EDITORIAL INFORMATION

This book studies in depth the questions we have ever asked ourselves about the creation of the Universe, the laws ruling it, its posssible logical necessity and the role that in all of it may be attributed to a hypothetical supernatural being. It also analyzes, in view of the most recent theories in the Physics sciences, what caused the Big Bang, which gave birth to the universe as we know it, the existence of multiple universes, theories of the All, etc. It opens our mind to a new cosmology: an order which may happen to be compatible with the idea of an eternal, abstract God. This book is particularly appropriate in the threshold of the twenty-first century, an era when physics is wondering and trying to answer with its scientific method, questions that up to now could only be asked from the fields of philosophy and theology. The discussion here presented is rigurous, deep and at the same time available to any person interested in and curious about these issues.

Paul Davies, a professor in mathematical physics at the University of Adelaide (Australia), is a brilliant investigator and science writer whose books have successfully popularized the most amazing concepts in current cosmology and modern physics.

(Extracted from the back cover).

GENERAL TABLE OF CONTENTS

-Prólogo a la Edición Española. Juan Pérez Mercader.

-Introducción.

-1- Razón y Creencias.

-2- ¿Puede el Universo Crearse a Sí Mismo?

-3- ¿Qué Son las Leyes de la Naturaleza?

-4- Matemática y Realidad.

-5- Mundos Reales y Mundos Virtuales.

-6- El Secreto Matemático.

-7- ¿Por Qué el Mundo Es Como Es?

-8- Diseño del Universo.

-9- El Misterio al Final del Universo.

- Bibliografía.

- Indice Temático.

OUR REVIEW

In this second step within the way that he initiated with one of his former books (Dios y la Nueva Física), Davies continues to study in depth the most transcendental cosmological questions, those that affect the birth of the universe and its structure directly. This is not a book which just displays data and measurements of a technical character which contribute to strengthen certain hypotheses. Nor is this a reconstruction of how the first instants of existence of the universe could have been. What the author does is to reflect on the cause for its creation, as well as the implications this has for the human conception of the reality surrounding us. Due to the intangible nature of this Before The Beginning of Time, instead of mathematical formulae, reflections of a rather philosophical nature are displayed. On the other hand, dealing with such an enormous issue inevitably leads to consider a field which is shared by theological or mystic ideas. Hence the title of this book.

Despite what may be assumed, the book does not turn out to be overwhelming or complicated because of the depth of its theme and its intangible nature, yet it is pleasant and easy to read. The Great Mystery everything that exists is based on, is examined from different viewpoints, while at the same time transcendental questions are aroused inviting to reflection.