Chris Lintott’s Universe

You’re going to be sick of hearing about Bang! (the book I’ve written with Patrick and Brian May) before too long, but I’m still extremely excited about it; partly because I really can’t believe that a book came out of the chaotic mess of meetings and emails that spanned the last three years. If you haven’t seen the animation over at the site yet, you should. It’s worth it just for the (Brian May produced) soundtrack. Anyway, if you’re even a tenth as excited as I am about its imminent publication (and who wouldn’t be?), you’ll want one of the wallpapers Brian’s put together. They’re over here.

Back in the far off days between undergrad and PhD, I happened to be at Patrick’s while discussions were taking place about a book to be co-authored by PM and by Queen guitarist and astronomer, Brian May. Somehow, I got sucked into the project and was present at the fateful meeting at which hands were shaken and deals were agreed. The first thing Brian said after agreeing to join is was to warn us that he didn’t really have time for the project, and I certainly didn’t have time. Nonetheless, Bang! : The complete history of the Universe (my arguing for ‘a history of the Universe’ didn’t sway the sales team…) now exists, and I am extremely proud of the two copies that are currently nestling on my bookshelf.

The key difference between this and any other introduction to the subject that I know of is that we tell the story as it happened (and will happen) rather than as we have discovered it. So we have tried very hard to avoid sentences which begin ‘In XXX astronomers believed…’ and stuck to the story of the Universe’s evolution, from ‘In the Beginning’ to the very end. Publication date is officially next month, but keep an eye on our sparkling website in the meantime, or go to the website of Canopus Publishing for a preview.