Parallel Worlds (book)

Contents

Part I: The Universe

Part II: The Multiverse

Part III: Escape into Hyperspace

Summary

From the back of the book:

In this thrilling journey into the mysteries of our cosmos, bestselling author Michio Kaku takes us on a dizzying ride to explore black holes and time machines, multidimensional space and, most tantalizing of all, the possibility that parallel universes may lie alongside our own. Kaku skillfully guides us through the latest innovations in string theory and its most recent iteration, M-theory, which posits that our universe may be just one in an endless multiverse, a singular bubble floating in a sea of infinite bubble universes. If M-theory is proven correct, we may perhaps finally find an answer to the question, "What happened before the big bang?" This is an exciting and unforgettable introduction to the cutting-edge theories of physics and cosmology from one of the preeminent voices in the field.

Theme

In Parallel Worlds, Kaku presents many of the leading theories in physics; from Newtonian physics to Relativity to Quantum Physics to String theory and even into the newest version of string theory, called M-theory. He makes available to the reader a comprehensive description of many of the more compelling theories in physics, including many interesting predictions each theory makes, what physicists, astronomers, and cosmologists are looking for now and what technology they are using in their search.

Reception

Scarlett Thomas writing for The Independent calls Parallel Worlds "absolutely impossible to put down." Mark Mortimer for Universe Today felt the book maintains a nice balance between detail and corollary while sometimes drifting to the philosophical side of things. Gerry Gilmore for The Guardian, however, mocks the notion of trying to escape the far off heat death of the universe while inaccurately describing the background radiation of the Big Bang as "sound waves." The book was a finalist for the Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction in the UK.