This brief history of the beginning of the universe comes from the bestselling author of "Fermat's Enigma" and "The Code Book." Black-and-white photos and illustrations.

This brief history of the beginning of the universe comes from the bestselling author of "Fermat's Enigma" and "The Code Book." Black-and-white photos and illustrations.

A half century ago, a shocking Washington Post headline claimed that the world began in five cataclysmic minutes rather than having existed for all time; a skeptical scientist dubbed the maverick theory the Big Bang. In this amazingly comprehensible history of the universe, Simon Singh decodes the mystery behind the Big Bang theory, lading us through the development of one of the most extraordinary, important, and awe-inspiring theories in science.