Introduction: The World Through Microwave Eyes

Part One: The Toughest Measurement In Science

Chapter 1: The Big Bang

How Did We Come To Believe In Such A Ridiculous Idea?

Chapter 2: The Restless Universe

How Einstein Missed The Message In His Own Equations

Chapter 3: The Primeval Fireball

Cooking Up The Elements In A Hot Big Bang

Chapter 4: Taking The Temperature Of The Universe

The Search For The Fireball Radiation

Chapter 5: The Ghost Signal At 4080 Megacycles

Problems With An Icecream Cone Antenna

Chapter 6: A Tale Of Two Telephone Calls

How The Fireball Radiation Came To Be Found

Chapter 7: Afterglow Of Creation

Why Did Nobody Find The Fireball Radiation Earlier?

Chapter 8: The Toughest Measurement In Science

Twenty-Five Years Of Ill-Fated Experiments

Chapter 9: Bumps But No Wiggles

The Cosmic Background Throws Up Some Puzzles

Part Two: The Golden Age Of Cosmology

Chapter 10: An Eye Above The Atmosphere

Nasa Decides To Nail The Problem Once And For All

Chapter 11: The Nine-Minute Spectrum

COBE Gets A Standing Ovation

Chapter 12: Cosmic Ripples

COBE Finds The Seeds Of Galaxies

Chapter 13: The Hype And The Hysteria

How The COBE Results Became Front-Page News

Chapter 14: The Universe According To COBE

Galaxy Formation, Inflation And Dark Matter

Chapter 15: The Golden Age Of Cosmology

Life After COBE

Epilogue: Wrinkles In Time