#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER One of the greatest minds of our time explores profound questions such as: How did the universe begin-and what made its start possible? Does time always flow forward? Is the universe unending-or are there boundaries? Are there other dimensions in space? What will happen when it all ends? Told in language we all can understand, A Brief History of Time plunges into the exotic realms of black holes and quarks, of antimatter and "arrows of time," of the big bang and a bigger God-where the possibilities are wondrous and unexpected. Stephen Hawking brings us closer to the ultimate secrets at the very heart of creation.