The Dancing Universe traces mystical, philosophical,and scientific ideas about the cosmos through the past twenty-five centuries. Taking us back to the dawn of history, the author explores the legends and myths of such traditional cultures as the Hopi and the Hindu, as well as the enduring contributions of the Greeks. From the universal creation myths of ancient societies to contemporary notions of an ever-expanding universe, Marcelo Gleiser gives us a new understanding of how mysticism, religion, and science have interacted throughout the millennia. He illuminates the life and work of some of our greatest scientists, including Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, Newton, and Einstein - men as renowned for their spirituality as for their scientific brilliance. By probing the ways in which scientists have unlocked the secrets of such world-changing concepts as gravity, electromagnetism, time, and space, Gleiser offers fresh perspectives on the eternal debate between science and faith. And he brings this epic drama of our origins full circle by taking us through such dazzling modern breakthroughs as relativity, quantum mechanics, and particle physics - in a provocative depiction of cosmic creation mysteries that harkens back to our earliest forebears.