Guth is a stellar communicator and teacher. This book was published in 1997 and there have been important updates to acquired data since then. But Guth's clear, expository writing, and his many insightful analogies make this a great read for baseline understanding. He also includes a lot more detail than most pop science books that cover the same subject. I find it easier to ignore some detail if I prefer than the style of others' writing that have logical gaps that leave me confused. His writing is also thankfully precise. The inclusion of relevant appendices on related areas is extremely helpful, as is the glossary. We are very fortunate to have such a main contributor to this field take the time and the care to write this book. And his frank discussion of his professional anxieties on the road to his discoveries should be an inspiration to young scientists. I have found Youtube videos of lectures he has given as recently as 2015 that fill in the gaps since 1997, and they too are a pleasure.

I read this book a few years ago and bought a new copy to read again. Alan Guth wrote perhaps the best book on Cosmology and the Big Bang. It is written in a non-technical style with advanced concepts clearly explained. I can think of no better imtroduction to Cosmology. Guth rescued the Big Bang with his theory of Inflation, and should have received a Nobel (perhaps shared with Alexei Linde). This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the origins and structure of the Universe.

This book is a good choice for the educated scientific layperson, and for physicists outside cosmology and/or particle physics wishing a better understanding of the topic.

Dr. Alan Guth has written a clear, logically-connected history of cosmology and its biggest unsolved mysteries prior to his development of the inflationary universe theory, including the human side of this grand detective story, and the missteps along the way.

Despite being nearly 15 years old, it is not particularly dated; a little web-searching on the WMAP and PLANCK experiments should bring a reader up to date on the experimental observations since that have solidified and/or modified features of the theory.

Another excellent (and more recent) book on a very similar topic would be Dr. Lawrence Krauss' A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather than Nothing, which is also a gem of modern science popularization, bringing key results of theory and experiment to a wide lay audience.

This is an account of the Inflation model of the universe by none other than his originator Alan Guth. The book contains both the historical account of the development of the inflation model as well as a semi-biographical account of Guth's beginning career in physics written in lucid and direct style like the way Guth's lectures. Even though the book intends to bring an historical account of the inflation model, Guth offers very clear technical detailed discussions in all topics, more technical than most books that are supposed to reach a popular audience.

If you just want to read Guth on inflation, you can probably start reading from chapter 9 "Combatting the Magnetic Monopole Menace". As it is well known that it was working on the magnetic monopole problem that led Guth into the inflation model. However his earlier chapters 3 to 5 on the Big Bang model also provides good insights in his early understanding of cosmology.  The theoretical content is somewhat like his "Early Universe" class at MIT. Chapter 5 "Condensation of Primordial Soup" features a good discussion of the 5th particle gap in Big Bang nucleosynthesis pursued by cosmologist which is a topic not often seen in popular cosmology book.  The 5th particle gap is the search for a 5th stable nucleus after Helium 4 for nucleosynthesis before arriving at stars interior forming higher elements. Chapter 6 "Matter on Matter/Antimatter offers a good discussion of Steven Weinberg view that Baryon number is not conserved reflecting an asymmetry between matter and antimatter in the early universe.

In terms of the magnetic monopole problem, Guth was looking for an account to explain the small quantity of magnetic monopole. According to the Grand Unified Theory, the early universe should have as many of them as protons and neutrons. Magnetic monopole is 10 to the 16th time heavier than the two baryons. The presence of that many heavy magnetic monopoles would cause the universe expansion rate to plummet making the universe to be 1200 years old! The monopole number has to be 10 to the 24th times lower.  Guth came up with a super cooling solution causing a delay of phase transition which would reduce magnetic monopole production. Such delay of phase transition leads to an inflation of the early universe. The initial inflationary model features an exponential expansion in the early universe within the first second caused by a false vacuum to move down to a true vacuum at zero energy density level by quantum tunneling over an energy barrier. The advantage of inflation is not just explaining the Bang of the Big Bang, but it also explains the flatness, homogeneity, horizon problem and offers a solution to magnetic monopole.

