The pace of intellectual progress in science and technology in the last 50 years or so has been awesome. Yet, behind all these advances lie two enormous mysteries: ourselves, and where we are in the vast infinity of space. Why are we here, and what is it all about, really? This life is all far too miraculous to be simply a fluke, in which case it seems there must be some other agency responsible for it all, some supreme intelligence to whom we have no access. There are so many unexplained mysteries in this life. It's a bit like being at a magician's stage performance. We only see what he wants us to see. In this book, I've tried to open the curtains just a crack to peep at what lies behind it all. This book is not about religion. I do, however, refer to God quite a bit, and although I have thought long and hard about it, I just cannot imagine who or what God might be. I simply use that name as a convenient handle to which I attribute everything that is so unexplainable and inaccessible to us in this life we've been given. Dr. John Marsden grew up in Derbyshire, where he trained as a mechanical engineer. He was the son of a lead miner. After graduating, he was a research lecturer at London University. His interest in general science has led him into many areas of research, from helicopter blade performance to the design of artificial limbs, from which he gained his PhD. After his wife died, he retired to the lovely Isle of Man, where he lives alone.