The Cosmic Revolutionary's Handbook
(Or: How to Beat the Big Bang)

Free yourself from cosmological tyranny! Everything started in a Big Bang? Invisible dark matter? Black holes? Why accept such a weird cosmos? For all those who wonder about this bizarre universe, and those who want to overthrow the Big Bang, this handbook gives you 'just the facts': the observations that have shaped these ideas and theories. While the Big Bang holds the attention of scientists, it isn't perfect. The authors pull back the curtains, and show how cosmology really works. With this, you will know your enemy, cosmic revolutionary - arm yourself for the scientific arena where ideas must fight for survival! This uniquely-framed tour of modern cosmology gives a deeper understanding of the inner workings of this fascinating field. The portrait painted is realistic and raw, not idealized and airbrushed - it is science in all its messy detail, which doesn't pretend to have all the answers.

Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Understanding science; 2. How dark is the night?; 3. Run for the hills!; 4. Going gently into that good night; 5. An ever-changing universe; 6. The wood for the trees; 7. We are (mostly) made of stars; 8. Ripples in the night sky; Notes; Further reading; Index.

Luke A. Barnes is a postdoctoral researcher at Western Sydney University. He completed his undergraduate studies at the University of Sydney, before undertaking Ph.D. research at the University of Cambridge. The focus of his research has been the cosmic evolution of matter, and he has published papers in the field of galaxy formation and evolution, and on the fine-tuning of the Universe for life. He returned to the University of Sydney in 2008 as a Super Science Fellow, before being awarded a prestigious Templeton Fellowship to expand his research on the physics of fine-tuning of the laws of physics for complexity and ultimately life. Dr Barnes is an accomplished speaker to professional and amateur audiences, and can speak across the boundaries of cosmology, philosophy and religion. He has lectured to numerous amateur astronomical groups and to public audiences, including speaking on fine-tuning at the Royal Institution in London in 2017.
Geraint F. Lewis is a Professor of Astrophysics at the Sydney Institute for Astronomy, part of the University of Sydney's School of Physics. The focus of his research is cosmology and the dark side of the universe, namely the dark matter and dark energy that dominate cosmological evolution. He has published more than three hundred academic papers and is an acclaimed teacher. He also has a significant outreach profile, writing regularly for New Scientist and The Conversation, as well as regularly speaking publicly on all aspects of cosmology and astronomy, including speaking that the Royal Institution in London. He also has extensive experience interactions with the media, including podcast, radio and television experience. He currently is Deputy Director of the Sydney Informatics Hub, developing the infrastructure and knowledge-base to support big data, informatics, deep learning and artificial intelligence at the University of Sydney.