The Greatest Story Ever Told - So Far

Why Are We Here?

By: Lawrence M. Krauss

Narrated by: Lawrence Krauss

Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's Summary

From award-winning physicist, public intellectual, and the bestselling author of A Universe from Nothing Lawrence Krauss, comes “a masterful blend of history, modern physics, and cosmic perspective that empowers the reader to not only embrace our understanding of the universe, but also revel in what remains to be discovered” (Neil deGrasse Tyson, American Museum of Natural History).

In this grand poetic vision of the universe, Lawrence Krauss tells the dramatic story of the discovery of the hidden world that underlies reality - and our place within it.

Reality is not what you think or sense - it’s weird, wild, and counterintuitive, and its inner workings seem at least as implausible as the idea that something can come from nothing.

With his trademark wit and accessible style, Krauss leads us to realms so small that they are invisible to microscopes, to the birth and rebirth of light, and into the natural forces that govern our existence. His unique blend of rigorous research and engaging storytelling invites us into the lives and minds of remarkable scientists who have helped unravel the unexpected fabric of reality with reasoning rather than superstition and dogma, and to explain how everything we see - and can’t see - came about. A passionate advocate for reason, Krauss gives the rationale for the seemingly irrational - and the mysteries and apparent contradictions of quantum physics, and explores what that means for our lives here on Earth - and beyond.

At its core, The Greatest Story Ever Told - So Far is about the best of what it means to be human - an epic history of our ultimately purposeless universe that addresses the question, “Why are we here?”

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Download the accompanying reference guide.

©2017 Lawrence Krauss (P)2017 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved

Critic Reviews

"The Greatest Story Ever Told - So Far ranges from Galileo to the LHC and beyond. It's accessible, illuminating, and surprising - an ideal guide for anyone interested in understanding our accidental universe." --Elizabeth Kolbert, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Sixth Extinction

"A rich, definitely not-dumbed-down history of physics.... An admirable complement to the author's previous book and equally satisfying for those willing to read carefully." --Kirkus

"In confident...prose, Krauss tells a story that both celebrates and explores science. Through it, he reminds readers why scientists build such complicated machinery and push the boundaries of the quantum world when nothing makes sense: 'For no more practical reason than to celebrate and explore the beauty of nature.'" --Publishers Weekly

Mean spirited rant against religion

I bought this book because I love listening to popular science books. I expected this book to be about the origins of the universe and the history of scientific explorations of our cosmos. This book turned out to be a very nasty, petty rant against religions and the people who believe in them with a thin veneer of scientific exploration. The author is incapable of saying anything about science without accompanying it with snide remarks about religion. I love reading books written from different perspectives but the problem here is not the author's perspective; it is the relentless, single minded, mean spirited harping about the evils of religion and the foolishness of anyone who takes religion seriously. What an ugly book! The only reason I haven't returned it is that I've been busy and I'm procrastinating. I need to put "return that horrible book" at the top of my to do list.

Wonderful read/listen.

I was concerned that this sort of book may not be suited to an audible book because of continued references to figures and images from the printed version.
To make this a little less jarring, and confusing a PDF file is supplied with the requisite images.
If you are going to listen while driving, please take a long hard look at the images so that you can bring them to mind when mentioned in the book.

I will need to listen through again, as there is a lot that I do not yet understand.

Too many "see PDF" ... for a audio book imo.

Any additional comments?

It's a good book, but listening on audible didn't really work for me. I usually listen on a run, drive, etc... This book has TONS of attached PDF's to reference when you're listening, which isn't very practical in my opinion for the average audible listener. If I am going to sit down and reference and study a bunch of PDF's I would rather just buy the physical book.

Good grief! The narrator is just fine.

It's Krauss. I would rather hear him speak than anyone else. It's like attending one of his lectures.

" Not Physics for Dummies "

This is a fantastic book and not dumbed down for your average reader. It's extremely challenging and makes you want to research all the different aspects of current physics. Another fantastic book from Lawrence Krauss

Fascinating stuff, but...

