Pierre Binétruy, Professor, Université Paris-Diderot

Pierre Binétruy was a theorist working on various aspects of the gravitational universe: cosmic inflation, dark energy and dark matter, black holes and gravitational waves. He was recently very active in setting up the future space gravitational wave observatory, the LISA mission. He was a professor at Université Paris Diderot, and the director of the Paris Centre for Cosmological Physics, which he established in 2010 with George Smoot, the Nobel Prize winner in Physics in 2006. He taught the online course 'Gravity!', which attracted close to 100,000 learners in its first two years.

"This is a brilliant and accessible illustrated book about gravity and gravitational waves... The book will surely become a classic in explaining gravity in such an engaging manner, reflecting as it does the late authors stellar reputation as a science communicator." - David Lorimer, Paradigm Explorer

"The writing and content is approachable and gives rather more depth than many popular science books on the topic, without getting too technical." - Brian Clegg, Popular Science

"This delightfully written book takes the reader on a journey though the history of gravity, from the 16th century experiments of Galileo, through the remarkable insights of Einstein, to the recent observations of gravitational radiation from cataclysmic cosmic events: the merger of two black holes. The history of the Universe itself, from the Big Bang to the present, is traced in a way that delineates the essential role played by gravity in its evolution. The reader is afforded the option of following these stories with varying degrees of attention to technical detail. At whatever level suits ones taste, a fascinating trip is in store." - Mary Gaillard, Professor Emeritus, Physics Department, University of California, Berkeley

"On 11 February 2016, scientists announced the detection of gravitational waves from the merger of two black holes at a distance of 1.3 billion light years from Earth. This was followed by the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2017, making gravitational waves the science story of the year, and possibly of the decade. This is an excellent book on the topic by an outstanding author who was a recognized public philosopher in France." - Simon Mitton, Fellow of St Edmunds College, University of Cambridge

"Pierre Binétruy was a first rank physicist, an inspiring leader, an outstanding communicator and a good friend to so many of his colleagues. His cultured, yet lucid writing and clever illustrations infuse this books heady brew of general relativity, cosmology and quantum mechanics as they are today. GRAVITY! C'est magnifique!" - Roger Blandford, Luke Blossom Professor and Professor of Physics, Stanford University and SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

"A well-written book on the very important topic of gravity. From the historical understanding of this fundamental force to modern, contemporary research and thought, including the astounding capture of two binary black holes merging into one, Gravity! covers it all. The book is richly illustrated with meaningful graphics, and is well-written for all levels of readers. This is a book you want on your primary bookshelf; front and center." - Mike D. Reynolds, Professor of Astronomy, Florida State College

"Pierre Binétruy was a great scientist and a great visionary. He lives on in this book. I will treasure it." - Karsten Danzmann, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Gravitational Physics (Albert Einstein Institute) and Director of the Institute for Gravitational Physics of Leibniz Universität Hannover