Rating: 
Summary: If you didn't like Sagan, You'll love this
Review: I continually felt a sense of awe throughout this book, and new direction which is definitely realistic. Space and time have been hashed out over and over by leading writers and scientists for decades but nothing reads like Brian Greene and no one expands and advances as much. This is a step forward and I only wished Brian will get the attention Carl Sagan had to bring the world a wonderful and helpful awareness as this goes seriously beyond Sagan. This is surely Needed forward thinking with applied advancing thought for anyone reading. Much new material is discussed that I havnt encountered anywhere else, discussions that details superstings, other theories, and many good illistrations which aid the reader. The book is not overly complicated and will not leave the novice waivering, a Junior High School student can get seriously and easily engrossed in The Fabric of the Cosmos. I do seriously recommend prereading a fine book on the cosmos fabric, big bang, and time direction which will aid in understanding this, SB 1 or God by Maddox.
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Summary: Another excellent work by Brian Greene
Review: This is an extremely well thought out and well written book written by one of the world's leading physicists. "The Fabric of the Cosmos" presents the information in such a way that anyone could read and comprehend. I read Brian Greene's last book, "The Elegant Universe," and this is certainly a good follow-up.
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Summary: A physicist in the style of Carl Sagan
Review: Brian says that the study of mathematics, physics and astronomy provide an extension to the senses that allows us to have and appreciate new insights. These studies enable us to understand and feel the natural beauty around us. We wonder at the magnificence of the cosmos, and how it plays. When we contemplate the four forces, their associated fields, matter/energy, and the interplay of all the cosmic players, we are made aware of the dance of the cosmos. We are immersed by a most magnificent symphony. Clearly, Brian wishes to bring some of this to everyone. Thus the book is written without the use of equations, and relies heavily on metaphor and analogy.Every generation of physicists thought they were on the brink of solving natures secrets. Ours is probably no different. The route to problem solving is by questioning. The only criticism I would have of Brian's book is that he poses few questions for the reader to contemplate. But he does touch on the big question that people have been asking and trying to answer at least since the early Hebrews. Brian quotes Leibniz, why is there something rather than nothing? How did the grand symphony come to be? Who or what put the violinist and cellist in place? Who or what arranged the movements? An example question revolves around the Higgs field that accounts for inertial mass. Newton thought that space accounted for inertial mass. Mach thought that all the mass in the universe was responsible. Current thinking is that a Higgs field "drags" on mass when it accelerates and decelerates. The Higgs field exhibits no force on mass in uniform, uncelebrated motion relative to the cosmic flow. If we assume that total energy is conserved, then the Higgs field carries away kinetic energy from the accelerating mass, and returns kinetic energy to the mass upon deceleration. The Higgs field does this without human detection. The Higgs field must have the capacity to transfer huge quantities of energy to accelerating masses in very brief time periods. Since there is a limit to the energy density of the Higgs field, we must conclude that the field is non-local; that is, that it can draw whatever energy is needed from distant parts of the field, and this draw can be done instantly. But none of the other fields we are aware of - gravitational, electro/magnetic, weak and strong nuclear - are non-local. These fields transfer their effects at the speed of light. Is F = m a instantaneous, or does a time delay occur while F builds after the acceleration? Another explanation for inertial mass might be promising. F and m in the equation F = m a might simply be opposite ends of a fundamental symmetry. Rod Hug
Rating:
Summary: A great accomplishment
Review: This book is amazing. Apparently a number of folks agree with me given the 4.5 star average it has gotten from the preceding 60 reviews. There were some pans, however. In contradistinction to what some of the naysayers (and some of the kuods too) have written , this is most certainly *not* a rehash of the "Elegant Universe", which I also read and liked a lot. This is something totally different. This is not about string theory or quantum mechanics or relativity or the nature of time - but it does contain discussion of all of those. This book is about nothing less than cosmology, the structure of the universe, just exactly as the title indicates. I have read a number of lay (read - not for physicists but not for your average college drop-out either) physics books over the years, mostly having to do with quantum mechainics and the nature of physical reality or relavity. Prior to "Fabric", I think my favorite was John Gribbin's "In Search of Schroedinger's Cat". I thought I had a pretty good grasp of the essentials of quantum mechanics for a layman, and learned relatively little that was really new from most of the others. But I found a lot of new material in"Fabric". The way the quantum measurement problem was dealt with or resolted was great - new to me. The discussion of entanglement, and why everything is in fact *not* connected to everything else was also new to me, and well done. There is a ton of new physics from the late 1990s that is reviewed here. This book contains everything a newcomer to quantum mechanics needs, but also has tons to offer folks who have read on this subject before. And that alone is is quite an accomplishment,. more than worth the price of admission. But, at least for me, the most ennjoyable sections of the book were the ones middle that dealt with relativity, both general and special, how they relate to older and current cosomological models, and unification with quantum mechanics. I thought I sort of understood relativity (again, at an educated layman's level), but I learned a ton from this book (gravity depends not only on mass and energy but also pressure!!). The early foundations of relativity and the relation to Mach were great. The relation of Einstein to modern cosmology, Higg's fields, the big bang, inflaton theory, repulsive gravity, the universe expanding at a rate potentially faster than the speed of light (with no contradiction to relativity!!) - these were all new to me, and explained very well. One could quibble with the style a little. The constant use of analogies and examples starring the Simpson's or Mulder and Scully might turn some people off. I didn't mind then, but I didn't love them either. The book is very long - perhaps too long, and there is a fair amount of recapitulation. This recapping bothered me in the beginning until I realized (about three quarters fof the way through the book) that there was so much new stuff here that I was going to have to read the book again, pretty soon. There is a tremendous amount of material here, all of it interesting, very up-to-date,and all of it well presented. If you are at all interested in modern physics, and the nature of the universe, this book is a great read.
