Masks of the Universe

From the animistic world of the primitives of Newton's well-oiled clockwork to the warp and weave of Einsteinian spacetime, Harrison shows how every universe has been the ultimate universe--until a better one came along. Harrison also tours our latest version of the universe, deftly charting the strange, tiny cosmos of subatomic particles and the vast, limitless ocean of stars and galaxies. Throughout, the author enlivens his discussions with the words and thoughts of a dazzling array of renowned scientists, poets, and philosophers both past and present. He includes a number of carefully chosen illustrations--from an engraving of Dante's conception of the universe to a simple space-and-time diagram. ISBN 0-02-948780-3: $18.95.