Many Worlds in One: The Search for Other Universes.

Cosmologists have amazing stories to tell about the beginning of the cosmos. Most people are somewhat familiar with the Big Bang, the theory that the universe emerged from a great eruption of matter and energy 14 billion years ago. In this fascinating book, Vilenkin, a professor of physics at Tufts University, outlines some of the more recent cosmological ideas that may be harder for the layperson to accept. He introduces readers to the notion of repulsive gravity and inflation and the idea that these processes will make the universe expand forever. He also outlines a theory that suggests an infinite number of histories exactly identical to our own, populated by duplicates of ourselves who are scattered throughout the universe. Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2006, 235 p., b&w illus., hardcover, $24.00.