Rating: Summary: For all cutting edge science buffs: Review: ..the new Brian Greene's book is definitely not a "re-write" of "The Elegant Universe". It is a monumental update, and continuation. For example: section Notes (p.495 - 536, very interesting itself) quite often encourages reader to expand and check back for more details in "The Elegant Universe". "The Fabric of the Cosmos" will refresh the knowledge, one managed to obtain after reading John Barrow (on properties of the void), Alan Guth (on inflationary theory), Michio Kaku and Kip Thorne (on space-time), Lawrence Krau (on dark energy), Victor Stenger, Lee Smolin (on quantum gravity), Martin Rees, Stephen Hawking (on general cosmology)- everything is there, in one volume.
Rating: Summary: A Golden Book Review: A deep, incisive look at the universe according to modern physics. The material is mind stretching, the ideas tough to grasp, but the journey this book takes you on is worth the effort. Hugely worth the effort. With this author's masterful handholding, his constant attention to making the material as accessible as it possibly can be, you can go far from conventional ideas of how the universe works. Where was Mr. Greene when I was a student?? This is how science should be taught. With artful analogies and great little stories, you learn so much from this book.
Rating: Summary: As vacuous as the TV show, but a lot longer Review: This book begins with endless long-winded explanations of modern physics based on analogies that don't explain much but do involve characters from the Simpsons. The later chapters on string theory are even more breathlessly gee-whiz and content-free than the author's TV show, but do go on and on. The author makes no attempt to distinguish between things for which there is scientific evidence and things which he thinks sound cool. He's clearly much more interested in the latter than the former.
Rating: Summary: terrific book Review: He takes difficult concepts and makes them understandable.I not only enjoyed this book,I learned a lot.In fact,I could not put it down and I plan to reread it. Good Job.
Rating: Summary: What else are you gonna buy? This is THE book to get. Review: Afterall, it's simply a totally comprehensive, well written,easy to read, all encompassing book which just HAPPENS to review the most elite knowledge ever known to man. ... I'd like to recommend this book and the new Elegant Universe DVD because they are wicked awesome and obviously fit in with other big-timer books by guys like Hawking and Rees. ...
Rating: Summary: Elegant Universe for Dummies Review: I am the world's biggest fan of Brian Greene's first book, Elegant Universe. No other book comes close to explaining physics for general science readers. So I awaited The Fabric of the Cosmos with bated breath. What a disappointment.At one point in the book, Greene tells of his mother trying to read the first few pages of Elegant Universe. She put it down almost immediately because it gave her a headache. The Fabric of the Cosmos was written with this sort of reader in mind. It hides all facts except when it absolutely must reveal the underlying physics, and instead discusses the implications of physics, using down-home American analogies that mention Marge and Bart and Springfield. The spins of particles become red or blue lights, lest the poor reader encounter a fact that confuses him or her. And it covers no new ground at all. It's the same book minus any facts that might support the arguments discussed in the text. I was horrified. Expecting a science treat, I instead encountered a long Reader's Digest article. If Brian Greene writes another book, and surely he will, I hope he'll give his readers more credit. If you know nothing about physics, this book will prove interesting reading. Then, when you're done, you can read the complete text -- facts and all -- by buying Elegant Universe.
Rating: Summary: Angry as Hell Review: I guess the reader from Washington DC just proved the recent pronouncment that Amazon reviewers are often masked competitors trying to demean their targets. To call Greene, a distinguished scientist-teacher, a pseudo physicist is ludicrous. This comment in toto is a sophomoric attempt to show off. No wonder it has been found to be decidedly non-helpful. When Greene makes the cutting edge of the almost inconceivable open to laymen who care to understand without having spent their lives in the active pursuit of the sciences he does us all a very great service. I must wonder if the commentator isn't a failed PhD student
Rating: Summary: Courageous Review: I am a retired physics prof. From the old school some would say. I don't like most popular physics books. They often skirt around the hard stuff to make physics understandable to more readers. But, finally, this book has the courage to take on the hard, difficult, but profoundly important questions associated with discoveries over the last century. I don't always agree with the authors perspective, but I respect his willingness to "sweat the big stuff". Bravo. I will likely read it again.
Rating: Summary: It' s Worth 6 stars Review: If I could give this book 6 stars I would. The concepts are heavy but the writing has just the right touch. You can read on many levels (the author tells you when you can skip harder sections, and summarizes so you can get on with the reading), depending on how much detail you'd like to take in. If I read this book as a kid, I think I would have gone into physics. Reading this book is the next best thing to being in on the discoveries. My praise and thanks to Mr. Green.
Rating: Summary: Boring, New-Age Handwaving Coffee Table Book Review: Here is how Knopf prints money. They get a pseudo-physicist to rewrite his first book on philosophy, after he starred in a TV production centered about it. Long-winded and boring, the wordiness serves to obfuscate the concepts. Stick to Hawking's Brief History of Time or Einstein's Meaning of Relativity. This books adds nothing new, and has begun subtracting. If you're into entertainment and David Duchovney wanna-bes, watch the X-files.
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