To write a book to explain in simple, non-mathematical terms what superstring theory is is not a simple task. In The Elegant Universe Brian Greene, a physicist who works in the area, does a very good job. Superstrings are a theory of particle physics that lays claim to being the ultimate "Theory of Everything", merging Einstein's relativity and quantum mechanics into an understanding of the physics of the very small and very large in the Universe. Hence to understand superstrings relativity, quantum mechanics have to be explained as well. In this Brian Greene does a very good job, giving one of the best explanations of relativity I have read in the process. Superstring theory is still very much in its infancy and The Elegant Universe does not claim that all the problems have been solved, in fact a point is made of pointing out all the present deficiencies of the theory.

Probably not a book for the very beginner but anyone who has read popular accounts of particle physics and relativity should gain a lot from reading this book. In places not an easy read, not for style reasons(which was generally very easy) but simply for the difficulty of some of the concepts involved. Superstring theory may or may not be the theory of everything but this book will certainly tell you what we think we know so far. Definitely recommended but don't expect to read it in a weekend. --Simon Goodwin

How science should be presented, 30 Dec 2008
"The Elegant Universe" is unashamedly hard science. It is an attempt by one of the movers and shakers of string theory to explain what this promising would-be successor to both quantum mechanics and general relativity is all about.

This sort of science is not easy, but the book is very well written and the obvious enthusiasm of the author helps. To my mind this book has one of the clearest explanations of Einstein's general theory of relativity that I have read.

I stayed up all night reading it it, but I suspect that some people might well find themselves lost in some of the more complex aspects. Nonetheless I found it an enjoyable read, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to find out what science is really about.

The best popular science book of the past 20 years - flawless, 15 Dec 2008
I found "A Brief History of Time" a bit too dry (not being as well versed in the requisite mathematics at the time) and "Universe in a Nutshell" too flashy and lacking in depth (being up on the maths by then). Greene's book lands right in the middle: it is absolutely engaging to the non-technical reader and still carries enough meat to satisfy those who can see behind the metaphors.

I first read it after being lent it by my physics teacher (thanks, John Fazakerley!) at the age of 17 and found it totally comprehensible; Greene's explanations are brilliantly conceived and render the often subtle and confusing material completely open to understanding. He is always patient, often using multiple angles when discussing especially esoteric material, and each topic dealt with only made me want to read more. I came away from that first reading carrying a curiosity that lasts to this day.

I re-read TEU around two years ago (being 23 at the time), this time armed with significantly better understanding of the maths hiding behind all the metaphors, and I was again not disappointed, thanks to the substantial appendices that include details of the equations governing the various phenomena. If you have any kind of familiarity with this sort of maths then these appendices really enrich your experience and serve to explain what's going on at its most basic level. I also appreciated how deep the book goes; generic explanations can often skate over the more subtle details (as UiaN did).

The book is presented in a much friendlier way than most of this type, with some really nice little illustrations that pop up at exactly the right time. An interest in physics is thus the only pre-requisite - 10/10

A ripping yarn!, 12 Sep 2008
This book makes me wish I'd carried on studying. Greene has a gift for putting accross a very exoteric subject in accessible language. He avoids hand-waving and bogging you down in technical terms. I couldn't put this book down... which is saying something for a popular science book.

Great Explanation of Superstrings and More!, 23 Aug 2008
I am an engineer by education and experience. Like many engineers I am fascinated with the subject of quantum mechanics, superstrings, hidden dimensions, the quest for the theory of everything, parallel universes and more. Much of it isn't easy to understand, but it sure is fun!

For years I had been hearing about superstrings. I have read In Search of Schrödinger's Cat, Schrödinger's Kittens, books on Einstein's theories, and more. I have also read articles on these subjects, watched several amazing TV shows and movies. Some teased the idea of superstrings, but I never came away with a feeling that the concept had been explained properly.

Brian Green's book the Elegant Universe, and the subsequent PBS show does just that! It gives the best explanation of superstrings I have read (and seen) to date. Green also does a great job explaining parallel universes, hidden dimensions, quest for the ultimate theory and more.

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking


Not a "light" read, 18 Jun 2008
Brian Greene has a talent for conveying complex ideas in a way that is easy to understand. He is constantly using word pictures (and sometimes actual pictures) to explain relativity, quantum theory, and other topics that are utterly fascinating but are sometimes difficult to get your brain around. Elegant Universe is not a light read, but for those looking to get a moderate understanding of the subject matter I highly recommend it.

How science should be presented, 30 Dec 2008
"The Elegant Universe" is unashamedly hard science. It is an attempt by one of the movers and shakers of string theory to explain what this promising would-be successor to both quantum mechanics and general relativity is all about.

This sort of science is not easy, but the book is very well written and the obvious enthusiasm of the author helps. To my mind this book has one of the clearest explanations of Einstein's general theory of relativity that I have read.

I stayed up all night reading it it, but I suspect that some people might well find themselves lost in some of the more complex aspects. Nonetheless I found it an enjoyable read, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to find out what science is really about.

The best popular science book of the past 20 years - flawless, 15 Dec 2008
I found "A Brief History of Time" a bit too dry (not being as well versed in the requisite mathematics at the time) and "Universe in a Nutshell" too flashy and lacking in depth (being up on the maths by then). Greene's book lands right in the middle: it is absolutely engaging to the non-technical reader and still carries enough meat to satisfy those who can see behind the metaphors.

I first read it after being lent it by my physics teacher (thanks, John Fazakerley!) at the age of 17 and found it totally comprehensible; Greene's explanations are brilliantly conceived and render the often subtle and confusing material completely open to understanding. He is always patient, often using multiple angles when discussing especially esoteric material, and each topic dealt with only made me want to read more. I came away from that first reading carrying a curiosity that lasts to this day.

I re-read TEU around two years ago (being 23 at the time), this time armed with significantly better understanding of the maths hiding behind all the metaphors, and I was again not disappointed, thanks to the substantial appendices that include details of the equations governing the various phenomena. If you have any kind of familiarity with this sort of maths then these appendices really enrich your experience and serve to explain what's going on at its most basic level. I also appreciated how deep the book goes; generic explanations can often skate over the more subtle details (as UiaN did).

The book is presented in a much friendlier way than most of this type, with some really nice little illustrations that pop up at exactly the right time. An interest in physics is thus the only pre-requisite - 10/10

A ripping yarn!, 12 Sep 2008
This book makes me wish I'd carried on studying. Greene has a gift for putting accross a very exoteric subject in accessible language. He avoids hand-waving and bogging you down in technical terms. I couldn't put this book down... which is saying something for a popular science book.

Great Explanation of Superstrings and More!, 23 Aug 2008
I am an engineer by education and experience. Like many engineers I am fascinated with the subject of quantum mechanics, superstrings, hidden dimensions, the quest for the theory of everything, parallel universes and more. Much of it isn't easy to understand, but it sure is fun!

For years I had been hearing about superstrings. I have read In Search of Schrödinger's Cat, Schrödinger's Kittens, books on Einstein's theories, and more. I have also read articles on these subjects, watched several amazing TV shows and movies. Some teased the idea of superstrings, but I never came away with a feeling that the concept had been explained properly.

Brian Green's book the Elegant Universe, and the subsequent PBS show does just that! It gives the best explanation of superstrings I have read (and seen) to date. Green also does a great job explaining parallel universes, hidden dimensions, quest for the ultimate theory and more.

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking


Not a "light" read, 18 Jun 2008
Brian Greene has a talent for conveying complex ideas in a way that is easy to understand. He is constantly using word pictures (and sometimes actual pictures) to explain relativity, quantum theory, and other topics that are utterly fascinating but are sometimes difficult to get your brain around. Elegant Universe is not a light read, but for those looking to get a moderate understanding of the subject matter I highly recommend it.

An excellent book, 29 Sep 2004
An excellent introduction into this fascinating subject. Starting with basic principles (such as what is matter, its constituents, what we mean by energy, and which are the physical forces in the universe), it leads the reader into the latest experiments of particle physics. This transition is done very smoothly, without confusing the reader. The book does not contain unecessary complicated information or mathematics. It is aimed at the non-specialist who has an interest in the subject and wants to comprehend a few things quickly and easily. I found this book very interesting and well written. I highly recommend it.

How science should be presented, 30 Dec 2008
"The Elegant Universe" is unashamedly hard science. It is an attempt by one of the movers and shakers of string theory to explain what this promising would-be successor to both quantum mechanics and general relativity is all about.

This sort of science is not easy, but the book is very well written and the obvious enthusiasm of the author helps. To my mind this book has one of the clearest explanations of Einstein's general theory of relativity that I have read.

I stayed up all night reading it it, but I suspect that some people might well find themselves lost in some of the more complex aspects. Nonetheless I found it an enjoyable read, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to find out what science is really about.

The best popular science book of the past 20 years - flawless, 15 Dec 2008
I found "A Brief History of Time" a bit too dry (not being as well versed in the requisite mathematics at the time) and "Universe in a Nutshell" too flashy and lacking in depth (being up on the maths by then). Greene's book lands right in the middle: it is absolutely engaging to the non-technical reader and still carries enough meat to satisfy those who can see behind the metaphors.

