Brian Greene, a leading string theorist, relates the scientific story behind the research on string theory, which reveals a vision of the universe with new dimensions hidden within the fabric of space, black holes transmuting into elementary particles, rips and punctures in the space-time continuum, gigantic universes interchangeable with minuscule ones.

Edge of knowledge -- Tied up with string -- Dilemma of space, time, and the quanta -- Space, time, and the eye of the beholder -- Of warps and ripples -- Microscopic weirdness -- Need for a new theory: general relativity vs. quantum mechanics -- Cosmic symphony -- Nothing but music: the essentials of superstring theory -- "Super" in superstrings -- More dimensions than meet the eye -- Smoking gun: experimental signatures -- String theory and the fabric of spacetime -- Quantum geometry -- Tearing the fabric of space -- Beyond strings: in search of m-theory -- Black holes: a string/m-theory perspective -- Reflections on cosmology -- Unification in the twenty-first century -- Prospects.