Universal: A Guide to the Cosmos - Hardcover

Brian Cox, OBE, FRS, is a Professor of Particle Physics at the University of Manchester and the Royal Society Professor for Public Engagement in Science. His many highly acclaimed BBC television documentaries include, most recently, Human Universe and Forces of Nature.

Jeff Forshaw is a Professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Manchester, specializing in the physics of elementary particles. He was awarded the Institute of Physics Maxwell Medal in 1999 for outstanding contributions to theoretical physics.

"Brian Cox [is] perhaps the most popular scientist of the 21st century."―The National

"[An] accessible, lucid, and entertaining introduction to cutting-edge astrophysics and cosmology. Revealing how scientists explore the universe, the authors celebrate the scientific method as much as the scientific discoveries they address...It's smooth sailing through increasingly complex topics...Curious readers will appreciate how Cox and Forshaw celebrate the scientific process as heartily as they embrace the wonder of the universe."
―Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Readers...will gain a more significant understanding of some profound cosmological phenomena."

―Kirkus Reviews

"Some readers eat popular physics for breakfast. Others yearn for a single simple volume to bring them up to speed, thereby freeing them for the fun stuff (life sciences, tech stories, cat videos). Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw will satisfy both audiences with their broad-brush account of the physical world that still finds room for uncertainty, controversy-even a little light maths. Rarely has a difficult subject been rendered so accessible."―New Scientist

"This is a book about means and processes but also about wonder...Cox and fellow celebrity scientist Neil deGrasse Tyson have taken the mantel of generational science communicators once carried by Carl Sagan and Bill Nye...Universal is a bulwark providing an overview of how far we've come in understanding our universe and a taste of where we will go. As our professors and guides, Cox and Forshaw require our curiosity and patience. Passages will be reread. Graphs will be stared at indefinitely without guarantee of comprehension. By the end you will be rewarded with a little understanding and some hope for the future (which is also in great demand in these precarious times)."―Spectrum Culture

"Physicists Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw reach for the stars and lasso the moon in Universal."―Vanity Fair
"This book distinguishes itself by its emphasis on measurement...The book is well indexed and enjoyable. Beginning undergraduates and general readers will find it engaging and informative. Recommended."
―Choice

"This is the story of our universe with cosmological events laid out in clear, fantastic detail...A careful read of this beautiful, slender volume will enlighten the reader and stretch the brain."―Internet Review of Books