Whether framedphilosophically as “Why is there a world rather than nothing at all?” or morecolloquially as “But, Mommy, who made God?” the metaphysical mystery about howwe came into existence remains the most fractious and fascinating question ofall time. Following in the footsteps of Christopher Hitchens, Roger Penrose,and even Stephen Hawking, Jim Holt emerges with an engrossing narrative thattraces our latest efforts to grasp the origins of the universe. As he takes onthe role of cosmological detective, the brilliant yet slyly humorous Holtcontends that we might have been too narrow in limiting our suspects to God vs.the Big Bang. Whether interviewing a cranky Oxford philosopher, a Physics NobelLaureate, or a French Buddhist monk, Holt pursues unexplored and often bizarreangles to this cosmic puzzle. The result is a brilliant synthesis of cosmology,mathematics, and physics—one that propels his own work to the level ofphilosophy itself.