In this exciting new book, leading scientific thinkers address twenty of the really big questions that people have been asking for hundreds of years. Their answers are each put into context by commentaries discussing the differing views of other leading contemporary scientists and looking at how people have tackled the question in the past. The result is a breathtaking tour of scientific thought through the ages and a peek at some of the most cutting-edge and controversial research today.

Packed with fascinating insights, it shows how science is investigating problems that affect us all on a large scale and suggests that we are closer to finding solutions to some of life's big questions than we might think.

Contributors: John Polkinghorne, Martin Rees, John Barrow, Susan Blackmore, Susan Greenfield, Stephen LaBerge, Robert Plomin, Geoffrey Miller, Michael Rutter, Janet Radcliffe Richards, David M Buss, Dolf Zillmann, Mary Warnock, John Sulston, Ronald Melzack, Brian Heap, Michael Ruse, Colin Pillinger, John Leslie and Steven Rose.