A Universe from Nothing

Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing

By: Lawrence M. Krauss

Narrated by: Lawrence M. Krauss, Simon Vance

Length: 5 hrs and 32 mins

Publisher's summary

Where did the universe come from? What was there before it? What will the future bring? And finally, why is there something rather than nothing?

Krauss’ answers to these and other timeless questions, in a wildly popular lecture on YouTube, has attracted almost a million viewers. The last of these questions in particular has been at the center of religious and philosophical debates about the existence of God, and it’s the supposed counterargument to anyone who questions the need for God. Scientists have, however, historically focused on more pressing issues—such as figuring out how the universe actually functions, which could help us to improve our quality of life.

In this cosmological story that rivets as it enlightens, pioneering theoretical physicist Lawrence Krauss explains groundbreaking scientific advances that turn the most basic philosophical questions on their head. One of the few prominent scientists to have actively crossed the chasm between science and popular culture, Krauss reveals that modern science is indeed addressing the question of why there is something rather than nothing—with surprising and fascinating results. The beautiful experimental observations and mind-bending theories are all described accessibly, and they suggest that not only can something arise from nothing, something will always arise from nothing.

With his characteristic wry humor and clear explanations, Krauss takes us back to the beginning of the beginning, presenting recent evidence for how our universe evolved—and the implications for how it will end. It will provoke, challenge, and delight listeners as it looks at the most basic underpinnings of existence in a whole new way. And this knowledge that our universe will be quite different in the future has profound consequences and directly affects how we live in the present. As Richard Dawkins described it, this could potentially be the most important scientific book with implications for supernaturalism since Darwin.

©2012 Lawrence M. Krauss (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“Nothing is not nothing. Nothing is something. That’s how a cosmos can be spawned from the void—a profound idea conveyed in A Universe from Nothing that unsettles some yet enlightens others. Meanwhile, it’s just another day on the job for physicist Lawrence Krauss.” (Neil deGrasse Tyson, astrophysicist, American Museum of Natural History)

Great Ideas

The author’s narration is completely excellent. The book moves quickly and seemed to have much more information than I would have expected from a relatively short work (5.5 hours). I really felt this had the content of something twice as long.

This book is packed with interesting ideas about how the universe might have evolved from nothingness. Note the all important “might”. This book is much, much less speculative than many popular physics books, nevertheless it is quite speculative, so should be enjoyed as mind broadening and definitely not science fact.

Most modern popular physics books share a common weakness. The authors are Relativists, String Theorist, Quantumists, or Informationists, but seldom crossover or generalists. Krauss is a relativist with a nod or two to quantum theory and virtually no string theory or information theory. This is a significant weakness. Relativists often cling to particles and continuums of space-time even though there is good reasons to believe both particles and all continuums merely observer phenomena.

I would recommend reading “The Trouble with Physics” before any other popular physics books.

Although the author is good at keeping the ideas interesting while (mildly) mentioning how much we don’t know, there is an afterword by Dawkins which was a bit science-thumping and I found to be a very weak ending.

Great science writing, with a few flaws

This book is on the one hand a delight, and on the other hand a disappointment.

It's a lively and interesting look at current physics--or at least, physics as of 2011; developments have continued. Krauss gives us a clear, interesting, and compelling account of the current scientific understanding of how our universe came into existence, how matter and energy can come from nothing, and why such exotic concepts as dark matter are fundamental to understanding how this universe works the way it does and why we are even able to exist.

And if my references to "this universe" and "our universe" seem a bit strange, well, Krauss also describes why it's likely there's more than one universe.

This is all challenging material, and Krauss makes it worth the work to pay careful attention. That's a vital skill in a good science popularizer--and we need more good science popularizers. Children taught in school that science is a matter of rote memorization to pass a test are at far too high a risk of becoming adults who think science is a matter of belief and ideology--and that scientists are just being narrow-minded when they insist climate change is real, or that so-called "creation science" is simply, factually false, and not anything like real science. They will, in short, be at risk of becoming adults who think science is a liberal conspiracy out to undermine decent moral and religious values, and wreck our economy and way of life.

Where we run into trouble in this book is that Krauss thinks he has not not just make the science clear, but also make it clear that, in his mind, which he takes to be objective fact, of course you are totally free to believe in God, but "God" is completely unnecessary... He's far too polite, reasonable, and probably a totally nice guy, to say that only fools believe in God.