I first read it after being lent it by my physics teacher (thanks, John Fazakerley!) at the age of 17 and found it totally comprehensible; Greene's explanations are brilliantly conceived and render the often subtle and confusing material completely open to understanding. He is always patient, often using multiple angles when discussing especially esoteric material, and each topic dealt with only made me want to read more. I came away from that first reading carrying a curiosity that lasts to this day.

I re-read TEU around two years ago (being 23 at the time), this time armed with significantly better understanding of the maths hiding behind all the metaphors, and I was again not disappointed, thanks to the substantial appendices that include details of the equations governing the various phenomena. If you have any kind of familiarity with this sort of maths then these appendices really enrich your experience and serve to explain what's going on at its most basic level. I also appreciated how deep the book goes; generic explanations can often skate over the more subtle details (as UiaN did).

The book is presented in a much friendlier way than most of this type, with some really nice little illustrations that pop up at exactly the right time. An interest in physics is thus the only pre-requisite - 10/10

A ripping yarn!, 12 Sep 2008
This book makes me wish I'd carried on studying. Greene has a gift for putting accross a very exoteric subject in accessible language. He avoids hand-waving and bogging you down in technical terms. I couldn't put this book down... which is saying something for a popular science book.

Great Explanation of Superstrings and More!, 23 Aug 2008
I am an engineer by education and experience. Like many engineers I am fascinated with the subject of quantum mechanics, superstrings, hidden dimensions, the quest for the theory of everything, parallel universes and more. Much of it isn't easy to understand, but it sure is fun!

For years I had been hearing about superstrings. I have read In Search of Schrödinger's Cat, Schrödinger's Kittens, books on Einstein's theories, and more. I have also read articles on these subjects, watched several amazing TV shows and movies. Some teased the idea of superstrings, but I never came away with a feeling that the concept had been explained properly.

Brian Green's book the Elegant Universe, and the subsequent PBS show does just that! It gives the best explanation of superstrings I have read (and seen) to date. Green also does a great job explaining parallel universes, hidden dimensions, quest for the ultimate theory and more.

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking


Not a "light" read, 18 Jun 2008
Brian Greene has a talent for conveying complex ideas in a way that is easy to understand. He is constantly using word pictures (and sometimes actual pictures) to explain relativity, quantum theory, and other topics that are utterly fascinating but are sometimes difficult to get your brain around. Elegant Universe is not a light read, but for those looking to get a moderate understanding of the subject matter I highly recommend it.

An excellent book, 29 Sep 2004
An excellent introduction into this fascinating subject. Starting with basic principles (such as what is matter, its constituents, what we mean by energy, and which are the physical forces in the universe), it leads the reader into the latest experiments of particle physics. This transition is done very smoothly, without confusing the reader. The book does not contain unecessary complicated information or mathematics. It is aimed at the non-specialist who has an interest in the subject and wants to comprehend a few things quickly and easily. I found this book very interesting and well written. I highly recommend it.

Avoid The Void, 07 Dec 2008
Avoid The Void

This book is a disappointment. Some of it is written for the intelligent layperson, but elsewhere significant prior knowledge is assumed (e.g. unheralded mentions of "proton", "neutron," the mysterious spectrum of hydrogen", "Mendeleev's table", "Gev"). Close makes the amazing assertion that "the electron is a basic particle of all matter", and his statement that a field is "a collection of numbers that vary from point to point" is a classic confusion of map and territory. Convoluted style, prejudice and apparent ignorance of evidence is demonstrated by the claim that quantum mechanics creates "mind-bending paradoxes that some charlatans exploit to convince the public that scientists seriously consider parallel universes ...or that telepathic communication is possible". "Zero degrees Kelvin" is a surprising solecism from a Kelvin medal winner. The expression "begs the question" is used frequently and incorrectly. A good editor could have helped.


A fairly limited take on emptiness, 02 Nov 2008
A book on emptiness that starts and ends with quotes of the Rig Veda, the oldest of the sacred hindu books, raises expectations. Unfortunately, not all of these are met.

Frank Close does a very fine job of visualising the void for his readers, for instance by explaining how the dot of ink at the end of a sentence should be blown op to 100 metres to make visible the individual atoms with the naked eye, but to 10.000 kilometres to see the atom's nucleous. There is so much emptiness even within the atom.

The best chapter is the one about ether, the substance the old Greeks dreamed up to avoid the void, which appeared to be very difficult to get rid of in scientific theory, even if there was no supporting evidence for its existence. No complaints, then, about mr. Close's ability to deal with complex physics, although especially some paragraphs on particle physics are pretty tough.

The disappointment lies in the summary hints to philosophical views on the void. This is not a bad book, but it could have been a lot better had mr. Close taken a broader view on his subject, as he appears to set out to in his own introduction and the back cover praise.




This Void is about average, 13 Apr 2008
The book starts well with the physics explained at a fairly basic and historical level. Subsequent chapters advance this view with explanations of the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics along the way. The final two chapters however are the meat of the book and feel hurried with topics suddenly appearing that lack adequate explanation or background information. Did the book succeed ? In my view, not quite. It is a relatively short book, interesting but lacking a lot of explanation of the more complex later science that could have made it really good. Shame!

Reading about Nothing is actually really interesting, 26 Nov 2007
Professor Frank Close has managed to engage the non-physicist reader in a topic normally reserved for the intellectual elite. He offers a detailed yet broad analysis of The Void, of nothingness, a topic you would be forgiven for thinking is 'a done deal'.

But far from it, vacuums and the concept of nothingness have been on the minds of many great thinkers throughout time, from the early Greeks to the modern-day super brains at international research centres such as CERN in Switzerland. In a bid to understand our own existence, we may contemplate our opposite: non-existence. The book is not ignorant of the large philosophical questions either.

As the concept of vacuums evolved throughout history Close is there explaining in a real, down-to-earth voice what exactly is going on. The book is illustrated with diagrams throughout, and if like me, you have trouble visualising some of the more difficult concepts, these come in very handy. Having said that, I imagine even an A-Star physics student stands to benefit from this book.

The book is split into nine chapters, with each chapter being further divided logically according to topic. The book enters into the science of atoms, light, the quantum, waves and particles amidst other areas to explain the nature of a vacuum. The Big Bang, Aether, higher dimensions and time are also discussed. Warning: there are very large and small numbers featured in this book, and some concepts will challenge your understanding of your three-dimensional reality.

If you have ever wondered about what is left when you take all the stars, planets and us out of the universe, or that split second after the big bang, then this book hits the money. I recommend this book on the grounds that it covers an interesting topic, whilst introducing other facets of physics, is readable even to the untrained brain and makes you think twice and go 'aha'.

In short: there's Nothing I don't like about it.

How science should be presented, 30 Dec 2008
"The Elegant Universe" is unashamedly hard science. It is an attempt by one of the movers and shakers of string theory to explain what this promising would-be successor to both quantum mechanics and general relativity is all about.

This sort of science is not easy, but the book is very well written and the obvious enthusiasm of the author helps. To my mind this book has one of the clearest explanations of Einstein's general theory of relativity that I have read.

I stayed up all night reading it it, but I suspect that some people might well find themselves lost in some of the more complex aspects. Nonetheless I found it an enjoyable read, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to find out what science is really about.

The best popular science book of the past 20 years - flawless, 15 Dec 2008
I found "A Brief History of Time" a bit too dry (not being as well versed in the requisite mathematics at the time) and "Universe in a Nutshell" too flashy and lacking in depth (being up on the maths by then). Greene's book lands right in the middle: it is absolutely engaging to the non-technical reader and still carries enough meat to satisfy those who can see behind the metaphors.

I first read it after being lent it by my physics teacher (thanks, John Fazakerley!) at the age of 17 and found it totally comprehensible; Greene's explanations are brilliantly conceived and render the often subtle and confusing material completely open to understanding. He is always patient, often using multiple angles when discussing especially esoteric material, and each topic dealt with only made me want to read more. I came away from that first reading carrying a curiosity that lasts to this day.

I re-read TEU around two years ago (being 23 at the time), this time armed with significantly better understanding of the maths hiding behind all the metaphors, and I was again not disappointed, thanks to the substantial appendices that include details of the equations governing the various phenomena. If you have any kind of familiarity with this sort of maths then these appendices really enrich your experience and serve to explain what's going on at its most basic level. I also appreciated how deep the book goes; generic explanations can often skate over the more subtle details (as UiaN did).

The book is presented in a much friendlier way than most of this type, with some really nice little illustrations that pop up at exactly the right time. An interest in physics is thus the only pre-requisite - 10/10

A ripping yarn!, 12 Sep 2008
This book makes me wish I'd carried on studying. Greene has a gift for putting accross a very exoteric subject in accessible language. He avoids hand-waving and bogging you down in technical terms. I couldn't put this book down... which is saying something for a popular science book.

