More a reference tool than a bedside read, this is nonetheless a very readable work. Heywood examines the existing explanations of the origin of the universe against a backdrop of the first chapters of the Bible— the creation accounts of Genesis— and skillfully shows the scientific facts underlying what many in scientific and educational fields have written off as mere fable.

Heywood does this by introducing facts and posing questions for which he then proffers a variety of answers, allowing us to determine which holds up best under scrutiny if biases are laid aside.