The Fabric of the Cosmos

Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality

By: Brian Greene

Narrated by: Michael Prichard

Length: 22 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

From Brian Greene, one of the world’s leading physicists, comes a grand tour of the universe that makes us look at reality in a completely different way.

Space and time form the very fabric of the cosmos. Yet they remain among the most mysterious of concepts. Is space an entity? Why does time have a direction? Could the universe exist without space and time? Can we travel to the past? Greene uses these questions to guide us toward modern science’s new and deeper understanding of the universe.

From Newton’s unchanging realm in which space and time are absolute, to Einstein’s fluid conception of spacetime, to quantum mechanics’ entangled arena where vastly distant objects can bridge their spatial separation to instantaneously coordinate their behavior or even undergo teleportation, Greene reveals our world to be very different from what common experience leads us to believe.

Focusing on the enigma of time, Greene establishes that nothing in the laws of physics insists that it run in any particular direction and that “time’s arrow” is a relic of the universe’s condition at the moment of the big bang. And in explaining the big bang itself, Greene shows how recent cutting-edge developments in superstring and M-theory may reconcile the behavior of everything from the smallest particle to the largest black hole. This startling vision culminates in a vibrant eleven-dimensional “multiverse,” pulsating with ever-changing textures, where space and time themselves may dissolve into subtler, more fundamental entities.

Sparked by the trademark wit, humor, and brilliant use of analogy that have made The Elegant Universe a modern classic, Brian Greene takes us all, regardless of our scientific backgrounds, on an irresistible and revelatory journey to the new layers of reality that modern physics has discovered lying just beneath the surface of our everyday world.

©2004 Brian Greene (P)2004 Books on Tape, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Nobody ever said that cosmology was simple, not even Stephen Hawking, in whose tradition Dr. Greene impressively follows....He is both a skilled and kindly explicator....The Fabric of the Cosmos is as dazzling as it is tough." (The New York Times)

"It will be enjoyable and stimulating for the lay reader, who will even learn about time travel and teleportation. This is one popular-science book that won't be left on the coffee table half read." (The New York Times Book Review)

“Forbidding formulas no longer stand between general readers and the latest breakthroughs in astrophysics: the imaginative gifts of one of the pioneers making these breakthroughs has now translated mathematical science into accessible analogies drawn from everyday life and popular culture....Nonspecialists will relish this exhilarating foray into the alien terrain that is our own universe.” (Booklist, starred review)

“This is popular science writing of the highest order...Greene [has an] unparalleled ability to translate higher mathematics into everyday language and images, through the adept use of metaphor and analogy, and crisp, witty prose....He not only makes concepts clear, but explains why they matter.” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

Don't bother with the abridged version!

I first listened to the the abridged version a couple of times but I prefer the whole thing much more.

Unless you are a rocket scientist you'll need the UNABRIDGED version. It's not that Greene is especially technical or uses a lot of math, it's just that he's much better at explaining complicated concepts if you give him more time.

To those that say it is too watered down, I admire your brain and exposure. However, in my experience most phyics/astronomy buffs fall into two categories: those that try to get their heads around the science but end up defaulting to just "believing" in it, and those that put in the sufficient effort with the goal of truly "understanding" it well enough that they can then explain it to others. If you want to be more than just a "believer" maybe you should listen to all of Brian Greene?

Expertly narrated; amazing first half

I really enjoyed this audiobook, especially the first half which covered the history of physics from Newton to Mach to Einstein to the Quantum revolution and to, finally, inflationary cosmology. The book is written in such a way that no pictures are necessary, and no serious math background is needed (though it can help a bit with the intuition). I loved it.

The string theory part of the book was a bit of a let down (much like recent progress in the field) as were the following sections on pop-Sci topics such as time travel that really didn’t feel necessary.

Overall, I do recommend the book, but will warn any listener that once it starts going downhill with string theory, there’s no returning to the brilliance of the book’s first half.

Where's the pdf?

Where's the pdf with all the images? I know the book contains many diagrams.
It was hard at times to follow the experimental setup without any visuals.

The best history of scientific ideas in print.

Over the past few years I've had occassion to go through a number of works dealing with the history of ideas, many of them dealing with our current ideas that undergird and make up our vision of science. This is the best I've read. His treatment of entanglements is superb. The best is his work on entropy -- a uniquely clear and comprehensive explanation.

Enlightening and it holds your attention

I am delighted with the unabridged version of this book. Not only do I feel like I have learned a tremendous amount about modern physics, but the text is very engaging. It has been a pleasure to listen to this book.

Mindbending

Beautiful. Well read. Phenomenaly explained. I still dont get Quantum Physics.

A nice walk through

If you could sum up The Fabric of the Cosmos in three words, what would they be?

If you constantly search for shows like through the wormhole or into the cosmos then this is something you might like. It's full of plain language explorations of some of the most complex ideas in physics.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Brian Greene uses pop culture examples to liven up thought exercises and metaphors.

What about Michael Prichard’s performance did you like?

I keep hearing Michael Prichard's voice echoing in my head like its a really catchy song stuck in there. Twenty two hours of listening to anyone will do that to you though...he did a good job.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I would have loved to listen to this book in one sitting but it is 22 hours and change. Well, that and after five or six hours my head started to feel like the lawnmower man looked right after a new lesson

Any additional comments?

This is really worth listening to if you are interested in the universe and all of the exotic ideas that go into our picture of how it might work.

Great knowledge,

Really enjoyed this book, I only wish it was Brian Greene narrating it, as I really enjoyed the TV series based on this book

Cerebral

If you could sum up The Fabric of the Cosmos in three words, what would they be?

enthrawling, informative, insightful

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

It made me feel like i was seeing sun light for the first time.

Any additional comments?

Great for the fundamentals of modern physics. Needs update 10 yrs old.

History. Written pre-LHC

Author hopes to see super symmetry and the Higg's boson the after thr LHC is completed.