The Origins Of Everything

Covering 13.8 billion years in some 100 pages, a concise, wryly intelligent history of everything, from the Big Bang to the advent of human civilization. With wonder, wit, and flair—and in record time and space—geophysicist David Bercovici explains how everything came to be everywhere, from the creation of stars and galaxies to the formation of Earth’s atmosphere and oceans, to the origin of life and human civilization. Bercovici marries humor and legitimate scientific intrigue, rocketing readers across nearly fourteen billion years and making connections between the essential theories that give us our current understanding of topics as varied as particle physics, plate tectonics, and photosynthesis. Bercovici’s unique literary endeavor is a treasure trove of real, compelling science and fascinating history, providing both science lovers and complete neophytes with an unforgettable introduction to the fields of cosmology, geology, genetics, climate science, human evolution, and more. “For determined minds hoping for cogent, clever explanations for what we know of the history of the universe, Bercovici nails it.” —Shelf Awareness “Explaining life, the universe and everything in 100 pages may be a tall order, but physicist and volcano enthusiast Bercovici rises to the challenge. . . . Origins delivers on its promise—and (bonus!) it’s even fun to read.” —Discover “Clear, concise, comprehensive, and written with verve and a sense of humor, The Origins of Everything is a delightful journey through time from the big bang to the present day.” —Doug Macdougall, author of Frozen Earth

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A dramatically new understanding of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution—from the development of agriculture and cities to the origins of the state, democracy, and inequality—and revealing new possibilities for human emancipation. For generations, our remote ancestors have been cast as primitive and childlike—either free and equal innocents, or thuggish and warlike. Civilization, we are told, could be achieved only by sacrificing those original freedoms or, alternatively, by taming our baser instincts. David Graeber and David Wengrow show how such theories first emerged in the eighteenth century as a conservative reaction to powerful critiques of European society posed by Indigenous observers and intellectuals. Revisiting this encounter has startling implications for how we make sense of human history today, including the origins of farming, property, cities, democracy, slavery, and civilization itself. Drawing on pathbreaking research in archaeology and anthropology, the authors show how history becomes a far more interesting place once we learn to throw off our conceptual shackles and perceive what’s really there. If humans did not spend 95 percent of their evolutionary past in tiny bands of hunter-gatherers, what were they doing all that time? If agriculture, and cities, did not mean a plunge into hierarchy and domination, then what kinds of social and economic organization did they lead to? The answers are often unexpected, and suggest that the course of human history may be less set in stone, and more full of playful, hopeful possibilities, than we tend to assume. The Dawn of Everything fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past and offers a path toward imagining new forms of freedom, new ways of organizing society. This is a monumental book of formidable intellectual range, animated by curiosity, moral vision, and a faith in the power of direct action. Includes Black-and-White Illustrations

This New York Times bestseller "elegantly weaves evidence and insights . . . into a single, accessible historical narrative" (Bill Gates) and presents a captivating history of the universe -- from the Big Bang to dinosaurs to mass globalization and beyond. Most historians study the smallest slivers of time, emphasizing specific dates, individuals, and documents. But what would it look like to study the whole of history, from the big bang through the present day -- and even into the remote future? How would looking at the full span of time change the way we perceive the universe, the earth, and our very existence? These were the questions David Christian set out to answer when he created the field of "Big History," the most exciting new approach to understanding where we have been, where we are, and where we are going. In Origin Story, Christian takes readers on a wild ride through the entire 13.8 billion years we've come to know as "history." By focusing on defining events (thresholds), major trends, and profound questions about our origins, Christian exposes the hidden threads that tie everything together -- from the creation of the planet to the advent of agriculture, nuclear war, and beyond. With stunning insights into the origin of the universe, the beginning of life, the emergence of humans, and what the future might bring, Origin Story boldly reframes our place in the cosmos.

Stephen W. Hawking, widely believed to have been one of be one of the world’s greatest minds, presents a series of seven lectures— covering everything from big bang to black holes to string theory—. These lectures not only capture the brilliance of Hawking’'s mind, but his characteristic wit as well. In The Illustrated Theory of Everything, Hawking begins with a history of ideas about the universe, from Aristotle’s determination that the Earth is round to Hubble’s discovery, more than 2,000 years later, that the universe is expanding. Using that as a launching pad, he explores the reaches of modern physics, including theories on the origin of the universe (e.g., the Big Bang), the nature of black holes, and space-time. Finally, he poses the questions left unanswered by modern physics, especially how to combine all the partial theories into a “unified theory of everything.” “If we find the answer to that,” he claims, “it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason.” A great popularizer of science as well as a brilliant scientist, Hawking believes that advances in theoretical science should be “understandable in broad principle by everyone, not just a few scientists.” In this book, he offers a fascinating voyage of discovery about the cosmos and our place in it. It is a book for anyone who has ever gazed at the night sky and wondered what was up there and how it came to be.

