The End of Everything: (Astrophysically Speaking)

A lot of time is spent in mainstream media mentioning and talking about the Big Bang and how the universe all got started around thirteen billion years ago, but do you ever hear anything about how the universe is going to end? Or if it will end for that matter? Have no fear, all this and more is explored in The End of Everything by cosmologist Dr. Katie Mack.

The book begins with a number of chapters dedicated to the aforementioned Big Bang and how the universe got from that genesis moment to where we are today. Then Mack launches into her five possible finales for the universe: the Big Crunch, Heat Death, the Big Rip, Vacuum Decay, and the Bounce. Mack explains each possible ending with plenty of detail but also in very clear language and plenty of comparisons and metaphors to make it as understandable and digestible as possible. I can honestly say my mind was blown at one point by an apparent paradox that Mack elucidated brilliantly. Plus, once you understand Vacuum Decay, you also get to know that our universe could wink out of existence at any moment. At only two hundred and forty pages, this book is a great stocking stuffer!