In the beginning there was one. One and only one.

And then. Suddenly. There was everything: numbers everywhere, from the infinite to the infinitesimal, an rapid expansion of numbers that all fit into one, well, Universe--the only idea big enough to contain them all.

That's the story that Brian Greene tells in Until the End of Time: a story of numbers and how physicists' have used ever-more precise measurements to trace time back to One and to extrapolate what will happen, eventually, when numbers won't matter anymore.

Greene is an engaging writer: the best at his craft of explaining challenging mathematical and physical complexities. Like many science writers, he skillfully uses analogy to explain what seems explainable.

I had a harder time accepting Greene's assertion that humans were mere random collections of particles and that events in an individual's life were what I would call "happenstance" and he would call randomness. When nothing is predictable, it can also mean that nothing is intentional, and I still treasure that aspect of my humanity if not my role in nature.

His thoughts on death and the afterlife are better explained. Every chapter was fascinating, but I would recommend reading the final chapter two or three times to really get to the bottom of what Greene is trying to say.

It's complicated. In many ways it's much easier to believe in a Garden with a talking serpent and forbidden fruit, than to live in a world of numbers and randomness that Greene so aptly describes. But we need to understand Greene's world and hope that the myth/stories catch up to the numbers, if not with him, then eventually.

Really interesting but went a little off the rails with speculation into truly the end of time. Often but not always did a good job of explaining some very technical topics.

First and final 1/3 of this book: 5 stars, typical Greene. Middle 1/3: 1 star. His overview of neuroscience, language, religion, and humanity adds little and isn't worth the time. Read Sapiens or Origin Story for a better version of that section. You can also just go watch the YT video 'Timelapse of the Far Future' to get the high-level of the most interesting content of this book but in 20min. If you find yourself wanting details after watching that, come back and read this.

Some science nerds have found this book disappointing. They do not want to see a physicist delving into the realms of philosophy, worse humanities. Everyone wants to separate the subjects. Very few people like a multi-disciplinary approach to reading or learning. I've always like reading books about science and when science mixes with other fields, draws unexpected connections, it shows the universe as a whole – how atoms make up the cells and thus our bodies, how entropy explains the disintegration of things, people, society, and the cosmos, how evolution can explain behavior, religion, myths, beauty, art and music.

Brian Greene provides a concise history of the cosmos though he also goes into some esoteric topics. A very few physicists would like to speculate about the evolution of the mind and the language and the author does it quite well. He also examines consciousness and free will. People are made of particles and underneath the biology there is physics. The book covers the Big Bang to the present day, and to the end of time. I do not agree with all his conclusions but they are worth reading. I found his writing quite fascinating. Greene considers himself a reductionist and can explain a lot of concepts clearly without leaving out anything relevant.

I learned about a few new topics, touched upon a few things that I already known and came away with a new perspective on how all these things combine to make the cosmos. When science meets philosophy, it makes a great reading for me.

Nothing short of magnificent. Greene’s arc of the history of the universe is beautifully written, mostly accessible if occasionally challenging to grasp, and profoundly humanist. What an amazing journey that centers us in the paradox of being simultaneously absolutely nothing, the tiniest specks of instantaneous dust on the timeline, and absolutely everything the cosmos has taken 13.8 billion years to get around to making. I’m incredibly grateful to Greene for this book.

Interesting overall but doesn’t really add anything new to the conversation. It’s more like a summary of all physics, biology and chemistry that we currently know rather than a new perspective or new research that we didn’t know before. Still as a summary of materialist thought it works very well, going from the Big Bang, formation of the solar system, evolution of life, consciousness and the end of the universe (or not).

Outstanding book.

Reminded me of David Brooks' The Second Mountain

3.6/5