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From mirror matter, super matter, and cosmic bubbles to branes, ghosts, and two-timing universes, theoretical physicists dream up the most bizarre concepts imaginable. New and radical ideas abound -- science fiction on the verge of becoming scientific fact. One scientist...(more) may envision a whole new subatomic particle that finally explains a nagging cosmological conundrum while another may be chasing "funny energy," which could be the key to the accelerating universe. These are indeed Strange Matters. A fantastic tour of the wonders of modern physics and cosmology, Strange Matters begins with a wild romp through the cosmos hosted by leading theorists of the past. We see how their ideas blossomed from imagined to proved as observers and experimenters gradually provided verification of once-crazy hypotheses. We then hitch a ride with today's physicists to learn what twenty-first century science has to offer in the way of cutting edge theories -- ideas that even now eagerly await confirmation. Author Tom Siegfried artfully mixes the present with the past and future, reporting from the frontiers of research where history is in the process of being made. As we follow the first bold steps taken by geniuses like Einstein, Riemann, and Oppenheimer, we get a sense of where this gloriously twisted path, paved with scientific musings of Guth, Witten, and Randall might lead us. Ultimately, Strange Matters is a guide to the prediscoveries of the 21st century, a series of visions dreamt by the most creative scientists of our time paired with the achievements of the past -- pointing the way towards even greater wonders yet to come. So sit back, set your mind for warp drive, and plunge into weird world of quark nuggets, selectrons, quintessence, and quantum cosmology. It is, indeed, a long, strange trip.(less)