Great Explanation of Superstrings and More!, 23 Aug 2008
I am an engineer by education and experience. Like many engineers I am fascinated with the subject of quantum mechanics, superstrings, hidden dimensions, the quest for the theory of everything, parallel universes and more. Much of it isn't easy to understand, but it sure is fun!

For years I had been hearing about superstrings. I have read In Search of Schrödinger's Cat, Schrödinger's Kittens, books on Einstein's theories, and more. I have also read articles on these subjects, watched several amazing TV shows and movies. Some teased the idea of superstrings, but I never came away with a feeling that the concept had been explained properly.

Brian Green's book the Elegant Universe, and the subsequent PBS show does just that! It gives the best explanation of superstrings I have read (and seen) to date. Green also does a great job explaining parallel universes, hidden dimensions, quest for the ultimate theory and more.

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking


Not a "light" read, 18 Jun 2008
Brian Greene has a talent for conveying complex ideas in a way that is easy to understand. He is constantly using word pictures (and sometimes actual pictures) to explain relativity, quantum theory, and other topics that are utterly fascinating but are sometimes difficult to get your brain around. Elegant Universe is not a light read, but for those looking to get a moderate understanding of the subject matter I highly recommend it.

An excellent book, 29 Sep 2004
An excellent introduction into this fascinating subject. Starting with basic principles (such as what is matter, its constituents, what we mean by energy, and which are the physical forces in the universe), it leads the reader into the latest experiments of particle physics. This transition is done very smoothly, without confusing the reader. The book does not contain unecessary complicated information or mathematics. It is aimed at the non-specialist who has an interest in the subject and wants to comprehend a few things quickly and easily. I found this book very interesting and well written. I highly recommend it.

Avoid The Void, 07 Dec 2008
Avoid The Void

This book is a disappointment. Some of it is written for the intelligent layperson, but elsewhere significant prior knowledge is assumed (e.g. unheralded mentions of "proton", "neutron," the mysterious spectrum of hydrogen", "Mendeleev's table", "Gev"). Close makes the amazing assertion that "the electron is a basic particle of all matter", and his statement that a field is "a collection of numbers that vary from point to point" is a classic confusion of map and territory. Convoluted style, prejudice and apparent ignorance of evidence is demonstrated by the claim that quantum mechanics creates "mind-bending paradoxes that some charlatans exploit to convince the public that scientists seriously consider parallel universes ...or that telepathic communication is possible". "Zero degrees Kelvin" is a surprising solecism from a Kelvin medal winner. The expression "begs the question" is used frequently and incorrectly. A good editor could have helped.


A fairly limited take on emptiness, 02 Nov 2008
A book on emptiness that starts and ends with quotes of the Rig Veda, the oldest of the sacred hindu books, raises expectations. Unfortunately, not all of these are met.

Frank Close does a very fine job of visualising the void for his readers, for instance by explaining how the dot of ink at the end of a sentence should be blown op to 100 metres to make visible the individual atoms with the naked eye, but to 10.000 kilometres to see the atom's nucleous. There is so much emptiness even within the atom.

The best chapter is the one about ether, the substance the old Greeks dreamed up to avoid the void, which appeared to be very difficult to get rid of in scientific theory, even if there was no supporting evidence for its existence. No complaints, then, about mr. Close's ability to deal with complex physics, although especially some paragraphs on particle physics are pretty tough.

The disappointment lies in the summary hints to philosophical views on the void. This is not a bad book, but it could have been a lot better had mr. Close taken a broader view on his subject, as he appears to set out to in his own introduction and the back cover praise.




This Void is about average, 13 Apr 2008
The book starts well with the physics explained at a fairly basic and historical level. Subsequent chapters advance this view with explanations of the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics along the way. The final two chapters however are the meat of the book and feel hurried with topics suddenly appearing that lack adequate explanation or background information. Did the book succeed ? In my view, not quite. It is a relatively short book, interesting but lacking a lot of explanation of the more complex later science that could have made it really good. Shame!

Reading about Nothing is actually really interesting, 26 Nov 2007
Professor Frank Close has managed to engage the non-physicist reader in a topic normally reserved for the intellectual elite. He offers a detailed yet broad analysis of The Void, of nothingness, a topic you would be forgiven for thinking is 'a done deal'.

But far from it, vacuums and the concept of nothingness have been on the minds of many great thinkers throughout time, from the early Greeks to the modern-day super brains at international research centres such as CERN in Switzerland. In a bid to understand our own existence, we may contemplate our opposite: non-existence. The book is not ignorant of the large philosophical questions either.

As the concept of vacuums evolved throughout history Close is there explaining in a real, down-to-earth voice what exactly is going on. The book is illustrated with diagrams throughout, and if like me, you have trouble visualising some of the more difficult concepts, these come in very handy. Having said that, I imagine even an A-Star physics student stands to benefit from this book.

The book is split into nine chapters, with each chapter being further divided logically according to topic. The book enters into the science of atoms, light, the quantum, waves and particles amidst other areas to explain the nature of a vacuum. The Big Bang, Aether, higher dimensions and time are also discussed. Warning: there are very large and small numbers featured in this book, and some concepts will challenge your understanding of your three-dimensional reality.

If you have ever wondered about what is left when you take all the stars, planets and us out of the universe, or that split second after the big bang, then this book hits the money. I recommend this book on the grounds that it covers an interesting topic, whilst introducing other facets of physics, is readable even to the untrained brain and makes you think twice and go 'aha'.

In short: there's Nothing I don't like about it.

Not for beginners, 06 Mar 2001
This book, although beautifully written is definetly one which assumes a vast amount of prior knowledge. I myself am a student of particle physics and all though the book discusses some extremely interesting concepts, its is not advanced enough to progress one's knowledge. Thus it is too advanced for beginners, but too basic for proffessionals, there is a small group of people who may find this well worth reading, but as i said, a small group.

How science should be presented, 30 Dec 2008
"The Elegant Universe" is unashamedly hard science. It is an attempt by one of the movers and shakers of string theory to explain what this promising would-be successor to both quantum mechanics and general relativity is all about.

This sort of science is not easy, but the book is very well written and the obvious enthusiasm of the author helps. To my mind this book has one of the clearest explanations of Einstein's general theory of relativity that I have read.

I stayed up all night reading it it, but I suspect that some people might well find themselves lost in some of the more complex aspects. Nonetheless I found it an enjoyable read, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to find out what science is really about.

The best popular science book of the past 20 years - flawless, 15 Dec 2008
I found "A Brief History of Time" a bit too dry (not being as well versed in the requisite mathematics at the time) and "Universe in a Nutshell" too flashy and lacking in depth (being up on the maths by then). Greene's book lands right in the middle: it is absolutely engaging to the non-technical reader and still carries enough meat to satisfy those who can see behind the metaphors.

I first read it after being lent it by my physics teacher (thanks, John Fazakerley!) at the age of 17 and found it totally comprehensible; Greene's explanations are brilliantly conceived and render the often subtle and confusing material completely open to understanding. He is always patient, often using multiple angles when discussing especially esoteric material, and each topic dealt with only made me want to read more. I came away from that first reading carrying a curiosity that lasts to this day.

I re-read TEU around two years ago (being 23 at the time), this time armed with significantly better understanding of the maths hiding behind all the metaphors, and I was again not disappointed, thanks to the substantial appendices that include details of the equations governing the various phenomena. If you have any kind of familiarity with this sort of maths then these appendices really enrich your experience and serve to explain what's going on at its most basic level. I also appreciated how deep the book goes; generic explanations can often skate over the more subtle details (as UiaN did).

The book is presented in a much friendlier way than most of this type, with some really nice little illustrations that pop up at exactly the right time. An interest in physics is thus the only pre-requisite - 10/10

A ripping yarn!, 12 Sep 2008
This book makes me wish I'd carried on studying. Greene has a gift for putting accross a very exoteric subject in accessible language. He avoids hand-waving and bogging you down in technical terms. I couldn't put this book down... which is saying something for a popular science book.

Great Explanation of Superstrings and More!, 23 Aug 2008
I am an engineer by education and experience. Like many engineers I am fascinated with the subject of quantum mechanics, superstrings, hidden dimensions, the quest for the theory of everything, parallel universes and more. Much of it isn't easy to understand, but it sure is fun!

For years I had been hearing about superstrings. I have read In Search of Schrödinger's Cat, Schrödinger's Kittens, books on Einstein's theories, and more. I have also read articles on these subjects, watched several amazing TV shows and movies. Some teased the idea of superstrings, but I never came away with a feeling that the concept had been explained properly.

Brian Green's book the Elegant Universe, and the subsequent PBS show does just that! It gives the best explanation of superstrings I have read (and seen) to date. Green also does a great job explaining parallel universes, hidden dimensions, quest for the ultimate theory and more.

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking


Not a "light" read, 18 Jun 2008
Brian Greene has a talent for conveying complex ideas in a way that is easy to understand. He is constantly using word pictures (and sometimes actual pictures) to explain relativity, quantum theory, and other topics that are utterly fascinating but are sometimes difficult to get your brain around. Elegant Universe is not a light read, but for those looking to get a moderate understanding of the subject matter I highly recommend it.

