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Summary: Well-intentioned but incomprehensible to most
Review: Despite the fact that I am a grad student in biology, not physics, I bought this book because I am interested in all the sciences and hoped that this would be, as promised, accessible to the lay reader. It was not. Like most incredibly gifted scientists, Kaku seems to have forgotten what it is like to approach a subject with no prior experience, hoping for an introduction to it: he will often use terminology and only introduce it several pages later; he uses analogies that are ugly and bear no resemblance to their subjects; and, worst of all, writes in a disjointed style that allows the reader glimpses into strange and beautiful theories but quickly snatches them away from that vantage and pulls them back into confusion and jargon. The lay reader may come away from this book thinking they are too stupid to comprehend the subject when in fact it is just the explanation that is unclear. A truly ingenious writer (like a Sagan) would be able to explain these ideas with lucidity. Dr. Kaku is an obvious genius in his field. Unfortunately, most of us will need another introduction besides this one to appreciate it as he does.
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Summary: Real Life Science Fiction
Review: This book is absolutely fascinating. Michio Kaku writes about science in a way that a non-scientist can understand and stay awake while reading. Basically it explains the theories that may become the Unified theory that Einstien died trying to solve. Let's just say that if this theory is proven, reality turns out to be a lot more like a sci-fi movie than I ever expected. Michio Kaku also has a website with his articles that you can read for free, so look it up.
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Summary: OldSciFiDog
Review: Having been seperated from what is happening in Physics for over 30 years and seeing some of the interesting (understatement) stuff my daughter, majoring in physics, was encountering, I decided to find out if I could understand a little about this "thing" called String Theory.After reading some reviews on Michio Kaku's outrageous title "Hyperspace : A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the Tenth Dimension" I discovered some outrageous stuff. Michio Kaku presentation is full of history and understandable science even for a wantabescientist like myself (I am an embedded software engineer). I found the historical connections to scientific discovery fascinating (for one of those genius kind of guys, Michio writes an intersting tale of facts and conjecture). While I was concerned that it may contain mathematics beyond all I have forgotten, I discovered that this was unfounded, as Michio takes the time to decribe everything in terms non-mathematical (yea I know, hard to believe). In summery, this is not only a good read, it will blow you away. I finshed this book, I read his other book on Hyperspace which is the same subject but from a "maga view" versa "down and dirty?" (by the way it does not matter the order you read these books if you are so inclined).
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Summary: Great, if dated, book on QM and other esoteric concepts
Review: I guess I would have liked this book a lot more if I had read it before Brian Greene's excellent book, _The Elegant Universe_. Michio Kaku has a rare talent for being able to explain very complex and abstract systems and situations in terms that people who have not had a graduate level college course in the subject can understand. He thus moves quite deftly from subject to subject, taking the time to explain things in terms that any reader should be able to understand. However, for a book on Science, Kaku gets caught up in discussions about things that did not contribute much to the text (although a discussion of God does not necessarily _detract_ from the book, it isnt what I was looking for). Kaku has written another book, _Visions_, which covers many of the subjects elaborated on in this book. I would suggest readers get the Visions book, and also pick up a copy of the much more modern and somewhat higher-brow book by Brian Greene, _The Elegant Universe_. Four stars because it is a good book, five if it were contemporary.
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Summary: Hyperspace
Review: I found this book to be a great mind-opener even for someone like myself who is not a physicist. It was an interesting conceptual look at theoretical physics and the evolution of man, and society. I took you from basic concepts of Einstein's theories to Kaluza Klein theory and Riemann. Moreso it didn't present itself in a confusing manner.
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Summary: Well written explanation of recent breakthroughs in science
Review: Michio Kaku expains modern theoritical science, and how scientist have come to discover multiple dimensions (everything from Einstiens theory of relativity to Quantum Mechanics) in an extremely interesting and yet very clear and understandable way. I now impress people at parties to no end with my borrowed clever tidbits, explanations and quotes. "You're so smart, did you study at Harvard?" they say. "Just undergraduate work", I reply laughing, and no ones the wiser. Thanks Michio!
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Summary: Hyperspace is a great book!
Review: This book has played a key part in my gaining an interest in theoretical physics. I have even made a site about parallel universes. This book explains many different theories in an extremely lucid manner. It's a must for one who's interested in theoretical physics. It's also a must if you're interested in the show "Sliders". Check it out!
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Summary: Hyper Dimensional for Dummies
Review: Though it is impossible to visualize higher dimensions and difficult for most of us to understand the equations involved in this technical field, Michio Kaku, who has become the "Carl Sagan" of our time, does an excellent job of helping lay readers comprehend hyperspace. The concept of higher dimensions, which was formerly introduced in 1854 by Geog Riemann, was not taken seriously because it was an untestable theory and lost credibility upon the introduction of quantum theory in the early twentieth century. Reinman believed that the forces of nature such as electricity, magnetism, and gravity were just effects caused by the crumpling or warping of hyperspace, an idea that Albert Eisntein revived in his theory of general relativity. In this comprehensive and often humouous work, Kaku takes the reader from the fictional characters of Charles Hinton to Relativity and String theories; both of which have revived interest in higher dimensional reality. If you thought, like me, that you could never come close to understanding the concepts of hyperspace, this book will surely bring you within reach of this understanding, while providing a sound background in the history and development of higher dimensions.