Guth is very helpful in the book to highlight some of the technical issues he encountered in the theory. One of which is the bubble collision problem. During the exponential expansion, bubbles can be too far apart that suppress the number of collisions, which may not result in sufficient collision to spread the matter uniformly throughout the universe. Later Guth met Andrei Linde who sidestepped this worry by confining the observable universe to within one bubble thereby avoiding the homogeneity problem of bubbles collision. Guth initially found the approach misguided but Linde's approach eventually result in the new inflationary model.  In the new model, the energy density lowers more gradually from a gentler energy slope allowing time for bubbles to expand closer for collision. The graph does not feature quantum tunneling. 

Also presented in the book is measurements from COBE satellites of the nonuniformities that are from the gravitational clumping for the structure of the universe  expected from the inflationary model. The measurements matched the density perturbation of a scale invariant graph. 

This book is no doubt a go to book for anyone to understand how the inflationary model of the universe from both a historical and conceptual point of view. Guth's clear and direct prose makes the journey easy to follow.

Alan Guth writes an excellent and understandable book. He revisits an idea advanced by the Patriarchs thousands of years ago. He uses the word "Inflationary" while the Patriarchs use the words "stretcheth out".

ISAIAH 40:22 It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that STRETCHETH OUT the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:

(David) PSALMS 136:6 To him that STRETCHED out the earth above the waters: for his mercy endureth for ever.

JEREMIAH 51:15 He hath made the earth by his power, he hath established the world by his wisdom, and hath STRETCHED out the heaven by his understanding.

As a physicist who strayed from hard science to the medical field, I read it once for effect and am reading it again to really understand the momentous discovery that he describes. He has a gift for explaining science without diluting it (contrast to Neil deGrasse Tyson. Of course, he will make much less money than Dr. Tyson). The book is written from both personal and professional perspectives, and I identified with his account of having to scrounge around for temporary positions (postdocs) while working and hoping for a big break. The guy is a genius and the scientific community is richer for having someone like him.

I read a lot of popular level physics books, and I'm amazed I never ran into this one before. It is a treasure! Very well written. It describes the development of modern physics with much more detail than most. To understand how we got here from the Big Bang, read this one!

The story of the historical search for answers to questions about the creation of the early universe.

It's fascinating.

In particular, the history of one particular theory: Guth's "Inflation Theory".

The initial impetus, the frustration, the dead ends, the false starts, the competition, the final triumph and the urge to publish first ... it's all here in great detail.

Guth has been able to provide the story of his quest with anecdotes, humour and elaborate diagrams which replace mathematical equations.

I spent two days reading; I couldn't put it down.

Did I understand everything? No, of course not :^)

Obra agotada en español. Libro agradable de leer ya que combina con acierto tanto la explicación científica como las experiencias del autor. Distingo dos partes 1)Temas introductorios (Cap. 1 al 9). 2) Teoría inflacionaria. Versiones, discrepancias, laboratorio y Epílogo (cap. 10 a Epílogo). A lo largo del libro se van diferenciando características de esta teoría y de la teoría original del BigBang. Apéndices muy interesantes.

Really well told story about how the Inflation theory came about, what it means and why it's the most favored pre-big bang model out there. Have seen the author speak on media programs before and his voice comes through very well in this book. It's logical, concise and easy to follow. My highest level of Physics is officially GCSE but I have educated myself to some extent beyond that since then and so found the concepts to be understandable. No real math to speak of (just as well) but you do need to have an idea about cosmology and maybe a little quantum theory if you want to really get to grips with the content. At least as well written as "A Brief History of time" - maybe better. Well worth a read.

a very clear and honest explanation that makes the principles very accessible for the general public. The math notes make it equally entertaining for the more scientific oriented. A. Guth mixes personal experience, history and facts in a very humble style. A true genius.

It's amazing to see what some of the coincidences were that finally lead us to the current state of knowledge.

Mindblowing stuff.

In depth and in details discussion of every topics. Tremendously helpful book, worthy of reading all throughout life many a time।

Concept appeared confusing, but explained in book