An excellent book, 29 Sep 2004
An excellent introduction into this fascinating subject. Starting with basic principles (such as what is matter, its constituents, what we mean by energy, and which are the physical forces in the universe), it leads the reader into the latest experiments of particle physics. This transition is done very smoothly, without confusing the reader. The book does not contain unecessary complicated information or mathematics. It is aimed at the non-specialist who has an interest in the subject and wants to comprehend a few things quickly and easily. I found this book very interesting and well written. I highly recommend it.

Avoid The Void, 07 Dec 2008
Avoid The Void

This book is a disappointment. Some of it is written for the intelligent layperson, but elsewhere significant prior knowledge is assumed (e.g. unheralded mentions of "proton", "neutron," the mysterious spectrum of hydrogen", "Mendeleev's table", "Gev"). Close makes the amazing assertion that "the electron is a basic particle of all matter", and his statement that a field is "a collection of numbers that vary from point to point" is a classic confusion of map and territory. Convoluted style, prejudice and apparent ignorance of evidence is demonstrated by the claim that quantum mechanics creates "mind-bending paradoxes that some charlatans exploit to convince the public that scientists seriously consider parallel universes ...or that telepathic communication is possible". "Zero degrees Kelvin" is a surprising solecism from a Kelvin medal winner. The expression "begs the question" is used frequently and incorrectly. A good editor could have helped.


A fairly limited take on emptiness, 02 Nov 2008
A book on emptiness that starts and ends with quotes of the Rig Veda, the oldest of the sacred hindu books, raises expectations. Unfortunately, not all of these are met.

Frank Close does a very fine job of visualising the void for his readers, for instance by explaining how the dot of ink at the end of a sentence should be blown op to 100 metres to make visible the individual atoms with the naked eye, but to 10.000 kilometres to see the atom's nucleous. There is so much emptiness even within the atom.

The best chapter is the one about ether, the substance the old Greeks dreamed up to avoid the void, which appeared to be very difficult to get rid of in scientific theory, even if there was no supporting evidence for its existence. No complaints, then, about mr. Close's ability to deal with complex physics, although especially some paragraphs on particle physics are pretty tough.

The disappointment lies in the summary hints to philosophical views on the void. This is not a bad book, but it could have been a lot better had mr. Close taken a broader view on his subject, as he appears to set out to in his own introduction and the back cover praise.




This Void is about average, 13 Apr 2008
The book starts well with the physics explained at a fairly basic and historical level. Subsequent chapters advance this view with explanations of the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics along the way. The final two chapters however are the meat of the book and feel hurried with topics suddenly appearing that lack adequate explanation or background information. Did the book succeed ? In my view, not quite. It is a relatively short book, interesting but lacking a lot of explanation of the more complex later science that could have made it really good. Shame!

Reading about Nothing is actually really interesting, 26 Nov 2007
Professor Frank Close has managed to engage the non-physicist reader in a topic normally reserved for the intellectual elite. He offers a detailed yet broad analysis of The Void, of nothingness, a topic you would be forgiven for thinking is 'a done deal'.

But far from it, vacuums and the concept of nothingness have been on the minds of many great thinkers throughout time, from the early Greeks to the modern-day super brains at international research centres such as CERN in Switzerland. In a bid to understand our own existence, we may contemplate our opposite: non-existence. The book is not ignorant of the large philosophical questions either.

As the concept of vacuums evolved throughout history Close is there explaining in a real, down-to-earth voice what exactly is going on. The book is illustrated with diagrams throughout, and if like me, you have trouble visualising some of the more difficult concepts, these come in very handy. Having said that, I imagine even an A-Star physics student stands to benefit from this book.

The book is split into nine chapters, with each chapter being further divided logically according to topic. The book enters into the science of atoms, light, the quantum, waves and particles amidst other areas to explain the nature of a vacuum. The Big Bang, Aether, higher dimensions and time are also discussed. Warning: there are very large and small numbers featured in this book, and some concepts will challenge your understanding of your three-dimensional reality.

If you have ever wondered about what is left when you take all the stars, planets and us out of the universe, or that split second after the big bang, then this book hits the money. I recommend this book on the grounds that it covers an interesting topic, whilst introducing other facets of physics, is readable even to the untrained brain and makes you think twice and go 'aha'.

In short: there's Nothing I don't like about it.

Not for beginners, 06 Mar 2001
This book, although beautifully written is definetly one which assumes a vast amount of prior knowledge. I myself am a student of particle physics and all though the book discusses some extremely interesting concepts, its is not advanced enough to progress one's knowledge. Thus it is too advanced for beginners, but too basic for proffessionals, there is a small group of people who may find this well worth reading, but as i said, a small group.

A tidy book, 01 Jul 2008
This is a book on particle physics that a mathematician can read, and that's a lot to say! If you are fascinated by particle physics, but you find physicists' ideas too messy to get through, this is the book for you (the rhyme wasn't intended...). This book demonstrates that physics and clear thought are not incompatible.


Saved my degree, 02 Jun 2005
It was five days before the exam, I hadn't attended any lectures and all I had was a battered pile of lecture notes (photocopied off some guy), which made as much sense as the recommened book (which in this case was approximately exp(-9999)).

But then I stumbled upon simple looking book, a bit rough and dog eared, its title was also the same as the course so I reached up and took it.

So off I went with a small stack of books hoping somehow I could salvage my degree, within hours I realised I had stumbled upon a small gem, simple and modest, yet it emitted an unexplainable feeling of contentness and well being.

The next week I stepped into the exam with a small flame of hope deep inside.

What happened next????? Well I left Uni with a 78% in elementary particles.

Buy it.

By the way I'm sorry for the physics joke, I know we have a hard enough time already without people like me.

Readable, good explanations: buy this over Halzen & Martin!, 06 Feb 2003
After struggling for a year or two with Halzen and Martin's `Quarks and Leptons' I wish I'd found this book sooner! It covers much the same material as Halzen and Martin, but unlike that book it doesn't skip over non-trival lines of algebra and it does take the time to explain in a clear manner the principles behind what is going on. I'd always found the language and explanation in H+M hard to follow, especially because of the overly formal style and frequent use phrases left undefined. Griffiths has none of these faults. The style is friendly and engaging whilst covering all the physics and calculations thoroughly. I'd highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to gain a really good fundamental understanding of the basics of particle physics (probably at final year undergraduate or new postgraduate level). Alternatively if you already own H+M as I do, this will explain what it's talking about!

Excelent book for student and for teacher., 24 Apr 2001
Excellent book for student and for teacher. This is book with most clearest and pedagogical approach in this subject.Students will benefit definitely but it is real treasure for teachers. They can learn a lot from this book, how this subject should be taught. Definitely must buy.

How science should be presented, 30 Dec 2008
"The Elegant Universe" is unashamedly hard science. It is an attempt by one of the movers and shakers of string theory to explain what this promising would-be successor to both quantum mechanics and general relativity is all about.

This sort of science is not easy, but the book is very well written and the obvious enthusiasm of the author helps. To my mind this book has one of the clearest explanations of Einstein's general theory of relativity that I have read.

I stayed up all night reading it it, but I suspect that some people might well find themselves lost in some of the more complex aspects. Nonetheless I found it an enjoyable read, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to find out what science is really about.

The best popular science book of the past 20 years - flawless, 15 Dec 2008
I found "A Brief History of Time" a bit too dry (not being as well versed in the requisite mathematics at the time) and "Universe in a Nutshell" too flashy and lacking in depth (being up on the maths by then). Greene's book lands right in the middle: it is absolutely engaging to the non-technical reader and still carries enough meat to satisfy those who can see behind the metaphors.

I first read it after being lent it by my physics teacher (thanks, John Fazakerley!) at the age of 17 and found it totally comprehensible; Greene's explanations are brilliantly conceived and render the often subtle and confusing material completely open to understanding. He is always patient, often using multiple angles when discussing especially esoteric material, and each topic dealt with only made me want to read more. I came away from that first reading carrying a curiosity that lasts to this day.

I re-read TEU around two years ago (being 23 at the time), this time armed with significantly better understanding of the maths hiding behind all the metaphors, and I was again not disappointed, thanks to the substantial appendices that include details of the equations governing the various phenomena. If you have any kind of familiarity with this sort of maths then these appendices really enrich your experience and serve to explain what's going on at its most basic level. I also appreciated how deep the book goes; generic explanations can often skate over the more subtle details (as UiaN did).

The book is presented in a much friendlier way than most of this type, with some really nice little illustrations that pop up at exactly the right time. An interest in physics is thus the only pre-requisite - 10/10

A ripping yarn!, 12 Sep 2008
This book makes me wish I'd carried on studying. Greene has a gift for putting accross a very exoteric subject in accessible language. He avoids hand-waving and bogging you down in technical terms. I couldn't put this book down... which is saying something for a popular science book.

Great Explanation of Superstrings and More!, 23 Aug 2008
I am an engineer by education and experience. Like many engineers I am fascinated with the subject of quantum mechanics, superstrings, hidden dimensions, the quest for the theory of everything, parallel universes and more. Much of it isn't easy to understand, but it sure is fun!

