The Biggest Ideas in the Universe

"Neat, and extremely simple: only a deep thinker such as Sean Carroll could introduce the complexity of Einstein’s general relativity in such a luminous and straightforward manner."
—Carlo Rovelli, author of There Are Places in the World Where Rules Are Less Important Than Kindness and Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

"Sean Carroll is a wizard of empathy. In this short book, the first of three on The Biggest Ideas in the Universe, he anticipates what’s always confused you about physics and then gently guides you to enlightenment… and ultimately, to newfound wonder."
—Steven Strogatz, professor of applied mathematics, Cornell University, blogger for The New York Times and The New Yorker, frequent guest on Radiolab and Science Friday, and author of The Joy of X and Infinite Powers

"As a ten-year-old physics enthusiast, I would have loved The Biggest Ideas in the Universe. With this book, Sean Carroll rejects traditional elitism in physics and welcomes in anyone who knows only a little algebra but wants to understand the whole universe. Carroll, who has long been one of my role models for exposition about the cosmos, dreams of a world where physics is hot gossip. With this book, he takes an important step toward making this idea a reality by giving people the tools they need so they too can understand the biggest ideas—and questions—in the universe. I can’t wait to hear that people are arguing about beyond standard model physics at the Thanksgiving dinner table!"
—Chanda Prescod-Weinstein, author of The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, and Dreams Deferred

"Sean Carroll's greatest gift isn't that he's an expert on the fundamentals of physics, which he is, but that he never speaks down to his reader. He assumes that anyone, even the uninitiated, can learn to understand the formulae that underlie complicated concepts like space and time. It is a pleasure to read his work, a greater pleasure still to get a world-class education from such a witty, thoughtful teacher."
—Annalee Newitz, author of The Future of Another Timeline and Four Lost Cities

"Sean Carroll has achieved something I thought impossible: a bridge between popular science and the mathematical universe of working physicists. Magnificent!"
—Brian Clegg, author of Ten Days in Physics that Shook the World

"Do popular books about physics leave you feeling that you’re just getting stories and not real science? If so, this is the book for you. In a clear and non-scary way, it explains the mathematical theories behind what physicists really think. Carroll’s trilogy will plug a big gap in how physics is communicated to non-specialists – and to judge from this first volume, will do so brilliantly."
—Philip Ball, author of Beyond Weird: Why Everything You Thought You Knew about Quantum Physics Is Different

"Sean Carroll has produced a guide to relativity theory for the 21st century, plugging the gap between “popularisations” that emphasise the oddities without giving the facts, and textbooks that train students to manipulate equations without providing insight into what it all means. He will open your eyes to the way physicists view the universe, making fundamental ideas accessible without the need for a degree in science, but bravely ignoring the old adage that adding equations will scare readers off. Don’t be scared; this is the best lay-person’s guide to the subject, written in an accessible, entertaining style and impeccably accurate. And the author promises to tackle quantum theory next! I can’t wait."
—John Gribbin, senior honorary research fellow in astronomy, University of Sussex

For publicity inquiries please contact Emily Canders at Dutton (ecanders@nullprh.com; 212/366-2264).

For speaking events email SeanCarrollTeam@nullunitedtalent.com.

The Biggest Ideas in the Universe series is loosely based on videos produced by Sean Carroll during the pandemic summer of 2020. Twenty-four topics, each with a dedicated video plus a followup Q&A. All the videos can be found here.