The Universe: A Biography makes cosmology accessible to everyone. John Gribbin navigates the latest frontiers of scientific discovery to tell us what we really know about the history of the universe. Along the way, he describes how the universe began; what the early universe looked like; how its structure developed; and what emerged to hold it all together. He describes where the elements came from; how stars and galaxies formed; and the story of how life emerged. He even looks to the future: is the history of the universe going to end with a Big Crunch or a Big Rip?

John Gribbin talks about his latest book, The Universe: A Biography

The Universe is a big subject to tackle. What made you decide to write its whole history?
This seems like an ideal time to sum up what we know about the Universe - and what we don't know - because, as I explain in the book, several exciting new experiments are likely to improve our understanding dramatically over the next ten years. My book provides a benchmark against which to understand the new discoveries, then in ten years' time I can write a second edition explaining how things have (hopefully) improved. Besides, I like a challenge!

Why did you decide to write it as a biography?
I have been writing other biographies recently, and the subject seemed to lend itself to being a life story rather than a history. It has a "birth," vigorous youth, quiet middle age and (eventually) a death. I also feel that in the wake of Stephen Hawking all the "histories" of time have exhausted the potential of that approach. So I started out with ten questions of the kind I would use for a human subject, such as "how did it all begin?" and used them to construct the biography.

It is a wonderful 'story' but there is also lots of very complex science. How do you think most of your readers will respond to the most difficult parts of the book?
From the outset, I decided to explain everything as clearly as possible but not to pull my punches. Some of the subject matter is complex, but I have kept maths out of the book and explained it all in words. I think too many science books have too low an opinion of the intelligence of their readers. The Universe is not intended as a quick read and throw away book. On the first run through, a reader can skip the more technical bits and get a feel for the whole subject, then go back and look in more detail. They should find that once they have even a rough idea of the outlines of the whole picture the details are easier to understand. I am writing for people who enjoy a bit of a challenge and will go back to the book time and again, as the new discoveries referred to above come in. Anyway, it's no harder than Suduko.

There is a lot of work being done all over the world on astronomy today. Can you tell us something of the most recent and most exciting discoveries that are in the book.
The single most exciting thing is the way everything hangs together. This is dramatic proof that the scientific enterprise is telling us Deep Truths about the Universe. At a more parochial level, there have been great strides recently in understanding the origin of planets like the Earth, and the origin of life, involving a complex chemical mixture brewed up in interstellar space.

You have a background in astrophysics, but I wonder if you still discovered any surprises when you were writing the book?
The most surprising thing is also the most speculative idea in the book - the idea that our Universe may be embedded in an 11-dimensional space along with a possibly infinite number of other universes. I wouldn't put the odds of this being right better than 50:50, but it is a great idea!

Is there a particular book or author that has had a significant influence on The Universe: A Biography?
Bill Bryson and A Short History of Nearly Everything. That's a great book if you know nothing about science; if you've read it and want to know more, The Universe is the place to go.