Gravity's Engines: How Bubble-Blowing Black Holes Rule Galaxies, Stars, and Life in the Cosmos

One of The Barnes and Noble Review Editors' Picks: Best Nonfiction of 2012Selected by The Christian Science Monitor as one of 21 smart nonfiction titles we think you'll enjoy this summerSelected by The New Scientist as one of 10 books to look out for in 2012We've long understood black holes to be the points at which the universe as we know it comes to an end.

Often billions of times more massive than the Sun, they lurk in the inner sanctum of almost every galaxy of stars in the universe.

They're mysterious chasms so destructive and unforgiving that not even light can escape their deadly wrath.Recent research, however, has led to a cascade of new discoveries that have revealed an entirely different side to black holes.

As the astrophysicist Caleb Scharf reveals in Gravity's Engines, these chasms in space-time don't just vacuum up everything that comes near them; they also spit out huge beams and clouds of matter.

Black holes blow bubbles.