Midwest Publishing Awards Show Honorable Mention The debate over evolution and creation has raged for decades and shows no signs of letting up. Many promote one view as the only reasonable solution. But what are the main viewpoints, and just why do they disagree? In the midst of an increasingly intense dispute, Gerald Rau answers the important questions with level-headed clarity and evenhanded analysis. Rau lays out six models of origins, ranging from naturalistic evolution to young-earth creation. He shows how each model presupposes an underlying philosophy that adherents take on faith. With the sensitivity of a seasoned educator, Rau demonstrates how each model assesses the scientific evidence in relation to four different kinds of origins: the universe, life, species and humans. In an age of specialists, Rau sees the big picture. Mapping the Origins Debate cuts through the cacophony and the complexity to provide a lucid and charitable contribution to the conversation.

Dive Into the Fun Facts Behind Names and Word Origins #1 Bestseller in Words, Language & Grammar, Etymology The best-selling book is back in it’s second volume with more names, more words, and even more in-between than before! What’s in a name? The answer is far more complex and interesting than you may think. From the person behind the popular Youtube channel, NameExplain, comes the second volume of his best-selling book The Origin of Names, Words and Everything in Between. This new book is a fun, interesting and educational journey through the world of etymology. It covers a huge array of names from a variety of topic areas, and includes a bunch of random facts behind the names. From first names, to bodies of water?there’s no name big or small, important or obscure that won’t be explained. Find fun facts. Presented in a light and entertaining manner, The Origin of Names compels you to learn a ton of things you didn’t know you wanted to know. Unlike a dictionary, everything in this book is easy to understand and can be read from start to finish, or in short bursts. It’s also a lot more fun to read?Patrick explains each name with jokes and quips you’re bound to enjoy, and it’s full of pictures too! Be the know-it-all you always wanted to be. In The Origin of Names you’ll: Learn fascinating word origins and bizarre name meanings Be able to entertain yourself and friends with random facts Gain honor and renown for your unrivaled knowledge of etymology If you enjoyed books like Interesting Stories For Curious People, Stuff You Should Know, or The Great Book of American Idioms, then you’ll love The Origin of Names, Words and Everything in Between: Volume II.

About 13.8 billion years ago the universe was born, with space and time coming into being in the same instant. By the time the universe was 1 second old, the four forces in nature had acquired their present characteristics, elementary particles had obtained their mass, and particles constituting the nuclei of atoms were created. The nuclei of light elements, hydrogen and helium, were formed within the first 10 minutes of the birth of the universe with the first stable atoms coming to existence when the universe was 380,000 years old. Over the next billions of years, the first generation of stars and galaxies formed, planetary systems came into existence, and life on Earth appeared and evolved, resulting today's plants and animals. Origins: The Story of the Beginning of Everything is a fascinating tale of the beginning of the universe, the origin of life, the start of civilization, and everything in between. The text explores the nature of space and time, the origin of particles, mass and chemical elements, and the first stars and galaxies. Readers learn about the origin of the planetary systems and Earth, the genesis of life on Earth and the dawning of agriculture, the first cities, civilization, and language. The book takes readers on a journey to the depth of space and beginning of time, to where stars and galaxies formed and life started, a place and a time no one has ever been. This journey does not exhaust us physically but enriches us intellectually. Through the text, readers can better understand themselves and their position in the world. The book provides a well-organized and comprehensive response to the question of where everything comes from in the most basic and scientific senses. The book is well-suited to courses in astronomy and physics. Bahram Mobasher earned his Ph.D. in observational cosmology at the University of Durham in the United Kingdom. He performed research as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Leicester and Imperial College London. He was a staff scientist at the European Space Agency and spent seven years as associate astronomer at NASA's Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, Maryland, working on the Hubble Space Telescope. He moved to a faculty position at the University of California Riverside in 2007, where he is now professor of physics and observational astronomy. His research interest is on the formation and evolution of galaxies. For his research, he uses data from ground-based and space-borne observatories. He has played a leading role in performing many galaxy surveys that are extensively used by the astronomical community today. He is the author and co-author on over 250 publications in refereed journals.

Bestselling author and acclaimed physicist Lawrence Krauss offers a paradigm-shifting view of how everything that exists came to be in the first place. “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?” One of the few prominent scientists today to have crossed the chasm between science and popular culture, Krauss describes the staggeringly beautiful experimental observations and mind-bending new theories that demonstrate not only can something arise from nothing, something will always arise from nothing. With a new preface about the significance of the discovery of the Higgs particle, A Universe from Nothing uses Krauss’s characteristic wry humor and wonderfully clear explanations to take us back to the beginning of the beginning, presenting the most recent evidence for how our universe evolved—and the implications for how it’s going to end. Provocative, challenging, and delightfully readable, this is a game-changing look at the most basic underpinning of existence and a powerful antidote to outmoded philosophical, religious, and scientific thinking.