Rating: 
Summary: Written for the lay person? Yeah, right.
Review: In the beginning of his book, Mr. Zukaz swears up and down that he is a lay person and that if you are a lay person too, don't worry; you will understand the concepts in his book.I didn't. I consider myself a reasonably intelligent fellow; college educated, cum laude, steady career, and so on, but I simply could not follow what he was talking about. My wife was reading over my shoulder at one point and noticed the complex diagrams Mr. Zukav uses to explain a concept and she pointed out that it didn't look like it was written for a lay person as I had told her. I had to agree. I have a genuine curiosity about the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics and this book did not sate my thirst.
Rating: 
Summary: Exploring Quantum Physics & Reality
Review: This is *the* definitive book to read for anyone seeking to understand the basics of quantum physics. Here is your guide to the particle/wave conundrum. Here is an explanation of two basic principles in modern physics: 1) the new logic of the relationship of subject and object and 2) the random changes which occur to objective properties. Zukav explains one of the most important discoveries of science, the Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics. He elaborates upon how and why ideas about reality, i.e. the experimental situation, differ from the experience of reality. Instead, probability replaces the absolutes of past science. The 'communication' of particles over the space-time continuum suggests a concsiousness to the particles. He discusses wave-particle duality, Max Planck's constant, Einstein's theory of the photoelectric effect, Pauli's exclusion principle, Lorentz transformation, particle physics, Bell's theorem, and quantum logic, plus much, much more. Zukav's gift is to distill complex ideas and simplify them for inquiring minds "who want to know" but are "afraid to ask" or don't even know where to begin to ask. He connects metaphysical principles and science. He acknowledges that the use of words is often inadequate to describe the mysterious events of quantum physics. There is an unbroken wholeness to reality which when observed by individuals renders a loss of recognition to the interconnectedness of life. Quantum physics proves the interconnectedness of all reality in ways that only the mystics and spiritual masters described in the past. In fact, both scientists and mystics are beginning to use the same word descriptions ... This is an excellent book for those who dare to ask "what's new in the world of science?" Zukav has the ability to simplify complex concepts and link them to metaphysical principles in a very readable manner. Highly recommended reading! Erika B.
Rating:
Summary: it's ok
Review: You'd be much better of spending your time reading the Tao of Physics by Kapra.
Rating: 
Summary: How Dancing Wu Li Masters was written.
Review: I wrote most of the physics in Gary's book. Gary was my room mate and I took him to Esalen in Jan 1976 where I was in charge of the month long seminar in physics and consciousness. Gary had no physics education at the time. The complete story of how I created Gary Zukav's rise to fame and fortune can be found in my two new books "Destiny Matrix" and "Space-Time and Beyond II" now available on Amazon.com
Jack Sarfatti Ph.D. physicists
Rating:
Summary: average
Review: "The Dancing Wu Li Masters" for the aims this book was obviously going for, I gave it a rating of 3 stars..it was average at best. the authors attempt to bridge a gap between eastern philosophy and new age physics was a poor example of both subjects imo. his understanding of buddhism, taoism and eastern philosophy ingeneral is almost nill. but overall the theroies and such of QM were good examples of how QM was born and where it may be going. i dont reccomend this book to anyone who is trying to understand eastern philosophy or eastern religion for that matter ie buddhism, taoism etc but that also isnt why i bought this book, i bought it to learn about QM and i did, but there are better books on the subject, and the authors aims were not even met by his own standards as its obvious from reading the book! he starts the book leading the reader to believe he/she will learn about wu li masters..eastern philosophy and its similarties to QM etc but really all you can derive from this book is general theory and history of QM, some of the procedures used by QM physicists and a bit a little tiny bit about eastern philosophy the bottom line is when your finished with this book you really wont know what the hell a wu li master is, you wont really know much of the similarities between QM and eastern philosophy(unless your a student of eastern philosophy-religion) and you really wont know what the author means when he says time and again, how to dance as a wu li master
Rating: 
Summary: DON'T BUY THIS BOOK!
