Stephen Hawking’s phenomenal, multimillion-copy bestseller, A\nBrief History of Time , introduced the ideas of this brilliant\ntheoretical physicist to readers all over the world.

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Now, in a major publishing event, Hawking returns with a\nlavishly illustrated sequel that unravels the mysteries of the\nmajor breakthroughs that have occurred in the years since the\nrelease of his acclaimed first book.

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The Universe in a Nutshell

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• Quantum mechanics
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• M-theory
\n• General relativity
\n• 11-dimensional supergravity
\n• 10-dimensional membranes
\n• Superstrings
\n• P-branes
\n• Black holes

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One of the most influential thinkers of our time, Stephen\nHawking is an intellectual icon, known not only for the\nadventurousness of his ideas but for the clarity and wit with which\nhe expresses them. In this new book Hawking takes us to the cutting\nedge of theoretical physics, where truth is often stranger than\nfiction, to explain in laymen’s terms the principles that control\nour universe.

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Like many in the community of theoretical physicists, Professor\nHawking is seeking to uncover the grail of science — the elusive\nTheory of Everything that lies at the heart of the cosmos. In his\naccessible and often playful style, he guides us on his search to\nuncover the secrets of the universe — from supergravity to\nsupersymmetry, from quantum theory to M-theory, from holography to\nduality.

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He takes us to the wild frontiers of science, where superstring\ntheory and p-branes may hold the final clue to the puzzle. And he\nlets us behind the scenes of one of his most exciting intellectual\nadventures as he seeks “to combine Einstein’s General Theory of\nRelativity and Richard Feynman’s idea of multiple histories into\none complete unified theory that will describe everything that\nhappens in the universe.”

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With characteristic exuberance, Professor Hawking invites us to\nbe fellow travelers on this extraordinary voyage through\nspace-time. Copious four-color illustrations help clarify this\njourney into a surreal wonderland where particles, sheets, and\nstrings move in eleven dimensions; where black holes evaporate and\ndisappear, taking their secret with them; and where the original\ncosmic seed from which our own universe sprang was a tiny\nnut.

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The Universe in a Nutshell is essential reading for all of\nus who want to understand the universe in which we live. Like its\ncompanion volume, A Brief History of Time , it conveys the\nexcitement felt within the scientific community as the secrets of\nthe cosmos reveal themselves.

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