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Summary: The Universe of Great Physics Books Keeps Expanding!
Review: I have been buying and reading "layman" books on modern physics for the past couple of years. I've read and enjoyed "Black Holes and Baby Universes" by Stephen Hawkings, "Three Roads to Quantum Gravity", by Lee Smolin, Feynman's "QED" and John Gribbin's "Schrodinger's Kittens". My background includes a degree in engineering, but in my opinion a knowledge of math and "textbook" physics is not necessary to read and enjoy all of these titles. As for "The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality", it is by far the best and most readable of the modern physics books I have encountered to date. Greene is truly in a class of his own when it comes to explaining the "almost" unexplainable. I was amazed at how Greene was able to stay one step ahead of the reader on every page and have answers ready as soon as a question popped into my head. Greene has that rarest of gifts in a writer; an intimate knowledge of the subject matter, coupled with an intiutive understanding of questions that trouble the reader. In conclusion, if you are going to buy only one book on modern physics, choose this one.
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Summary: wild stuff, fascinating book!
Review: The Fabric of the Cosmos is a great book, i could not put it down.
Rating:
Summary: 10 Stars--A Gem and a Gift
Review: As someone who has taught high school and college level physics for close to 30 years, I can say with some degree of experience that this is, hands down, the clearest, most informative, and most exciting book on physics I've ever had the pleasure to encounter. About 5 years ago I would have given almost as high accolades to Green's first book, Elegant Universe. Now, however, Fabric of the Cosmos, in my opinion, has jumped ahead.
Fabric of the Cosmos is very far from being a simplified version of The Elegant Universe, as someone in this bulletin board has said. Instead, Fabric of the Cosmos is so disarmingly clear and so cleverly crafted in its use of analogy and argument, that it does indeed present an easier read than The Elegant Universe. But the material covered in Fabric of the Cosmos is very different from Elegant, and most notably, the text dives head first into some of the trickiest, most absorbing, and far-reaching issues that physicists have struggled with for a very long time. Many of these difficult questions--is space real? what is the nature of quantum entanglement? why does time seem to go in a fixed direction? what happened at the very moment of creation? can string theory be tested? -- are avoided by mainstream physicists and too difficult to be taken on by most science journalists in anything but a superficial treatment. The highly crafted writing in this book, however, cuts through the forrest of complexity with such ease, that the reader who is not already well versed in physics, does not realize the gift he or she is given by a presentation that is clearer than I would have ever thought possible.
In fact, the other day I was speaking with a physics professor colleague who has worked and lectured on some of the topics in this book for many years, and even he had to admit that he was going to use a number of Green's explanations in future lectures.
I was also impressed that this book has no hype. If something is not fully understood, the book makes this clear; if there are competing points of view on something, the controversy is explored, not buried. And rather than having superstring theory as its main goal (as in Elegant Universe), here the structure of space and time is the main goal, something less speculative and in many ways more mind bending.
I'd give it 10 stars if that were an option.
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Summary: Well done, but too "cute" sometimes.
Review: Perhaps Greene thought Einstein's explanation of special relativity using "railway carriages" seemed quaint and in need of updating. I disagree, especially since Greene's idea of updating the examples involves replacing the nameless observers of Einstein's original thought experiments with characters from the Simpsons. I can sit and read Einstein's own examples several decades after he wrote them, and they still make sense. If Greene's book is in print 50 years from now, it will have to be heavily footnoted to explain who Itchy and Scratchy are, and why they are shooting at one another on a moving train.
But the digressions are just small irritations in an otherwise well-crafted book. Greene focuses mainly on the "what" instead of the "why," which can be frustrating for a reader prepared for a more technical discussion, but as an overview of the main ideas treated within, Greene's book is excellent.
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Summary: Easier to understand than The Elegant Universe
Review: One reviewer stated that this book should be called Elegant Universe for dummies. That may be true, but I get the feeling that it's laymen like myself that Briane Green is targeting. This book is easier to understand than the Elegant Universe. Yes it covers alot of the same material, but it is explained much better from a beginners point of view. The best way to simplify a complicated subject is through the use of analogies, and there are plenty in this book. Having read both books I now have a much more solid understanding of relativity, quantum mechanics..etc. than I did after reading The Elegant Universe alone. I may now go back and re-read Elegant Universe since I have a better foundation. If you are like me and have no background or very little formal education on the subject of Physics, then read this book first. No prior knowledge is required. Well done Briane Greene.
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Summary: Remarkably well written.
Review: This may be the best written science book I have ever read. It has all the qualities of good science writing: it is carefully organized; it has an implicit model of what the reader will be able to comprehend, and warns the reader when some material is perhaps too difficult, as well as making good use of footnotes; it fairly discusses issues which have not been settled, making clear where the author stands; it is up to date; it has a sense of humor and a lively style. What makes this book absolutely stand out, is its brilliant use of metaphor and image, both word images and illustrations. Having said all that, I am not particularly motivated to read other books in the same subject area: while Greene provides the reader with a real feel for the material, the understanding is necessarily superficial. In fact, I was happier with the latter, more exotic, part of the book than with the earlier more familiar material about relativity: Greene even got me comfortable with 4 and more dimensions of space. And it was nice to read, for my sanity, that all forces are implemented via actual movement of particles of force, be it photons or gravitrons (which Greene is certain exist and will be observed as our tools get better, and he is not prone to being dogmatic). One warning: for some reason, Green unaccountably delays mentioning that the probability concept used by quantum physicists does not really track conventional interpretations, wherein probabilities, being non-zero, cannot cancel each other.
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