Rating: 
Summary: Very disapointing
Review: Given the amount of positive reviews so far I looked forward to reading this book. However, my impressions of it are much more unfavourable.The biggest disapointment: Green states that string theory soves the incompatabilities between quantum physics and the general theory of relativity. But he never really shows clearly HOW, so it left me greatly hanging. There are actually two parts to this book. The first part is a review of quantum physics and relativity. The second part is 'about' string theory. Greene succeedes greatly at the first part, using a very metaphorical sense of writing style that puts difficult concepts nicely into layman's terms, even using pseudo dialogs a'la 'Godel,Esher,Bach.' But when he launches into string theory -- after 130 pages -- he fails to pull it together. The big thing is he fails to explain the very fundamental concepts behind string theory, and WHY it is supposed to be important, i.e. a thourough explanation of the big picture. He may actually do so, but it is well hidden in the 300 pages 'about' the topic. Instead, he goes on to talk about details and details, sometimes explaining in narcistic length the circumstances of how several of his own research papers came about. Even worse, he goes on to show how scientists have to invent more and more machinery to support the math and results from string theory. And whenever a new discrepency is found, a new solution is built that involves yet one more invention ( we now have 11 (eleven) dimensios that are needed to explain the results). The thing I came away with is that string theory seems to be a very self-serving science, that needs to invent more and more tools to support itself. Either the whole science is flawed, or the book is just plainly bad written. All I know, the later is true.
Rating: 
Summary: Science achieves intelligiblity
Review: I can only echo the other happy voices here - one opens this book with a certain trepidation, which soon turns to awe, morphs to rapt fascination and melts into unconditional gratitude. We knew the story of 20th century physics was good, but I at least never suspected I'd be among the lucky ones who actually had a chance to hear it told with spellbinding narrative clarity. Brian Greene's translation of physics into ordinary speech is nothing short of astonishing.
Rating:
Summary: 6 Stars ! ! !
Review: Five for the science and an extra for Green's writing ability. No physics/popular science fan will be disappointed, guaranteed. Excellent description of special & general relativity (largely by means of cute analogies) is followed by a decent intro to quantum physics (perhaps a bit too brief, but its not the book's focus). You'll learn why the two conflict, and the majority of the book deals with possible resolution of this conflict (you guessed it, by means of superstring theory). Just a little word of caution: if (like me) you're new to physics, the book might seem dense at times, but if you're willing to put in a bit of effort, it'll pay off big time! The book will give you undreamed-of insights into the world around you.
Rating:
Summary: A great look into the Universe
Review: The Elegant Universe shows, in an easy to follow manner, all the subtlties of the Universe's parts. It also shows the future of quantum physics and relativity, and the merging of the two in the Superstring theory. Buy the book.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: 'The Elegant Universe' is, I'd have to say, the best book I've seen on the subject of the theory of everything. I'm 17 yrs old and plan on majoring in astrophysics in college. This book gives a fanastic overview of the two fundamental theories in physics: the Theory of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. Even though I had a pretty good background in those theories, reading the book provided even more understanding on them. The book discusses the Superstring theory as a possible unifying theory. You don't have to be a genius to understand it. The book makes it easy to get a basic understanding of the concepts. Probably the best thing about this book is that it describes everything in english without complicated formulas. I would recommend this book to anyone who has even the smallest interest in the topic. It's definitely worth the read. It's one of my favorite books.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant and comprehensible display of modern physics
Review: This truly gives an elegant view of the universe, describing in a beautiful fashion the complexities of our universe. As I am not a great mathmatician, nor a phyicist at that, (I'm actually just a student)this novel broke down the most important theories of our time into language comprehendable to those without a strong mathamatical background. This is not to say that it is a simple novel to understand, for it does require some knowledge of the subjects discussed, and even at that is not a light ride and requires personal thought. Witnessing both hard facts and speculations, one is left to draw conclusions on their own, based on the evidence presented. While I have read several books such as this before, I have never had such a clear and marvoulous picture of string theory and the other dimensions untill reading this...it will truly open your eyes to a new view of the world around us. This book is beautifully written and highly recomended...brilliant!
Rating:
Summary: String Theory Made Simple
Review: This was my first introduction to the complexity of string theory. Before I read this book I had no real understanding of the concept. Now I feel I have at least a conversational knowledge of what the theory explains. This book also explains what may have led to the big bang and how strings played a role in the beginning of the universe. This is a very enlightening book and will bring the reader up to date on the struggle to unify quantum mechanics and relativity.
Rating: 
Summary: the best I've seen on the subject
Review: Not only does Green do the best job of explaining up-to-date string theory that I've seen, he also does one of the best jobs of explaining relativity in visual metaphors I know of. The only flaw here, one annoyingly common to physicists, is when he drifts into philosophizing about what it all might mean or rhapsodizing about how we're finally going to know everything. Typically naive drivel. Ignore it and read the brilliant, lively explanations of subjects he actually understands.
Rating:
Summary: Best Layperson book on advanced physics I've ever read.
Review: This is one of the very best books for the technically oriented lay person I've ever read. I'm a professional engineer with an interest in physics but I've never wanted to get into the heavy math. I've searched for years for a book which would answer many questions I had on relativity, quantum mechanics, string theory, black holes, event horizons, etc., etc. This book accomplishes the task with easy to understand analogies. Brian Greene has done an excellent job. I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Good explanation for normal people
Review: This is the only book mainly about string theory I read, although this topic was quoted in other phisic's book, so I can't tell if it is complete or very precise. For sure it is very interesting and is a good introduction for those who want to know more about edge research without being edge researcher. I found it a little too difficult in some points (expecially toward the end) but I have to say that English is not my mother tongue and this can have influenced my comprehension on such hard topics. The only defect I found is that in the end the author slides a little to much toward speculations, with a lot of "maybe" and "if" that perhaps could have been avoided.
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