Inflationary Universe: Quest for a New Theory of Cosmic Origins

This is the first-hand account of Alan Guth's paradigm-breaking discovery of the origins of the universe and of his dramatic rise from young researcher to physics superstar. Guth's startling theory, regarded as one of the most important contributions to science during the 20th century, states that the big bang was set into motion by a period of hyper-rapid inflation, lasting only a billion-trillion-billionth of a second.