This short book by UK author Marcus Chown does what a popular science book should - give a brief history, good examples and anecdotes, end notes for those who want more, sprinkle with humor and step out of the way. I just wish it had a few illustrations and a bibliography.

Starting with Newton then leading to Einstein, the first two parts of the book do an excellent job of describing not just where we are but why we wanted to go there. The third part explains some of the why (black holes) and then gives many of the options for where next, but also makes clear that we just don't know yet. I really appreciated the views of Nima Arkani-Hamed in this section.

This book doesn't delve into the math, but leaves enough bread crumbs for those who want to delve into that, physics, or even history. One minor quibble - we "build too many walls and not enough bridges" was said by Joseph Fort Newton, not Isaac. Chown does an excellent job of setting other historical myths in their place - though the occasional scene of fantasy revealed as "fun to imagine" wore a little thin.

Overall an excellent book on the subject, and a decent introduction to where we are now - or at least were in 2017 :)