sometimes playful, mostly contentious—on the origin of our universe. Paul Halpern’s engaging narrative and rich portrayals of the key participants adds a new and reverberating bang to the story of the Big Bang theory’s triumph."—Marcia Bartusiak, author of, The Day We Found the Universe and Black Hole "A vivid and gripping tale of the origins of today's cosmology, Flashes of Creation weaves together the extraordinary personalities and their scientific disputes that gave birth to the theory of the Big Bang. Informative and enjoyable."—Ian Stewart, author of, Calculating the Cosmos "Paul Halpern adroitly weaves together the careers of two maverick scientists in this illuminating history of the competing theories of the universe."—Frank Close, University of Oxford and author of, The Infinity Puzzle "Before The Big Bang Theory was a TV show, it first was a putdown. Flashes of Creation relates the fascinating history of the two competing theories for how the universe came to be, promoted by two larger-than-life physicists who clashed in science journals and popular media. Highly readable, entertaining and informative, Paul Halpern’s latest book shows that even when grappling with some of the biggest questions, science is a human activity and all the better for it."—James Kakalios, University of Minnesota and author of, The Physics of Everyday Things Expand reviews