The Edge of Space-Time

About the Book

'One of the most accomplished and important science writers of our time' ED YONG, author of An Immense World

In The Edge of Space-Time, Chanda Prescod-Weinstein takes readers to the boundaries of the universe, inviting us to spend time at the edge of what we know about space-time - and about ourselves.

Guided by her conviction that science is for everybody, Prescod-Weinstein renders accessible some of the most abstract concepts of theoretical physics and draws on poetry and popular culture - from Queen Latifah to Lewis Carroll to Big K.R.I.T. to Sun Ra and Star Trek - to tell fascinating stories about the fundamental quantum nature of space-time and everything inside of it.

Here we meet the quantum cat that is both dead and alive, learn the difference between dark matter and dark energy, explore the inner workings of black holes and investigate the possibility of a unified theory of quantum gravity.

Through Prescod-Weinstein's clear-eyed and unique perspective, and informed by her deep knowledge of post-colonial history and Black feminist thought, The Edge of Space-Time argues that physics is an essential way for everyone to look at the universe and presents a compelling case that 'the edge' is a powerful vantage point from which to see the big picture. Prescod-Weinstein also shows us how spending time with the cosmos is a vital human activity that enriches all our lives.

About the Author :

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein is an associate professor of physics and astronomy and core faculty in women's and gender studies at the University of New Hampshire. She is a columnist for New Scientist and Physics World. She conducts award-winning theoretical physics research on dark matter, the early universe and neutron stars, while also researching Black feminist science studies. Her first book, The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime and Dreams Deferred, won the 2021 Los Angeles Times Book Prize in science and technology, the 2022 Phi Beta Kappa Award in Science and a 2022 Josephine Miles Award from PEN Oakland. Born in Los Angeles she has roots spanning from Christ Church, Barbados to Kilburn, London.

cprescodweinstein.com |@IBJIYONGI | @chanda.prescod.weinstein

Review :
With this extraordinary book, Prescod-Weinstein cements her status as one of the most accomplished and important science writers of our time; as polymath, griot, teacher and more; as the guide to the universe that we don't deserve but absolutely need. She has given us a book about physics as story and metaphor, as revelation and revolution, as answer and antidote. It's suffused with gorgeous poetry, full of righteous anger and frequently very, very funny Lots of books talk about the universe. The Edge of Space-Time talks about the universe from the perspective of a real human living within it - a person with a body, embedded in a community, burdened by history, fuelled by curiosity, sustained by hope. A great read for any human being who lives in the universe Nothing short of mind-blowing . . . A brilliant book that explores what we can learn about life here on Earth by looking up A lyrical, genre-defying exploration of the universe that dances at the intersection of physics, pop culture and Black intellectual thought, this book invites readers to see the cosmos not just through equations, but through the rhythms of music, the textures of art and the power of storytelling A cosmologist and particle physicist who also happens to be a great writer with wonderful cross-cultural fluencies, Prescod-Weinstein seems possessed of an off-kilter and roving curiosity ideally suited to answering all the bigger questions about where we are, why we're here and where, exactly, are we going Yet another book by Dr. Prescod-Weinstein that I'll want to bring up in every conversation! Whatever you thought you would learn about space-time, you'll get that and so much more from this deft weave of quantum physics and cultural wisdom Humanity shines through her writing. One feels a mind present on the page, actively working through ideas, producing a text that's engaging and alive. For readers put off by the overwhelmingly male, white, heteronormative world of physics, here is a warm, impassioned welcome Of course, the most politically audacious book I've read in decades would be a book about physics and space. In The Edge of Space-Time, Chanda Prescod-Weinstein shows us that we are here because we have always been there . . . making and reckoning with space. An absolute instant classic and an intergalactic monument. Read this now An enthralling introduction to the universe, The Edge of Space-Time reminds us all that stargazing is the work of generations of physicists and poets, and people both enslaved and free. Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein invites us to imagine grander, queerer theories for our cosmic future and, along the way, achieves the unthinkable: she makes physics accessible and funny. A paean to caring for the unknown and the unknowable, this is a book for anyone in any world Praise for The Disordered Cosmos: 'A resonant paean to the beauties of the cosmos and a persuasive appeal for solutions to injustices in science