For years I had been hearing about superstrings. I have read In Search of Schrödinger's Cat, Schrödinger's Kittens, books on Einstein's theories, and more. I have also read articles on these subjects, watched several amazing TV shows and movies. Some teased the idea of superstrings, but I never came away with a feeling that the concept had been explained properly.

Brian Green's book the Elegant Universe, and the subsequent PBS show does just that! It gives the best explanation of superstrings I have read (and seen) to date. Green also does a great job explaining parallel universes, hidden dimensions, quest for the ultimate theory and more.

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking


Not a "light" read, 18 Jun 2008
Brian Greene has a talent for conveying complex ideas in a way that is easy to understand. He is constantly using word pictures (and sometimes actual pictures) to explain relativity, quantum theory, and other topics that are utterly fascinating but are sometimes difficult to get your brain around. Elegant Universe is not a light read, but for those looking to get a moderate understanding of the subject matter I highly recommend it.

An excellent book, 29 Sep 2004
An excellent introduction into this fascinating subject. Starting with basic principles (such as what is matter, its constituents, what we mean by energy, and which are the physical forces in the universe), it leads the reader into the latest experiments of particle physics. This transition is done very smoothly, without confusing the reader. The book does not contain unecessary complicated information or mathematics. It is aimed at the non-specialist who has an interest in the subject and wants to comprehend a few things quickly and easily. I found this book very interesting and well written. I highly recommend it.

Avoid The Void, 07 Dec 2008
Avoid The Void

This book is a disappointment. Some of it is written for the intelligent layperson, but elsewhere significant prior knowledge is assumed (e.g. unheralded mentions of "proton", "neutron," the mysterious spectrum of hydrogen", "Mendeleev's table", "Gev"). Close makes the amazing assertion that "the electron is a basic particle of all matter", and his statement that a field is "a collection of numbers that vary from point to point" is a classic confusion of map and territory. Convoluted style, prejudice and apparent ignorance of evidence is demonstrated by the claim that quantum mechanics creates "mind-bending paradoxes that some charlatans exploit to convince the public that scientists seriously consider parallel universes ...or that telepathic communication is possible". "Zero degrees Kelvin" is a surprising solecism from a Kelvin medal winner. The expression "begs the question" is used frequently and incorrectly. A good editor could have helped.


A fairly limited take on emptiness, 02 Nov 2008
A book on emptiness that starts and ends with quotes of the Rig Veda, the oldest of the sacred hindu books, raises expectations. Unfortunately, not all of these are met.

Frank Close does a very fine job of visualising the void for his readers, for instance by explaining how the dot of ink at the end of a sentence should be blown op to 100 metres to make visible the individual atoms with the naked eye, but to 10.000 kilometres to see the atom's nucleous. There is so much emptiness even within the atom.

The best chapter is the one about ether, the substance the old Greeks dreamed up to avoid the void, which appeared to be very difficult to get rid of in scientific theory, even if there was no supporting evidence for its existence. No complaints, then, about mr. Close's ability to deal with complex physics, although especially some paragraphs on particle physics are pretty tough.

The disappointment lies in the summary hints to philosophical views on the void. This is not a bad book, but it could have been a lot better had mr. Close taken a broader view on his subject, as he appears to set out to in his own introduction and the back cover praise.




This Void is about average, 13 Apr 2008
The book starts well with the physics explained at a fairly basic and historical level. Subsequent chapters advance this view with explanations of the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics along the way. The final two chapters however are the meat of the book and feel hurried with topics suddenly appearing that lack adequate explanation or background information. Did the book succeed ? In my view, not quite. It is a relatively short book, interesting but lacking a lot of explanation of the more complex later science that could have made it really good. Shame!

Reading about Nothing is actually really interesting, 26 Nov 2007
Professor Frank Close has managed to engage the non-physicist reader in a topic normally reserved for the intellectual elite. He offers a detailed yet broad analysis of The Void, of nothingness, a topic you would be forgiven for thinking is 'a done deal'.

But far from it, vacuums and the concept of nothingness have been on the minds of many great thinkers throughout time, from the early Greeks to the modern-day super brains at international research centres such as CERN in Switzerland. In a bid to understand our own existence, we may contemplate our opposite: non-existence. The book is not ignorant of the large philosophical questions either.

As the concept of vacuums evolved throughout history Close is there explaining in a real, down-to-earth voice what exactly is going on. The book is illustrated with diagrams throughout, and if like me, you have trouble visualising some of the more difficult concepts, these come in very handy. Having said that, I imagine even an A-Star physics student stands to benefit from this book.

The book is split into nine chapters, with each chapter being further divided logically according to topic. The book enters into the science of atoms, light, the quantum, waves and particles amidst other areas to explain the nature of a vacuum. The Big Bang, Aether, higher dimensions and time are also discussed. Warning: there are very large and small numbers featured in this book, and some concepts will challenge your understanding of your three-dimensional reality.

If you have ever wondered about what is left when you take all the stars, planets and us out of the universe, or that split second after the big bang, then this book hits the money. I recommend this book on the grounds that it covers an interesting topic, whilst introducing other facets of physics, is readable even to the untrained brain and makes you think twice and go 'aha'.

In short: there's Nothing I don't like about it.

Not for beginners, 06 Mar 2001
This book, although beautifully written is definetly one which assumes a vast amount of prior knowledge. I myself am a student of particle physics and all though the book discusses some extremely interesting concepts, its is not advanced enough to progress one's knowledge. Thus it is too advanced for beginners, but too basic for proffessionals, there is a small group of people who may find this well worth reading, but as i said, a small group.

A tidy book, 01 Jul 2008
This is a book on particle physics that a mathematician can read, and that's a lot to say! If you are fascinated by particle physics, but you find physicists' ideas too messy to get through, this is the book for you (the rhyme wasn't intended...). This book demonstrates that physics and clear thought are not incompatible.


Saved my degree, 02 Jun 2005
It was five days before the exam, I hadn't attended any lectures and all I had was a battered pile of lecture notes (photocopied off some guy), which made as much sense as the recommened book (which in this case was approximately exp(-9999)).

But then I stumbled upon simple looking book, a bit rough and dog eared, its title was also the same as the course so I reached up and took it.

So off I went with a small stack of books hoping somehow I could salvage my degree, within hours I realised I had stumbled upon a small gem, simple and modest, yet it emitted an unexplainable feeling of contentness and well being.

The next week I stepped into the exam with a small flame of hope deep inside.

What happened next????? Well I left Uni with a 78% in elementary particles.

Buy it.

By the way I'm sorry for the physics joke, I know we have a hard enough time already without people like me.

Readable, good explanations: buy this over Halzen & Martin!, 06 Feb 2003
After struggling for a year or two with Halzen and Martin's `Quarks and Leptons' I wish I'd found this book sooner! It covers much the same material as Halzen and Martin, but unlike that book it doesn't skip over non-trival lines of algebra and it does take the time to explain in a clear manner the principles behind what is going on. I'd always found the language and explanation in H+M hard to follow, especially because of the overly formal style and frequent use phrases left undefined. Griffiths has none of these faults. The style is friendly and engaging whilst covering all the physics and calculations thoroughly. I'd highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to gain a really good fundamental understanding of the basics of particle physics (probably at final year undergraduate or new postgraduate level). Alternatively if you already own H+M as I do, this will explain what it's talking about!

Excelent book for student and for teacher., 24 Apr 2001
Excellent book for student and for teacher. This is book with most clearest and pedagogical approach in this subject.Students will benefit definitely but it is real treasure for teachers. They can learn a lot from this book, how this subject should be taught. Definitely must buy.

Highly useful introduction to gauge theory and Standard Model of particle physics, 30 Jan 2008
From a marketing standpoint, it's probably a pity that Dr Woit has targeted this fairly technical book at a non-technical audience, and that he has included discussion about the failure of string theory. The first section is focussed on explaining mainstream solid particle physics, and this gets fairly abstract in places, but it contains some deep physical insights about the handedness of the weak force, the problems of the Standard Model, and so on that you won't easily understand from any other book. The second half is focussed on the failure of string theory, which is very upsetting because those guys keep hyping abject speculation based on wishful thinking and "groupthink must be right" arrogance.

However, no real harm is done. You can easily skip over the quotations from Richard Feynman, Sheldon Glashow, Gerard 't Hooft and many others attacking string theory for being non-falsifiable religion, and learn about the basic concepts behind the maths of quantum field theory.

Then you can easily find more technical material as you need it. The author has some more mathematical stuff on his university home page, and the book has extensive references for further reading.

The book makes you familiar with the basic way in which gauge symmetry works and how it connects to particle interactions. A Lagrangian equation is written to describe a field, a path integral is then used to evaluate the action of that Lagrangrian. In practice the path integral, which sums over all possible ways an interaction can occur in spacetime, is expanded into a series of terms each being a power of the strength or coupling constant of the force determining the interaction. Each term in the expansion then represents one member of a set of increasingly complicated types of interaction, which can be pictorially illustrated by a Feynman diagram. Evaluating the sum of the series of terms enables you to work out reaction cross-sections, corrections to the magnetic moments of leptons, or whatever you have set up the Lagrangrian to achieve.

