The Hidden Reality

Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos

By: Brian Greene

Narrated by: Brian Greene

There was a time when “universe” meant all there is. Everything. Yet, in recent years discoveries in physics and cosmology have led a number of scientists to conclude that our universe may be one among many. With crystal-clear prose and inspired use of analogy, Brian Greene shows how a range of different “multiverse” proposals emerges from theories developed to explain the most refined observations of both subatomic particles and the dark depths of space: a multiverse in which you have an infinite number of doppelgängers, each reading this sentence in a distant universe; a multiverse comprising a vast ocean of bubble universes, of which ours is but one; a multiverse that endlessly cycles through time, or one that might be hovering millimeters away yet remains invisible; another in which every possibility allowed by quantum physics is brought to life. Or, perhaps strangest of all, a multiverse made purely of mathematics.

Greene, one of our foremost physicists and science writers, takes us on a captivating exploration of these parallel worlds and reveals how much of reality’s true nature may be deeply hidden within them.

Critic reviews

“If extraterrestrials landed tomorrow and demanded to know what the human mind is capable of accomplishing, we could do worse than to hand them a copy of this book.”
—Timothy Ferris, The New York Times Book Review“Few living writers write so lucidly about such complicated stuff. In

Greene’s prose, cutting-edge cosmology and particle physics become something a plucky and well-rested reader can apprehend. . . Greene might be the best intermediary I’ve found between the sparkling, absolute zero world of mathematics and the warm, clumsy world of human language.”
—Anthony Doerr, Boston Globe

“Mr. Greene has a gift for elucidating big ideas . . . Exciting and rewarding . . . [The Hidden Reality] captures and engages the imagination.”
—Janet Maslin, The New York Times

“It's impossible to summarize every step of Greene's balletic footwork, by which, like some multi-limbed Asian deity, he dances into being each different theoretical framework that could support multiple universes. . . His arguments are constructed like classical cathedrals, with intricate arches and buttresses that all uphold the central spire. Sometimes you think he's lost in the details of some sculpted gargoyle, only to realize how essential to the whole structure this particular feature is.”
—Paul di Filippo, Barnes and Noble Review

“[Greene] leads the general reader on an excursion to the farthest and most mind-bending reaches of speculative physics . . . An exhilarating—if sometimes vertigo-inducing—journey.”
—Alden Mudge, Bookpage

“An in-depth yet marvelously accessible look inside the perplexing world of modern theoretical physics and cosmology . . . Greene presents a lucid, intriguing, and triumphantly understandable state-of-the-art look at the universe.”
—Publishers Weekly (Starred review)

Absolutely amazing book, very informal Brian!

He's very passionate about his work and really knows his material, really inspiring book here you guys!

"Cosmic cheese" and the triumph of poor analogies

The Hidden Reality contains some interesting information and is an entertaining read, but I do have a few quips with the style it was written in.

First is, that the author has an uncanny tendency to impose tidbits of information on you without first building a solid basis for them, with the apparent assumption that you'll be later satisfied with an explanation coming in a few chapters. This might work in a traditional textbook, where one can cross-reference things more easily. In audio, however, related subjects might be hours apart. If you don't plan to listen to everything in one go, the lack of cohesion becomes further magnified with the passage of time. At the same time, Brian Greene sometimes keeps iterating over and over the same things, summoning a plethora of (often poor) analogies to his aid.

That leads to my second complaint. The analogies in this book must be counted in hundreds. It would simply make more sense, if one only explained the science and thinking leading to specific theories, instead of trying to come up with a distant analogy for every occasion, which often only serves to make the obvious obscure. Maybe I'm a bit too harsh on Brian Greene for this, but it was a serious deterrent for me to keep on listening to the book, taking a much longer time than usual to finish.

Overall, though, I don't think this was a waste of time. I feel that I do have a bit more solid understanding of the current stance on the history of and physics behind our universe. Also, a few, mostly offhand, comments made some previously familiar concepts fit better together in my mind, for which I am grateful. Not sure if I'd be anxious to listen to another one of Brian Greene's books, though.

Good book

Well narrated book with a good story line. Thanks to Audible for having this in store. I would recommend this to my family and friends.

Would make a great Community ed physics discussion

I guess this book about met my expectations. Even though at times it seems much like a text book, there really was not the depth and dry fact delivery I would hope to find in such a tome. I have recently read through a couple other universe reality books both scientific and philosophical and think that although this avoids the philosophical pursuits does use many of the same processes to prove a point.

Great read...though only if you are into deep astrophysical topics.

verr naice

Good book. I enjoyed it, as a physicist, and i suspect that interested non-physicists would/do as well.