Review: If you want to buy a book that has interesting things to say about the connection between eastern spirituality and physics, buy "the Tao of Physics." "The Dancing Wu Li Masters" is a disgrace. The author obviously knows less about physics than a typical high school student, and his knowlege of eastern spirituality would fit on a bumper sticker. In order to fill enough pages for this thing to be longer than pamphlet-sized, Gary Zukav repeated just about everything he had to say many times, as if he couldn't help himself. He repeated a whole bunch of yuppie, new age, pseudo-oriental cliches, and, just to make things interesting, insulted Isaac Newton every few pages. Sorry Gary; but you don't have the brains to insult Isaac Newton. In defense of Issac Newton, why expect him to come up with quantum mechanics and general relativity when instruments needed to measure the slight differences between what his theories would predict and what the more contemporary theories would predict weren't even invented yet? Isaac Newton made the simplest theory that would fit what he observed, which is using Occam's Razor. Gary Zukav obviously doesn't know about something called the Scientific Method, where any theory, no matter how well accepted, can be overturned by an experiment. Our new theories will probably be overturned, too; but that's no reason to insult our brilliant scientists. That's just how science works. The worst thing about "the Dancing Wu Li Masters" is how smug Gary Zukav sounds, as if he has everything figured out. "The Tao of Physics," on the other hand, is brilliant. I learned a great deal about Eastern Philosophy, and how it constrasts with Classical Greco-Roman Philosophy. I also read the most lucid explanation of virtual particles that I have ever read. This book is so interesting, so exciting to read and so brilliant, that if anyone with the slightest bit of interest in physics and philosophy doesn't read it, well . . . it would be a crime.
Rating: 
Summary: Interersted in reconciling science and spirituality...
Review: This book succeeds in a few ways:
1) It does a great job of introducing the laymen to physics / quantum mechanics principles
2) Through the exploration of the role of creativity in the "true" scientific process, exposes something about human nature
3) Without proselytizing, invites the reader to reconcile scientific theories with idea of a higher power via their relation to some of the tenets of eastern philosophy. By using physics as a reference, Zukav subtly presents the notion of human nature powering the search for eternal truths. Coincidently, it seems that both science and spirituality are paths to that same goal. It is a great read for anyone interested in an introduction to these issues. And will serve as a perfect springboard for more in-depth research into physics (not just quantum mechanics), and eastern philosophy.
Rating:
Summary: Simply Brilliant
Review: A few things before reading this book - 1. You don't need to know anything about Quantum Physics
2. You don't need to know anything about Vedanta, Buddhism or Taoism All you need to have is the 'Wu Li' - patterns of organic energy. 'The Dancing Wu Li Masters' is a book that takes you through newtonian physics, Quantum physics of the 20th century, Einstein's theorem of relativity, Geoffrey Chew's bootstrap theory of the universe on the one hand and Vedanta, Mahayana Buddhism, Chuang Tsu's Taoism, The I-Ching on the other hand. The two streams of thought, Western Science & Eastern Mysticism are interwoven skilfully by Zukhav in an amazingly lucid style of writing. And wait, this fascinating intellectual journey is not sequential or chronologically structured in the manner of texts of physics or philosophy. Instead, it dynamic, chaotic, full of Wu Li. And 100% understanding and comprehension guaranteed for the reader irrespective of his background. ..and my school course in Quantum Physics would have been much more fun if I had read 'The Dancing Wu Li Masters'
Rating:
Summary: Layman's Viewpoint
Review: I am not a physicist. I am not a budhist. However, I found this book to be a wonderful journey into the realm of both. Zukav strikes at the heart of modern science and reminds the Western world that it's all old news. It was a challenging read, delightful at times, eye-opening at others. If you like books by Hawking and Green, Zukav is the next step towards contemplating quantum mechanics and particle physics. If you like the tao teh ching, this is also a must read. In order to understand the beast of what is reality, it is neccessary to use tools appropriate per individual. For the scientist that has become so dependent on data as to forget to question it's meaning, this is an important step in self awarness.
Rating:
Summary: Finally, quantum mechanics is accessible to the lay reader
Review: If you're like me, an arm chair physicist in another line of work, you've tried and tried to understand recent developments in theoretical physics, only to stumble when you reach quantum mechanics. Newtonian physics and relativity are fairly intuitive once you get the ideas, but quantum mechanics? quantum electrodynamics? quantum field theory? Not easy stuff. Zukav is the first author I've read who says "Hey, if you're a lay person, don't sweat it. Physicists don't really understand it intuitively either. They're just equipped with the math to think it through." Now you can relax in the knowledge that you're not dense, the subject is. Thank you Mr. Zukav for making quantum mechanics accessible to the rest of us. Don't let the title throw you. Eastern philosphy plays a role in the narrative, but the book is about physics, pure and simple. I highly recommend this book to anyone who has struggled to understand our view of the universe since Einstein.
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