He doesn't seem to understand, as many other atheist or agnostic scientists do understand, that religion and science are not about the same things. (Granted, there are religious believers who make the same mistake, aided and abetted by poor quality science education in the schools.) No, Mr. Krauss, I don't need to know your views on God, or your views on my belief in God, to be a fascinated and receptive audience for your explication of the physics and cosmology you've devoted your professional life to doing such good work in. I'm not interested in what Christopher Hitchens had to say; if I were, I would read his books to find out, not yours. There's no need to quote him repeatedly in a books I'm reading because I want to know about the physics and cosmology you're writing about.

Seriously.

Now, I do need to say that there was not so much of this stuff that it prevented me from enjoying the book and learning from it. And I'm well aware that what annoyed me will make this book more attractive to some readers. If so, great! Enjoy! I don't write these reviews to discourage anyone from reading something they'll enjoy. My hope is, in fact, that even if you disagree with my judgments, you'll still be able to recognize in my reviews books you'll enjoy even if I dislike them, and books you won't enjoy even if I love them.

In any case, I did enjoy A Universe From Nothing. I just would have enjoyed it a bit more if he'd stayed on topic better.

So, on the whole, recommended.

I bought this book.

Science not philosophy

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The author purports to offer how the universe could arise from nothing, a question that the reader will likely frame in the philosophical sense. The answer will be presented in the scientific sense of how the universe we see can arise from vacuum. While the description of the physics is well worth the read, there is a seemingly deliberate avoidance of touching the question's philosophical intention.

Intense and mindboggling

I'd be lying if I said that I understood more than half of the theoretical physics and cosmology at work in this book, but the film presents a compelling case and only prompts further interest and research in the subject matter. Krauss takes the reader on an incredible journey of discovery despite a lack of any complete assurance that he knows what he's talking except for his own word on the matter. Krauss is prodding the outside edges of human knowledge and understanding, and he is incredibly effective at convincing the reader that he came to his conclusions by following the evidence wherever it led him.

The book offers quite a sobering vision of a future in which all evidence of the Big Bang will eventually be shrouded in mystery and undetectable to future cosmologists. The idea that we're living in a special time, in which the deepest secrets of the universe are capable of being discovered, is quite exhilarating, even if the complete significance is difficult to comprehend.

Krauss is not a voice artist, but he is a skilled academic and lecturer. While I'm sure that voiceover professionals might have given a more refined oration, I'm not sure I would trust anyone but Krauss himself to deliver such dense and complex material with any real coherence. Despite the occasional unedited flub, Krauss is certainly the right person for this job.

Dawkins' afterword is well written, and read with appropriate gravitas by Simon Vance.

excellent read. Very thought-provoking. dr. Krause

excellent read. Dr. Krause is profoundly articulate and exquisitely interesting. a worthwhile read for experts and lay people alike

Easy to listen to Astrophysics update

I thoroughly enjoyed this listen, with in depth, yet written with the lay person in mind. It's not in any way dumbed down, but simply made for those of us without degrees in Astrophysics or advanced math to sink our teeth into!

Amazing.

As approachable as an average Joe could hope for such advanced scientific theory. If this book doesn't stagger you at least once, read it again - you weren't paying attention the first time.

Makes the universe almost make sense

I have read a lot of different attempts to explain the Einsteinian (and now post) universe. This is the most cogent explanation so far, and also covers a lot of new ground to propose theories of the origin of everything. There is more emphasis on discounting the need for a religious first cause than I needed, but it is a point worth making.

Technical but good

A cogent explanation of how the universe could have come about (via quantum mechanics). The discussion requires a basic understanding of what quantum mechanics is, but it non-mathematical. This is the first theory I have heard that coherently explains the “something from nothing” problem and traces it through the first seconds of the Big Bang, explaining expansion, the distribution of matter into galaxies, and the lack of anti-matter. A good read (or listen).

Something from nothing

He did not intend to show this, and meant to show the opposite, but I came away feeling about God, in a more expanded way, as the first cause. Does life spontaneously emerge when you have the right constellation of elements and conditions? All they would have to do is create those conditions in a laboratory, and just wait a couple of million years. Positing a God seems a better use of tax dollars...lol.