The Grand Design starts by tracing the history of astronomy from the time of the Greeks and goes on to quantum mechanics, String Theory, and a Unified Theory of Everything.The authors ask the basic questions that have been asked by scientists and philosophers alike, across all cultures over millenia - why does the universe exist, how did it start, what are the laws that govern its existence, and so on.They discuss the latest scientific theories and ideas, and explain the M-Theory, which is the new candidate for a theory of everything. It is thought that the M-theory could unify all the five String Theories, which attempt to explain the universe on the basis of tiny vibrating strings.Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow explain that according to quantum mechanics, the history of the universe is not linear but there could in fact be a lot of different possibilities existing simultaneously. As every possible outcome of an event can actually be fact, the authors assert that we create history from our viewpoint, rather than a definite history shaping us.They propose that just like how Earth is just one planet among many in our own solar system, and the Milky Way is just one galaxy among millions of others, our own universe could be just one among many other universes. Only some planets, like the Earth, can support life, Similarly, only some universes can support life.The book, in just around 200 pages, attempts to present the most startling and complex scientific theories in an interesting manner that will capture and hold the attention of the readers.About The AuthorsStephen Hawking, born in 1942 in Oxford, England, is a theoretical physicist.He has written many popular science books, which try to explain the most difficult scientific concepts in a simple manner. His A Brief History of Time stayed on the best-seller list of The Sunday Times for a record number of weeks.His other books include A Brief History of Time, The Universe In a Nutshell, and A Briefer H