From Eternity to Here

The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time

By: Sean Carroll

Narrated by: Erik Synnestvedt

Length: 16 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

Time moves forward, not backward---everyone knows you can't unscramble an egg. In the hands of one of today's hottest young physicists, that simple fact of breakfast becomes a doorway to understanding the Big Bang, the universe, and other universes, too. In From Eternity to Here, Sean Carroll argues that the arrow of time, pointing resolutely from the past to the future, owes its existence to conditions before the Big Bang itself---a period of modern cosmology of which Einstein never dreamed.

Increasingly, though, physicists are going out into realms that make the theory of relativity seem like child's play. Carroll's scenario is not only elegant, it's laid out in the same easy-to-understand language that has made his group blog, Cosmic Variance, the most popular physics blog on the Net. From Eternity to Here uses ideas at the cutting edge of theoretical physics to explore how properties of space-time before the Big Bang can explain the flow of time we experience in our everyday lives. Carroll suggests that we live in a baby universe, part of a large family of universes in which many of our siblings experience an arrow of time running in the opposite direction. It's an ambitious, fascinating picture of the universe on an ultra-large scale, one that will captivate fans of popular physics blockbusters like Elegant Universe and A Brief History of Time.

©2009 Sean Carroll (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

Carroll writes with verve and infectious enthusiasm, reminding readers that science is a journey in which getting there is, without question, much of the fun.( Publishers Weekly)

Will listen again!

Carroll lays out complex physics and the mathematics behind them quite eloquently without deviating from the book's endeavor in theoretical physics about time, entropy, and cosmology. Using creative analogies and relatable metaphors, this book, while dense, can be understood by beginners in levels of understanding to intermediate to experts who just like to muse on various aspects of the science. I'll be listening again for sure!

Absolutely love it

explains concepts both advanced and simple in a beautiful way. Sean Carroll has a wonderful way of teaching you things whilst telling a compelling story.

I cant afford college just yet so this is the kind of content I use to learn a little bit more in my free time. thankyou!

best book on time!!

Brings together old and latest science in accessible way, linking gravity and cosmology to the arrow of time. Helps the reader understand that we have made progress in one of the great puzzles of existence.

Narrator is OK but should learn to pronounce technical terms properly; e.g. inflaton is not the same as inflation.

Understand Entropy, you'll understand the universe

He states Dark Energy comes from the vacuum energy. He completely delves into the 2nd law of thermodynamics (entropy) and explains it historically and with superb analogies. The expansion of the universe is finally starting to make sense to me. I read Brian Greene's books before this one and Carroll brings with him another useful set of analogies to explain the physics of the universe. At the end of the book Carroll gives a plausible explanation for why we are one universe in a mega-verse of universes.

I eagerly await his next book, and I will listen to it as soon as it's published. I like the author that much.

Good book

I had recently purchased a DVD set from the teaching company by Sean Carol and felt pretty content and that's the reason behind purchasing this book. No regrets here. Well written by Prof. Carol. I felt that the narration could have been better, but taking into consideration the material presented in the book it wasn't a big compromise to make. Overall a ***** i.e., a 5 STAR book.

No Concept of Time (incredibly)

Good book on science, but as for time, he reads the Wikipedia definition, which is accurate, then he submerges back into common misconceptions which border on mysticism (so he wisely avoids the issue for the most of rest of the book). On the whole, time (our tool) is mistaken for change (the component of nature that is really being addressed), i.e. 'time travel' is not what you want to do (just run your clock backwards), you want to go back in change (and no one realizes this, having been thrown off track by books like this.

Worth the effort

I’ve got a degree in Accounting and am now in my dream job as a long haul truck driver. I haven’t taken anything past the first level college calculus course and made a D in the Introduction to Physics.
But I love theoretical physics and quantum theory. Obviously, I don’t understand everything but I’ve read or listened to numerous books and “Great Courses” on Einstein, relativity, etc. This is my favorite so far. Maybe it’s the subject. I’ve always been fascinated by the concept of time. Did man invent it, or do we just measure it? (Frankly, I’ve always said time is of the devil. I’m a notoriously late person.) The concept of “the arrow of time” and that there is no reason why we can’t “remember” the future, theoretically, is REALLY fascinating.
From Eternity to Here is not for everyone. It was over my head quit a bit but there’s enough here for the layman and the true “Sheldon” to understand and challenge. The author doesn’t talk down to the reader the really heavy stuff doesn’t get in the way of the whole. The narration is easy on the ears and his voice fits the material. His infliction makes it easy to think he’s the author.
If the topic interests you I predict you will like this book.

Clear and to the point.

Any additional comments?

If you have any interest in

I wish he would entertain more ideas

I've read stories of AI in the far future which find ways to reset this universe into a better one many eons from now.

2nd Law prohibits this. But he mentions a way multiverse could make universes naturally by doing something with the vaccums. I wonder if intelligent agents in the multiverse can participate in this universe birthing process.

I wish he covered such possibilities in detail. I'm an atheist but I think intelligence can contribute to the evolution of the multiverse.

A Ponderous History of Time

I found the content in this book redundant and ponderous. After reading Fabric of the Cosmos, I was searching for a contemporary book on cosmology. Sean Carroll had the Ivy League credentials, that's as far as it went. If you want to sift it, read the epilogue.