Learn how the big bang may have been spawned by a collision between 'island universes'; how a single remarkable number contains the answer to every question we could ever ask; how the most widely accepted theory of the universe's origin suggests that Elvis never died; and how a computer program a mere four lines long could be generating the stars, the galaxies and the tip of your nose. Chown fearlessly addresses the big questions on the nature of the universe, the nature of reality, and the place of life in the universe. Ultimately, he says, science is about the down-to-earth things that matter to all of us. Where did the universe come from? Where did we come from? What the hell are we doing here?