What happens when an object falls into a black hole? Does it disappear without a trace? About thirty years ago, one of the leading researchers of the phenomenon of black holes, the now famous British physicist Stephen Hawking, stated that this is exactly what is happening. But it turns out that such an answer threatens everything we know about physics and the fundamental laws of the Universe. The author of this book, the outstanding American physicist Leonard Susskind, debated with Stephen Hawking about the nature of black holes for many years, until, finally, in 2004, he admitted his mistake. A brilliant and extremely easy to read book tells the fascinating story of this long-term scientific confrontation, radically changed physicists' view of the nature of reality. The new paradigm has led to the stunning conclusion that everything in our world - this book, your house, you yourself - is just a kind of hologram projected from the edges of the Universe. The book is included in the “Dynasty Foundation Library”. The Dynasty Foundation for non-profit programs was founded in 2001 by Dmitry Borisovich Zimin, honorary president of VimpelCom. The Foundation's priority areas of activity are support for fundamental science and education in Russia, popularization of science and education. “The Library of the Dynasty Foundation” is a project of the Foundation for the publication of modern popular science books selected by expert scientists. The book you are holding in your hands was published under the auspices of this project. More detailed information about the Dynasty Foundation can be found at www.dynastyfdn .com