author : Russell Stannard

Mr Tompkins is back!

The mild-mannered bank clerk with the short attention span and vivid imagination has inspired, charmed and informed young and old alike since the publication of Mr Tompkins in Paperback (by George Gamow) in 1965. He is now back in a new set of adventures exploring the extreme edges of the universe – the smallest, the largest, the fastest, the farthest.

Through his experiences and his dreams, you are there at Mr Tompkins’ shoulder watching and taking part in the merry dance of cosmic mysteries: Einstein’s relativity and bizarre effects near the speed of light, the birth and death of the universe, black holes, quarks, space warps and antimatter, the fuzzy world of the quantum, the ultimate demolition derby of atom smashers, and that ultimate cosmic mystery of all … love.

If you read it for the physics, you'll find a charming tale of adventure and romance. If you read it for the story, you'll find the hottest, latest, weirdest and most wonderful bits of physics as a backdrop – all explained in the clearest possible way. Whichever way you approach it, you are in for an eye-opening treat.