I've loved Krauss' writing in the past and this book is no exception. He does a pretty good job of covering a lot of reasonably complex ideas in a relatively short fashion and provides practical meaning to otherwise esoteric concepts. His narration is equally terrific. That said, for myself personally, while he made the subject accessible, I nevertheless found listening to this book a bit more challenging than usual, as I had to construct mental frames of reference to consider movement, spin and energies from whole cloth rather than be able to refer to the valuable diagrams and illustrations found in the book.

Entertaining and awe-inspiring

Wonderfully entertaining. Might need to read some sections more than once, but generally very graspable and absolutely worth the time.

Too heady for audio.

Books with challenging material should be read, not listened to. I will purchase the print version.

Much better than the other book with this title

This is the story of particle physics as we understand it up to the present day. The evolving nature of the theories that have been proposed and confirmed about the stuff the universe is made of. Presented in an engaging manner, and in language anyone should be able to understand, the story unfolds from the hypothesis of the earliest philosophers to the confirmation of Einstein and Higgs theories in the last few years. Anyone with a curiosity about this subject will find something to like about this book.

An incredibly disappointing book

Lawrence Krauss is quite possibly the worst of the scientist authors who purports to want to bring science to the lay person. He finishes by talking about the acerbic yet brilliant Christopher Hitchins like he is something of a kindred spirit - Krauss is not even close!

After reading this book, I had to look up a YouTube video to learn about the Higgs Boson which I picked up in literally 3 minutes.

He has the audacity to even suggest his book is somewhat in competition with the Bible for being the greatest story ever told. It's ridiculous and this attempt at wit fails at so many levels! He has done a huge disservice to so many of us scientists who have worked hard to bring an understanding of science to the general audience.

The references to "the PDF" are extremely annoying

If I was able to look at a PDF, I wouldn't be listening to an audiobook! People listen to audio books while driving, cycling, working out etc exactly because they can't read a PDF while doing it - yet this book keeps referencing a PDF every 5 minutes, making the listening experience extremely annoying for me.

it's basically a brief history of science

ok and worth a read, but there isn't really anything new here if you already have a interest in science and read around. there are no big ideas or new perspectives that make you go wow. For me, there are too many science facts and not enough philosophical musings about what is really happening.
I preferred his excellent book 'Atom'

The Greatest Story Ever Told...... in such a complicated fashion.

Sorry guys. If like me you are the ordinary man in the street without a degree in physics but trying to improve your understanding of the world around you, then this is NOT the book for you. Ok, it's a complicated subject but his descriptions are way above the understanding of the average person. Stick to Bill Bryson et al. Thank goodness I didn't pay full rate for this book .

good but you need to listen multiple times

this was such a nice history of science that we have discovered at the moment. however it can be hard to understand due to the complex nature of nature.

Not good for listening

I really tried to listen to this book but there were so many mathematical equations and references to hidden diagrams that it just doesn’t work! If this subject is of interest I suggest reading it in paperback format!

Not inspiring

Little personality. I think I was dissatisfied because I expected more from the author. As he's a public communicator the book lacks hooks or images to get me interested.

Good listen

I enjoyed listen to this book. I got lost at some points when Lawrence was discussing the more in depth sections about particle physics but I think that's more my fault.

Good, clear narration.

A passionate story on the history of science

Fantastic listen wonderfully read by Lawrence, At times I felt I should have my note book out, as some of the concepts needed to be understood to get the whole picture, def a book I will have to listen to again to understand the deeper science of particle physics.

Esoteric!

Needs more than a once over but I do love Mr krauss and delivery excellent

contains advanced particle physics

I enjoyed this book, however it was very challenging. I think this book should be aimed at advanced physics students and with the title, The Greatest Story Ever Told, it opens its self up to beginners that will struggle to keep up. I do feel I have come away with a much better understanding of particle physics, but it wasn't the most pleasant of journeys!