After reading this book, if you have also had some exposure to the kind of maths used in quantum mechanics and general relativity, you are ready to begin studying books like Ryder's "Quantum Field Theory".

Again, mission accomplished, 24 Sep 2007
This book was the last straw for me. I substantially curtailed my interest in string-theoretical physics speculation and presentations after reading it. I very much like that it doesn't sell the alternatives, but stays focused on the contrast of the success of the Standard Model and the author's perceived failure of string theory. I happen to think "not even wrong" is a misleading phrase and approach. String "theory" is a not very lively not very productive research programme vs. a unitary theorem that needs to be falsified. It definitely draws more than its share of people and money, and frankly, its most speculative claims are given respect out of all proportion to their absurdity.

It's not typo free but it's extremely accurate. A very sound work from start to finish.

fairly good for what it is is, 21 Sep 2007
There are in my opinion three books one should read about this issue: first a technical book (there is one by B. Zwiebach) to see what it is about from the expert point-of-view, second a serious critique of String theory (Lee Smolin) and then this one for entertainment. It is true this book contains quite a few technical errors but it is refreshing to see somebody taking such a violent position with respect to the establishment. For good measure you might read (rather than Barton Zwiebach), the popular science books by B. Greene and L. Randall, who support "string" theory (and its descendants).
So no, I do not concur in the blind bashing of this book (by the way I am not a physicist but an engineer who worked at CERN and am interested in physics on the superficial level).


Bitter emotions and obsolete understanding of high-energy physics , 18 Sep 2007
Peter Woit is the owner of a well-known blog that provides high-energy theoretical physics with the same service as William Dembski's ID blog offers to evolutionary biology: it is designed to misinterpret and obscure virtually every event in physics and transform it into poison - and to invent his own fantasies to hurt science. This makes Woit's blog highly popular among the crackpots, for example some of the reviewers of this book. The book is not identical to the author's blog but it is not too different either.

Parts of this book are fun to read, although they will be too difficult for outsiders. But the text is definitely not a trustworthy source of knowledge about physics. The book can basically be divided into two parts. The first part of the book describes physics from the early 20th century to the 1970s or so. This part covers some standard material as well as some points that have not yet appeared in the popular literature. The early chapters also honestly explain that the author has not done any important work in high-energy physics himself and that he has been isolated from research (and researchers) for the last 20 years. Because of these reasons, I originally rated the book by two stars.

As the focus of the presentation shifts to modern physics since the 1970s or so, an expert recognizes that the author misunderstands some very elementary questions.

The book contains a lot of very embarrassing errors. Let me mention a few examples. Woit originally wrote that the center-of-mass energy of the LHC beams would be 14 GeV, instead of 14 TeV: this error has been corrected after long debates in which he didn't want to admit any flaws. He incorrectly argues that the neutrinos with electroweak energies interact very weakly. He thinks that higher-dimensional rotations are associated with one-dimensional "axes". He misunderstands how SU(2) can be embedded to SO(4). In his description of the history of supersymmetry, he forgets Pierre Ramond. He writes that the supersymmetric vacua predict a higher vacuum energy than the non-supersymmetric ones.

Also, Woit seems to misunderstand that all of our knowledge of theories such as QED comes from perturbative expansions when he attacks the perturbative method as such. He also misunderstands what "background independence" means. At one point, the author also claims that the primary evidence supporting scientific theories is an authority (Edward Witten in his case). Even more seriously, he builds his case upon e-mail messages from undetermined sources that supported Woit's viewpoint. Most of these e-mails were obviously written by cranks.

Authorities play an important role and the author quotes many outsiders in high-energy physics who have criticized string theory. But he never mentions names like Weinberg, Gell-Mann, Hawking, Randall, Arkani-Hamed - famous and active physicists who are not string theorists but who believe that it is the right direction. Books by Brian Greene, Lisa Randall, and others were much more balanced in this respect. The book is a gigantic spin zone.

Woit conjectures the existence of singularities in some integrals that appear in string theory and that are known to be non-singular. Woit does not distinguish a family of theories from one theory with a massless scalar field (a modulus). He does not mention Andrew Strominger and Cumrun Vafa when the black hole entropy is discussed. Woit incorrectly believes that the "beauty" of a theory is the same thing as an experimental verification.

The author repeats poisoned remarks about string theory too many times. The second part of the book could be reduced by 60 percent or so. Moreover, most of the statements in the second part of the book are supported by no technical arguments, neither in the book nor in scientific literature. The problematic statement that string theory makes no prediction is repeated hundreds of times, and in many particular contexts, such a statement becomes not only boring but also patently false. The author is not aware (or denies) the actual mechanisms that are considered to be solutions of various puzzles - for example the doublet-triplet splitting problem.

The book is also full of inconsistencies. In one chapter, he argues that the alternatives to string theory in the field of quantum gravity should be supported. In the following chapter, he argues that they should be suppressed - the work of the Bogdanoff brothers is one of his examples. Woit's knowledge of the history of the subjects he discusses is extremely superficial, too. For example, Leonard Susskind is painted as the discoverer of the large number of vacua in string theory. Quite obviously, Peter Woit has no idea about the "discretuum" described by Bousso and Polchinski and many other concepts that have been discussed for years.

Peter Woit also offers a highly obsolete view on many concepts in theoretical physics such as the gauge symmetry; he is obsessed with the old-fashioned idea that all of physics follows from a gauge symmetry principle. He thinks that the gauge symmetry is uniquely determined by physics because he is apparently unaware of dualities and all other phenomena discovered in the last 20 years that show that his preconceptions are wrong and that gauge symmetries are only associated with a particular description of physics that does not have to be unique.

The book is called "Not Even Wrong" but the readers should know that most of the book is wrong after all. I can only recommend the book to the people who dislike theoretical physics - or at least theoretical physics of the last 20 years - and who want their opinion to be confirmed by a semi-serious source. The readers who want to learn what physics is all about may want to avoid the book because it could make them very confused. As far as modern physics goes, the author is a layman. The topics he raises have nothing to do with the actual discussions that take place among the scientists.

What went wrong?, 15 Sep 2007
I bought this book and took it on holiday this summer, hoping to enjoy reading a new insight into string theory, in layman's terms.
I found the book unusually hard going, and simply gave up only a quarter of the way through!
If the objective was to give a critique of string theory which could be understood by a layman, albeit one interested in the subject, I think it failed dismally.
I abandoned the book in the wilds of British Colombia rather than bring it home!

How science should be presented, 30 Dec 2008
"The Elegant Universe" is unashamedly hard science. It is an attempt by one of the movers and shakers of string theory to explain what this promising would-be successor to both quantum mechanics and general relativity is all about.

This sort of science is not easy, but the book is very well written and the obvious enthusiasm of the author helps. To my mind this book has one of the clearest explanations of Einstein's general theory of relativity that I have read.

I stayed up all night reading it it, but I suspect that some people might well find themselves lost in some of the more complex aspects. Nonetheless I found it an enjoyable read, and would recommend it to anyone who wants to find out what science is really about.

The best popular science book of the past 20 years - flawless, 15 Dec 2008
I found "A Brief History of Time" a bit too dry (not being as well versed in the requisite mathematics at the time) and "Universe in a Nutshell" too flashy and lacking in depth (being up on the maths by then). Greene's book lands right in the middle: it is absolutely engaging to the non-technical reader and still carries enough meat to satisfy those who can see behind the metaphors.

I first read it after being lent it by my physics teacher (thanks, John Fazakerley!) at the age of 17 and found it totally comprehensible; Greene's explanations are brilliantly conceived and render the often subtle and confusing material completely open to understanding. He is always patient, often using multiple angles when discussing especially esoteric material, and each topic dealt with only made me want to read more. I came away from that first reading carrying a curiosity that lasts to this day.

I re-read TEU around two years ago (being 23 at the time), this time armed with significantly better understanding of the maths hiding behind all the metaphors, and I was again not disappointed, thanks to the substantial appendices that include details of the equations governing the various phenomena. If you have any kind of familiarity with this sort of maths then these appendices really enrich your experience and serve to explain what's going on at its most basic level. I also appreciated how deep the book goes; generic explanations can often skate over the more subtle details (as UiaN did).

The book is presented in a much friendlier way than most of this type, with some really nice little illustrations that pop up at exactly the right time. An interest in physics is thus the only pre-requisite - 10/10

A ripping yarn!, 12 Sep 2008
This book makes me wish I'd carried on studying. Greene has a gift for putting accross a very exoteric subject in accessible language. He avoids hand-waving and bogging you down in technical terms. I couldn't put this book down... which is saying something for a popular science book.

Great Explanation of Superstrings and More!, 23 Aug 2008
I am an engineer by education and experience. Like many engineers I am fascinated with the subject of quantum mechanics, superstrings, hidden dimensions, the quest for the theory of everything, parallel universes and more. Much of it isn't easy to understand, but it sure is fun!

