Why Does the World Exist?

"Seeking to tease apart the most central existential question of all — why there is a world, rather than nothingness, a question he says is “so profound that it would occur only to a metaphysician, yet so simple it would occur only to a child” — Holt pores through millennia of science and theology, theory by theory, to question our most basic assumptions about the world, reality, and the nature of fact itself, with equal parts intelligence, irreverence, and insight."

"I’ve just got Jim Holt’s “Why Does the World Exist?,” which is marvelous and, given the subject, very readable."

"I don't understand why Jim Holt has not become seriously famous. He's a total delight on the page. Every time he writes something, I'm reminded of the pleasure of reading."