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Summary: Becoming "Lords of the Universe."
Review: I may as well say at once that I don't care for this book. The first thing that bothers me about it is Professor Kaku's disturbing slant on human history. He tells us, for example, that "to the ancient Egyptians, the weather was a complete mystery" p.viii). Really? The builders of the pyramids? Even supposing this were true, how does he know? He tells us that the Greeks were the first people ever to give serious thought to the nature of the universe (p.vii). Isn't this a myth that was exploded long ago? Didn't Herodotus himself say that the Greeks were as infants compared to the Egyptians? He tells us that Roman generals were dull fellows who didn't have the sense to climb a hill to get an overview of the battle (p.13). Really? Rome's great generals, men such as Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, men who conquered most of the known world... dummies? He contrasts "the ignorance and squalor of ancient, preindustrial societies" (p.xi) with modern civilization, while failing to note that "ignorance and squalor" have never been more widespread than they are today. As an enthusiastic representative of modern science, Professor Kaku seems to think that we are all similarly infatuated. He goes on confidently to assert that "over the past 2000 years, scientists have discovered that all phenomena in our universe can be reduced to four forces" (p.13) - electromagnetic, strong nuclear, weak nuclear, gravitational. Really? I wonder if Professor Kaku has ever wondered how he can lift his arm, or rise from his chair and walk across the room...? I wonder if he has ever devoted any thought to the energy that imbues living things with life and movement? Another thing that bothers me about this book is Professor Kaku's obsession with power. He tells us time and time again that once "we" unlock the the secret of hyperspace "we" will become "lords of the universe." But just who is this "we"? You and me? Or the scientific elite and their financial sponsors? And are "we" (they?) really fitted to become "Lords of the Universe"? Here Professor Kaku seems to give himself away, for what this suggests to me is that modern science is not really, as he and other scientists like to pretend, about truth or knowledge or about human advancement and betterment - it is really about the acquisition of power, power that, once acquired, is invariably sold to the highest bidder. Even in his obsession with power, Professor Kaku displays a depressing naivete, since it ought to be perfectly evident that, before attempting to control external reality, one ought first to learn how to harness, control, and focus the stupendous powers lying dormant within the human mind itself, or at least to recognize their existence. If the world of official science were to start with Mind, it might find that much of the expensive gadgetry Professor Kaku evidently desires (more giant cyclotrons, etc.), and which he is hoping the public will pay for, is dispensable. I would suggest that Professor Kaku set aside his contempt for earlier humans, and that he bring himself up to speed on history by reading, for example, Graham Hancock's 'Heaven's Mirror.' He might also read 'The Threat,' David M. Jacobs' chilling study of the modern UFO phenomenon. Professor Kaku may discover that the "Lords of the Universe" are already here, share his interest in power, and have beaten him to it. Those who share Professor Kaku's obsession with power, and who are not particularly bothered by his blind spots, might find his clearly written introduction to hyperspace theory interesting. Personally I prefer writers whose vision of things is not quite so narrowly based.
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Summary: Where is the 10th dimension?You find the answer in this book
Review: High dimensional theories are really hard to comprehend given that you can't see them but just visualize them mathematically. I think the author has done a great job exposing a non physicist to the world of higher dimensional physics. Kaku starts the Hyperspace theory (also called Superstring or Supergravity theory) in a chronological fashion. Obviously he talks about Einstein's general relativity and then moves on to the pioneer's in the high dimentional geometry with a broad and very lucid description of Kaluza theory (later to become Kaluza-Klein) and Riemann matrices. According to Kaku , hyperspace theory tells us before the Big Bang, our cosmos was actually a perfect ten-dimensional universe, a world where interdimensional travel was possible. However, this ten-dimensional universe "cracked" in two, creating two separate universes: a four-and a six- dimensional universe. The universe in which we live was born in that cosmic cataclysm. Our four-dimensional universe expanded explosively, while our twin six-dimensional universe contracted violently, until it shrank to almost infinitesimal size. This would explain the origin of the Big Bang. If correct, this theory demonstrates that the rapid expansion of the universe was just a rather minor aftershock of a much greater cataclysmic event, the cracking of space and time itself. The energy that drives the observed expansion of the universe is then found in the collapse of ten-dimensional space and time. According to this theory, the distant stars and galaxies are receding from us at astronomical speeds because of the original collapse of ten-dimensional space and time. This is by far the best description of the theory I've read so far in a book. The subject matter does require concentration. Even though personally it is hard for me to come to terms with many aspects of the theory, it is definately a mind opener.
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