Mr. Scharf makes vivid the mind-boggling nature of the universe by noting, for instance, that the space between a star like the sun and its nearest neighbor is 30 million times the diameter of the sun itself and that there are 10 billion stars in the universe for every human being who has ever walked the Earth.

WSJ: Book Review: Gravity's Engines

Last Fall, Thomas Nagel, the respected philosopher who teaches at NYU, published Mind and Cosmos, with the provocative subtitle, Why the Materialist Neo-Darwinian Conception of Nature is Almost Certainly False.

FORBES: The Darwinist 'Mob' That Wasn't

But he said he changed his mind within hours of announcing the hung jury, because he wanted to draw attention to the confusing nature of campaign-finance guidelines.

WSJ: John Edwards Jury Saw Guilt, but Lack of Proof