For years I had been hearing about superstrings. I have read In Search of Schrödinger's Cat, Schrödinger's Kittens, books on Einstein's theories, and more. I have also read articles on these subjects, watched several amazing TV shows and movies. Some teased the idea of superstrings, but I never came away with a feeling that the concept had been explained properly.

Brian Green's book the Elegant Universe, and the subsequent PBS show does just that! It gives the best explanation of superstrings I have read (and seen) to date. Green also does a great job explaining parallel universes, hidden dimensions, quest for the ultimate theory and more.

The Re-Discovery of Common Sense: A Guide To: The Lost Art of Critical Thinking


Not a "light" read, 18 Jun 2008
Brian Greene has a talent for conveying complex ideas in a way that is easy to understand. He is constantly using word pictures (and sometimes actual pictures) to explain relativity, quantum theory, and other topics that are utterly fascinating but are sometimes difficult to get your brain around. Elegant Universe is not a light read, but for those looking to get a moderate understanding of the subject matter I highly recommend it.

An excellent book, 29 Sep 2004
An excellent introduction into this fascinating subject. Starting with basic principles (such as what is matter, its constituents, what we mean by energy, and which are the physical forces in the universe), it leads the reader into the latest experiments of particle physics. This transition is done very smoothly, without confusing the reader. The book does not contain unecessary complicated information or mathematics. It is aimed at the non-specialist who has an interest in the subject and wants to comprehend a few things quickly and easily. I found this book very interesting and well written. I highly recommend it.

Avoid The Void, 07 Dec 2008
Avoid The Void

This book is a disappointment. Some of it is written for the intelligent layperson, but elsewhere significant prior knowledge is assumed (e.g. unheralded mentions of "proton", "neutron," the mysterious spectrum of hydrogen", "Mendeleev's table", "Gev"). Close makes the amazing assertion that "the electron is a basic particle of all matter", and his statement that a field is "a collection of numbers that vary from point to point" is a classic confusion of map and territory. Convoluted style, prejudice and apparent ignorance of evidence is demonstrated by the claim that quantum mechanics creates "mind-bending paradoxes that some charlatans exploit to convince the public that scientists seriously consider parallel universes ...or that telepathic communication is possible". "Zero degrees Kelvin" is a surprising solecism from a Kelvin medal winner. The expression "begs the question" is used frequently and incorrectly. A good editor could have helped.


A fairly limited take on emptiness, 02 Nov 2008
A book on emptiness that starts and ends with quotes of the Rig Veda, the oldest of the sacred hindu books, raises expectations. Unfortunately, not all of these are met.

Frank Close does a very fine job of visualising the void for his readers, for instance by explaining how the dot of ink at the end of a sentence should be blown op to 100 metres to make visible the individual atoms with the naked eye, but to 10.000 kilometres to see the atom's nucleous. There is so much emptiness even within the atom.

The best chapter is the one about ether, the substance the old Greeks dreamed up to avoid the void, which appeared to be very difficult to get rid of in scientific theory, even if there was no supporting evidence for its existence. No complaints, then, about mr. Close's ability to deal with complex physics, although especially some paragraphs on particle physics are pretty tough.

The disappointment lies in the summary hints to philosophical views on the void. This is not a bad book, but it could have been a lot better had mr. Close taken a broader view on his subject, as he appears to set out to in his own introduction and the back cover praise.




This Void is about average, 13 Apr 2008
The book starts well with the physics explained at a fairly basic and historical level. Subsequent chapters advance this view with explanations of the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics along the way. The final two chapters however are the meat of the book and feel hurried with topics suddenly appearing that lack adequate explanation or background information. Did the book succeed ? In my view, not quite. It is a relatively short book, interesting but lacking a lot of explanation of the more complex later science that could have made it really good. Shame!

Reading about Nothing is actually really interesting, 26 Nov 2007
Professor Frank Close has managed to engage the non-physicist reader in a topic normally reserved for the intellectual elite. He offers a detailed yet broad analysis of The Void, of nothingness, a topic you would be forgiven for thinking is 'a done deal'.

But far from it, vacuums and the concept of nothingness have been on the minds of many great thinkers throughout time, from the early Greeks to the modern-day super brains at international research centres such as CERN in Switzerland. In a bid to understand our own existence, we may contemplate our opposite: non-existence. The book is not ignorant of the large philosophical questions either.

As the concept of vacuums evolved throughout history Close is there explaining in a real, down-to-earth voice what exactly is going on. The book is illustrated with diagrams throughout, and if like me, you have trouble visualising some of the more difficult concepts, these come in very handy. Having said that, I imagine even an A-Star physics student stands to benefit from this book.

The book is split into nine chapters, with each chapter being further divided logically according to topic. The book enters into the science of atoms, light, the quantum, waves and particles amidst other areas to explain the nature of a vacuum. The Big Bang, Aether, higher dimensions and time are also discussed. Warning: there are very large and small numbers featured in this book, and some concepts will challenge your understanding of your three-dimensional reality.

If you have ever wondered about what is left when you take all the stars, planets and us out of the universe, or that split second after the big bang, then this book hits the money. I recommend this book on the grounds that it covers an interesting topic, whilst introducing other facets of physics, is readable even to the untrained brain and makes you think twice and go 'aha'.

In short: there's Nothing I don't like about it.

Not for beginners, 06 Mar 2001
This book, although beautifully written is definetly one which assumes a vast amount of prior knowledge. I myself am a student of particle physics and all though the book discusses some extremely interesting concepts, its is not advanced enough to progress one's knowledge. Thus it is too advanced for beginners, but too basic for proffessionals, there is a small group of people who may find this well worth reading, but as i said, a small group.

A tidy book, 01 Jul 2008
This is a book on particle physics that a mathematician can read, and that's a lot to say! If you are fascinated by particle physics, but you find physicists' ideas too messy to get through, this is the book for you (the rhyme wasn't intended...). This book demonstrates that physics and clear thought are not incompatible.


Saved my degree, 02 Jun 2005
It was five days before the exam, I hadn't attended any lectures and all I had was a battered pile of lecture notes (photocopied off some guy), which made as much sense as the recommened book (which in this case was approximately exp(-9999)).

But then I stumbled upon simple looking book, a bit rough and dog eared, its title was also the same as the course so I reached up and took it.

So off I went with a small stack of books hoping somehow I could salvage my degree, within hours I realised I had stumbled upon a small gem, simple and modest, yet it emitted an unexplainable feeling of contentness and well being.

The next week I stepped into the exam with a small flame of hope deep inside.

What happened next????? Well I left Uni with a 78% in elementary particles.

Buy it.

By the way I'm sorry for the physics joke, I know we have a hard enough time already without people like me.

Readable, good explanations: buy this over Halzen & Martin!, 06 Feb 2003
After struggling for a year or two with Halzen and Martin's `Quarks and Leptons' I wish I'd found this book sooner! It covers much the same material as Halzen and Martin, but unlike that book it doesn't skip over non-trival lines of algebra and it does take the time to explain in a clear manner the principles behind what is going on. I'd always found the language and explanation in H+M hard to follow, especially because of the overly formal style and frequent use phrases left undefined. Griffiths has none of these faults. The style is friendly and engaging whilst covering all the physics and calculations thoroughly. I'd highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to gain a really good fundamental understanding of the basics of particle physics (probably at final year undergraduate or new postgraduate level). Alternatively if you already own H+M as I do, this will explain what it's talking about!

Excelent book for student and for teacher., 24 Apr 2001
Excellent book for student and for teacher. This is book with most clearest and pedagogical approach in this subject.Students will benefit definitely but it is real treasure for teachers. They can learn a lot from this book, how this subject should be taught. Definitely must buy.

Highly useful introduction to gauge theory and Standard Model of particle physics, 30 Jan 2008
From a marketing standpoint, it's probably a pity that Dr Woit has targeted this fairly technical book at a non-technical audience, and that he has included discussion about the failure of string theory. The first section is focussed on explaining mainstream solid particle physics, and this gets fairly abstract in places, but it contains some deep physical insights about the handedness of the weak force, the problems of the Standard Model, and so on that you won't easily understand from any other book. The second half is focussed on the failure of string theory, which is very upsetting because those guys keep hyping abject speculation based on wishful thinking and "groupthink must be right" arrogance.

However, no real harm is done. You can easily skip over the quotations from Richard Feynman, Sheldon Glashow, Gerard 't Hooft and many others attacking string theory for being non-falsifiable religion, and learn about the basic concepts behind the maths of quantum field theory.

Then you can easily find more technical material as you need it. The author has some more mathematical stuff on his university home page, and the book has extensive references for further reading.

The book makes you familiar with the basic way in which gauge symmetry works and how it connects to particle interactions. A Lagrangian equation is written to describe a field, a path integral is then used to evaluate the action of that Lagrangrian. In practice the path integral, which sums over all possible ways an interaction can occur in spacetime, is expanded into a series of terms each being a power of the strength or coupling constant of the force determining the interaction. Each term in the expansion then represents one member of a set of increasingly complicated types of interaction, which can be pictorially illustrated by a Feynman diagram. Evaluating the sum of the series of terms enables you to work out reaction cross-sections, corrections to the magnetic moments of leptons, or whatever you have set up the Lagrangrian to achieve.

