A Brief History of the End of the Universe and Everything in It

Cells commit suicide and rupture; stars explode in spectacular fashion. From the microscopic to the cosmic, demise is inevitable. In A Brief History of the End of the Universe and Everything in It, award-winning science writer Stephen Ornes leads a kaleidoscopic journey to uncover why and how everything comes undone--and why, maybe, that's okay.

Moving from biology to forensic science to ecology and cosmology, Ornes shows how death is not an end but a transformation. He takes readers to a roadside attraction where a man decays in real time, onto "body farms," into the deep ocean with whale carcasses, and into space to contemplate the fate of stars--illustrating how, viewed from the right perspective, processes that look destructive reveal an unexpected grace. Disclosing all the gory details as well and the strange beauty of decomposition, A Brief History of the End of the Universe and Everything in It deepens our appreciation of both life and death.