Roberto Mangabeira Unger is a philosopher, social and legal theorist, and politician. His engagement with cosmology and natural philosophy in this book deepens and generalizes ideas that he has developed in False Necessity, The Self Awakened, and The Religion of the Future among other writings. Lee Smolin is a theoretical physicist who has made important contributions to quantum gravity. He was educated at Hampshire College and Harvard University. He is a founding member of the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. His earlier books explore philosophical issues raised by contemporary physics and cosmology: Life of the Cosmos, Three Roads to Quantum Gravity, The Trouble with Physics, and Time Reborn.
'It might be one of the most important books of our time ... Right or wrong, this book is an event.' Bryan Appleyard, The Sunday Times 'A hefty explication setting out clear agendas for research into quantum foundations, explanations for the 'arrow of time' and other parts of this puzzle.' Nature 'Any serious intellectual rebellion is worth watching. This one is ambitious: it seeks to root out one of the oldest impulses in the western imagination.' The Spectator 'Is time, after all, real? Two mavericks take an axe to the established theories of cosmology.' The Guardian