Includes bibliographical references (pages [403]-405) and index.
pt. 1. The universe: Baby pictures of the universe -- The paradoxical universe -- The Big Bang -- Inflation and parallel universes. -- pt. 2. The multiverse: Dimensional portals and time travel -- Parallel quantum universes -- M-theory: the mother of all strings -- A designer universe? -- Searching for echoes from the eleventh dimension. -- pt. 3. Escape into hyperspace: The end of everything -- Escaping the universe -- Beyond the multiverse