I wrote an ode to Physics; I narrate the romance with her; I confess how I think of her; I admit my thirst for complete knowledge of her laws; I anguish over when her end will come! In trying to understand how the physical world works, I dedicated half of my academic career to research. The other half was devoted to teaching, communicating, and disseminating what I learned.

When I started, three decades ago, I was taught that we were one step away from the end of Physics, a breath away from the Theory of Everything. Today, we are even further from the "thread" we were ready to "cut" thirty years ago. Everything we know today about Physics resembles an island surrounded by the ocean of the unexplored. The physicist's mind is ignited when realizing how much more there is to learn.

I did not write this book to narrate the evolution of Physics, nor to envision its future (since I do not know it and I suspect the road ahead will be long). I wrote it because I want to talk to you about what I know we do not know. I invite you on an insatiable intellectual journey, with stops at the three "pillars" of modern physics: relativity, quantum mechanics, and thermodynamics. And at the end of the journey, the mystery of invisible matter, dark energy, loop quantum gravity, string theory, and grand unification. What more do you want to feel awe and admiration? Can one really not love Physics?

The triumph of Physics, through the eyes of the most talented, the most inspired, the most informed popularizer of science. A call to young people (undecided or hesitant) who are thinking about engaging with Physics. Jim Al-Khalili encourages them in his own unique way to embark on this very challenging mission.

The charm of the book is that it keeps open the sense of wonder, discovery, and the possibility we all have, even non-specialist readers (and let's admit it, that includes most of us) to enjoy the magic and future of Physics.