After reading this book, if you have also had some exposure to the kind of maths used in quantum mechanics and general relativity, you are ready to begin studying books like Ryder's "Quantum Field Theory".

Again, mission accomplished, 24 Sep 2007
This book was the last straw for me. I substantially curtailed my interest in string-theoretical physics speculation and presentations after reading it. I very much like that it doesn't sell the alternatives, but stays focused on the contrast of the success of the Standard Model and the author's perceived failure of string theory. I happen to think "not even wrong" is a misleading phrase and approach. String "theory" is a not very lively not very productive research programme vs. a unitary theorem that needs to be falsified. It definitely draws more than its share of people and money, and frankly, its most speculative claims are given respect out of all proportion to their absurdity.

It's not typo free but it's extremely accurate. A very sound work from start to finish.

fairly good for what it is is, 21 Sep 2007
There are in my opinion three books one should read about this issue: first a technical book (there is one by B. Zwiebach) to see what it is about from the expert point-of-view, second a serious critique of String theory (Lee Smolin) and then this one for entertainment. It is true this book contains quite a few technical errors but it is refreshing to see somebody taking such a violent position with respect to the establishment. For good measure you might read (rather than Barton Zwiebach), the popular science books by B. Greene and L. Randall, who support "string" theory (and its descendants).
So no, I do not concur in the blind bashing of this book (by the way I am not a physicist but an engineer who worked at CERN and am interested in physics on the superficial level).


Bitter emotions and obsolete understanding of high-energy physics , 18 Sep 2007
Peter Woit is the owner of a well-known blog that provides high-energy theoretical physics with the same service as William Dembski's ID blog offers to evolutionary biology: it is designed to misinterpret and obscure virtually every event in physics and transform it into poison - and to invent his own fantasies to hurt science. This makes Woit's blog highly popular among the crackpots, for example some of the reviewers of this book. The book is not identical to the author's blog but it is not too different either.

Parts of this book are fun to read, although they will be too difficult for outsiders. But the text is definitely not a trustworthy source of knowledge about physics. The book can basically be divided into two parts. The first part of the book describes physics from the early 20th century to the 1970s or so. This part covers some standard material as well as some points that have not yet appeared in the popular literature. The early chapters also honestly explain that the author has not done any important work in high-energy physics himself and that he has been isolated from research (and researchers) for the last 20 years. Because of these reasons, I originally rated the book by two stars.

As the focus of the presentation shifts to modern physics since the 1970s or so, an expert recognizes that the author misunderstands some very elementary questions.

The book contains a lot of very embarrassing errors. Let me mention a few examples. Woit originally wrote that the center-of-mass energy of the LHC beams would be 14 GeV, instead of 14 TeV: this error has been corrected after long debates in which he didn't want to admit any flaws. He incorrectly argues that the neutrinos with electroweak energies interact very weakly. He thinks that higher-dimensional rotations are associated with one-dimensional "axes". He misunderstands how SU(2) can be embedded to SO(4). In his description of the history of supersymmetry, he forgets Pierre Ramond. He writes that the supersymmetric vacua predict a higher vacuum energy than the non-supersymmetric ones.

Also, Woit seems to misunderstand that all of our knowledge of theories such as QED comes from perturbative expansions when he attacks the perturbative method as such. He also misunderstands what "background independence" means. At one point, the author also claims that the primary evidence supporting scientific theories is an authority (Edward Witten in his case). Even more seriously, he builds his case upon e-mail messages from undetermined sources that supported Woit's viewpoint. Most of these e-mails were obviously written by cranks.

Authorities play an important role and the author quotes many outsiders in high-energy physics who have criticized string theory. But he never mentions names like Weinberg, Gell-Mann, Hawking, Randall, Arkani-Hamed - famous and active physicists who are not string theorists but who believe that it is the right direction. Books by Brian Greene, Lisa Randall, and others were much more balanced in this respect. The book is a gigantic spin zone.

Woit conjectures the existence of singularities in some integrals that appear in string theory and that are known to be non-singular. Woit does not distinguish a family of theories from one theory with a massless scalar field (a modulus). He does not mention Andrew Strominger and Cumrun Vafa when the black hole entropy is discussed. Woit incorrectly believes that the "beauty" of a theory is the same thing as an experimental verification.

The author repeats poisoned remarks about string theory too many times. The second part of the book could be reduced by 60 percent or so. Moreover, most of the statements in the second part of the book are supported by no technical arguments, neither in the book nor in scientific literature. The problematic statement that string theory makes no prediction is repeated hundreds of times, and in many particular contexts, such a statement becomes not only boring but also patently false. The author is not aware (or denies) the actual mechanisms that are considered to be solutions of various puzzles - for example the doublet-triplet splitting problem.

The book is also full of inconsistencies. In one chapter, he argues that the alternatives to string theory in the field of quantum gravity should be supported. In the following chapter, he argues that they should be suppressed - the work of the Bogdanoff brothers is one of his examples. Woit's knowledge of the history of the subjects he discusses is extremely superficial, too. For example, Leonard Susskind is painted as the discoverer of the large number of vacua in string theory. Quite obviously, Peter Woit has no idea about the "discretuum" described by Bousso and Polchinski and many other concepts that have been discussed for years.

Peter Woit also offers a highly obsolete view on many concepts in theoretical physics such as the gauge symmetry; he is obsessed with the old-fashioned idea that all of physics follows from a gauge symmetry principle. He thinks that the gauge symmetry is uniquely determined by physics because he is apparently unaware of dualities and all other phenomena discovered in the last 20 years that show that his preconceptions are wrong and that gauge symmetries are only associated with a particular description of physics that does not have to be unique.

The book is called "Not Even Wrong" but the readers should know that most of the book is wrong after all. I can only recommend the book to the people who dislike theoretical physics - or at least theoretical physics of the last 20 years - and who want their opinion to be confirmed by a semi-serious source. The readers who want to learn what physics is all about may want to avoid the book because it could make them very confused. As far as modern physics goes, the author is a layman. The topics he raises have nothing to do with the actual discussions that take place among the scientists.

What went wrong?, 15 Sep 2007
I bought this book and took it on holiday this summer, hoping to enjoy reading a new insight into string theory, in layman's terms.
I found the book unusually hard going, and simply gave up only a quarter of the way through!
If the objective was to give a critique of string theory which could be understood by a layman, albeit one interested in the subject, I think it failed dismally.
I abandoned the book in the wilds of British Colombia rather than bring it home!

Excellent for those knowing QFT. Difficult for new learners, 02 May 1999
A superb reference book, and one that those with some grounding in quantum field theory can learn many good things from. However, I believe students trying to learn what many consider a difficult subject will have a tough go of it. Being so brilliant, Weinberg may have trouble (not so rare in physics)teaching at the level of the students, rather than from the level of the accomplished. Nevertheless, this is a book everyone in the field should have on his/her bookshelf.

Deeply penetrating and rewarding, but challenging, 14 Nov 1998
Steven Weinberg delivers an outstanding and extraordinarily rich treatment of a difficult subject. This is a book for deep study and reflection, and only for serious students who are willing to put in the effort and stay the course. Weinberg makes no secret of his preference for the Feyman, particle-based approach, as opposed to Schwinger's field theoretic approach, and remains consistent in his treatment of the subject. As a result, Feynman's path integral methods are particularly well treated, but the real delight of the book is in its relentless probing of the many interconnections of quantum field theory. The books are difficult, and a pencil and paper at one's side for working out the steps between one equation and the next is essential. Weinberg expects you to work through this book, not just soak it up in a pedestrian and leisurely way. And a prior exposure to quantum field theory is probably necessary. However, Weinberg's prose makes one long for the unique combination of sheer elegance and profound originality of Paul Dirac's classic Principles of Quantum Field Theory, and it lacks the feeling of superb craftsmanship exhibited by the latter. With this caveat, it is without doubt the finest and most original modern treatment of the subject

Outstanding; Clearly the best book on the subject, 08 Aug 1998
This is THE book on quantum field theory. The only blemish is the idiosyncratic metric used. It is quite thorough, very cleary explained (though he could have done a better job in some places) and coherent. There is no other book on the subject that comes close.

must have!, 29 Jul 1998
This is an excellent text for QFT; however I'm not convinced it is the best introduction to the subject. At times it can be overly dense and cumbersome with notion. Nonetheless, this is one of the best references out there. In particular, the treatment of bound states in QFT is the best I've seen. Weinberg also provides extraordinary insight into the subject.

Get the second printing (1996) with corrections. Superb!, 14 Jul 1997
Weinberg is one of the greatest physicists of this century. He is also one of the best writers on the subject of physics. His two volumes on quantum field theory are the best books on this subject and probably will remain so for many years. A second printing of the first volume was issued in 1996 with many minor corrections of typographical errors.