Category Archives: Book Reviews

Hidden Dimensions

Posted on August 22, 2007 by woit

At lunchtime today I stopped by the excellent local bookstore Labyrinth Books, looking to see what was new. In the science section, I noticed a pile of copies of Hidden Dimensions: The Unification of Physics and Consciousness. As with the … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | 24 Comments

My Life With Stephen

Posted on July 23, 2007 by woit

Jane Hawking, Stephen Hawking’s ex-wife, has written a book about her life together with Stephen, which has recently appeared here in the US under the title Travelling to Infinity: My Life With Stephen. At around 400 pages, it’s an abridged … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | 30 Comments

Endless Universe

Posted on June 2, 2007 by woit

There’s a new popular book about cosmology now out on bookstore shelves, Endless Universe by Paul Steinhardt and Neil Turok. The authors are the inventors of a competing model to inflationary cosmology, variously called “ekpyrotic” or “cyclic” cosmology. They describe … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | 29 Comments

Three String Theory Textbooks

Posted on May 2, 2007 by woit

Until very recently, someone who wanted to begin studying string theory seriously had really only three possible textbooks available: Superstring Theory (1987), by Green, Schwarz and Witten. This is a two-volume, massive 1000 page treatment of the quantization of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | 20 Comments

King of Infinite Space

Posted on October 19, 2006 by woit

Back when I was a graduate student trying to figure out how to define and calculate topological charge in lattice gauge theory, at one point I went over to the math department to ask some people I knew if they … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | 29 Comments

The Goldilocks Enigma

Posted on September 22, 2006 by woit

Paul Davies is an author of many popular science books, often dealing with topics in cosmology and particle physics. He has been based in Australia for the last sixteen years, but is now moving to the US, taking up a … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | 35 Comments

The Trouble With Physics

Posted on August 28, 2006 by woit

I’ve just finished reading Lee Smolin’s new book The Trouble With Physics, which should be released and available for sale very soon. It’s a great book, covering some of the same ground as mine, but with significant differences. This won’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Not Even Wrong: The Book | 92 Comments

Fantastic Realities

Posted on May 20, 2006 by woit

Frank Wilczek has a new book out, it’s called Fantastic Realities: 49 Mind Journeys and a Trip to Stockholm, and is published by World Scientific. It’s a great read by one of the best in the business for anyone interested … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | 4 Comments

The Jasons

Posted on April 15, 2006 by woit

One of the less well-known parts of the history of particle physics is the involvement of many prominent theorists in research (often classified) conducted for the U.S. military through an organization known as “Jason”. My advisor at Princeton (Curt Callan) … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews, Uncategorized | 21 Comments

The Cosmic Landscape

Posted on December 7, 2005 by woit

Susskind’s new book, The Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design is now out. It’s basically a lengthy version for the general public of the argument that he has been, with some success, trying to sell to … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Reviews | 32 Comments