Rating: 
Summary: Wheeeeeeeeeeeee!
Review: OK. You have your protons, and your neutrons, electrons and quarks. OK. You got your charms, your colors, your spins, and your anti-stuff. Forget all that. The new 'physics 2000' has arrived. Read this book one time and rearrange your mind. Read it twice to rearrange the rearrangement. Write letters to Dr. Witten, Dr. Vafa, Dr. Greene, begging for info on the latest-breaking developments. Read it a third time. OK, read it again. When your now-3 year old sits in sophomore physics class in college some day, be prepared to discuss with him/her: M-theory, Calabi-Yau spaces, multiverses, higher dimensional supergravity. A theory of EVERYTHING! When I was a kid I wanted to run away with the circus, even if it did mean cleaning up mountains of elephant-doo; anything, anything to be associated with that wonderful phantasmagoria! Now, retired, let me run away to join the M-Theorists, even if it does mean cleaning up mountains of discarded computer calculations! How can any person with even the slightest claim to an education, or modicum of intellectural pretension, not read and absorb this book, this journey, this mind-blast? (I think I'll read it again...now, where did I put my Ravi Shankar CD of morning ragas...?)
Rating:
Summary: Very Good
Review: Brian Greene provides a very esay to understand (at least for me!) overview of the principles of String Theory, Quantum Mechanics, and the like. The first few chapters provide some background, while the rest expound the basics of String Theory. This book is not overly long, as some books on the subject can be, and was very enjoyable to read. I finished it in one week.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: The book is very clear in its exposition of quantum mechanics and string theory. Some parts are probably too difficult for those who do not know a lot of physics. I would recommend that people also read "The Bible According to Einstein" which also presents a very clear explanation of science.
Rating:
Summary: Ex-Doubter, now a Hoper
Review: I had always been skeptical of String Theories, they always seemed too remote from tests and the normal way of doing physics. Though the book doesn't resolve the empirical standing of String Theory, it seduced me into dreaming about it. The first third of the book sets the scene with the breakthroughs in 20th century physics. Then proceeds to weave the fascinating fabric of the "unifier of fields", string theory. Strings it seems alone can join the forces of the quantum with those of gravity while automatically producing the graviton. The climax comes when it introduces the M-theory of Witten. Can't say enough, I really want to believe now. This book is almost void of mathematics but is abundant in its abstractions of the machinations of the weaver.
Rating: 
Summary: Gave me quantum jitters!
Review: There is a submicroscopic bandwidth of space (better to call it plenum rather than vacuum) somewhere between 10 to the minus 21st centimeter and, say, 10 to the minus 41st centimeter where frenzied quantum fluctuations create virtual string pairs which blink in and out of existence. Brian Greene's book gives me the quantum jitters. The author clarifies that although our current energy accelerators can measure tiny lengths of 10 to the minus 16th centimeter, in order to be able to see the Planck length strings (10 to the minus 33rd centimeter), one would need an accelerator with the circumference of either our galaxy or the entire universe. Greene asks the rhetorical question whether the existence of strings will ever be confirmed by experimental evidence. Magnification by 33 or more magnitudes (powers of ten) would show whether these banjo strings exist. But it is clear that no such technology to so magnify lies on the human horizon.Putting the mumbo-jumbo physics aside and viewing strings from a distance, this book sounds like another search for a secular Deity. The untestable premises put the theory in the camp of New Age Theology or even astrology. All of these schools concern a realm of thought beyond science and provable theory. To paraphrase Greene's words: a theory with beautiful simplicity which can heal the breach between gravity and quantum mechanics, and that can unify all of nature's ingredients. But the question remains, do these frenzied quantum fluctuations or quantum jitters represent a stand in or understudy for God? I liked the book a lot because of the author's honest admission that string theory could turn out to be an elaborate Dungeons and Dragons game. Since the string coupling constant cannot be calculated there can be no answer to the author's relevant question in Chapter 12,"Is the Ballpark in the Ballpark?" While proving nothing positive the book is great fodder for thought.
Rating:
Summary: Superb
Review: During the first portion of his book, Greene presents the most clear and easy to understand explanation of the fundamentals of Relativity and Quantum Mechanics that I have ever come across. He then goes on to explain Superstring theory in an elegant and clairvoyant way, making it all the more facinating. While it may be a hard read for those not familiar with physics, it is a superb book on the quest for the ultimate theory that will leave you thinking differently. It gives many answers, but leaves you with even more questions, and I was immediately compelled to go further in depth and read as much more as I could on superstrings.
Rating:
Summary: Impossible complexity clarified
Review: As so many others have pointed out, Mr. Greene does an outstanding job of guiding the reader through the wild and wooly world of quantum ideas which is extremely difficult for anyone to wrap their brain around. Having read quite a few bookd of this nature over the years, I would put Greene in the category of Timothy Ferris or Stephen Gould, in that these authors too are able to explain these mind-bending concepts in relatively digestible terms. Without some sort of physics education, it will be a tougher go, but I think that the ideas and concepts herein will provide the incentive to stick with it. By all means, if you want to get a real appreciation for the amazing miracle that the universe is, read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Mindblowing!
Review: The subject matter of the book is daunting. The ideas in the book are challenging and at times overwhelming. However, the most astounding accomplishment of the author is how well he explains quantum physics, time, gravity, string theory etc. in terms that even a layman can understand. For people who truly enjoy scientific theories but aren't up to understanding the math behind cutting edge physics, this book is great. It isn't a quick or easy read, but it is worth every ounce of effort. Anyone who reads this will never look at the world and the universe in the same way again.
Rating:
Summary: A magnficent accomplishment
Review: In this book on eleven-dimensional space-time, Brian Greene proves himself to be truly exceptional in at least three of those dimensions: by his thorough comprehension of the origins and direction of theoretical physics up through the emergence of superstring theory, by his monumental contributions to that theory in identifying its components and extending its reach, and, thirdly, in explaining this subject in a way that allows the "layman" to gain an appreciation and intuitive understanding of it. By way of explaining the use of the term "layman," let me point out that this book is not light reading. I don't believe it can be read by those without at least some exposure to college level physics. I am a former high school physics teacher, and I had to really stretch to understand Dr. Greene's explanations. Nevertheless, considering the mathematical and physical complexity of the subject matter, Dr. Greene has done a splendid and remarkable job of explaining the subject at a conceptual, nonmathematical level. Anyone with a physics background through the level of an introductory course in modern physics will find Dr. Greene's treatise accessible. It brings the reader closer to the current state of research in the rapidly moving field of superstring theory than books written even two years ago. The book requires work, but it was a labor of love. This book is beautifully and artfully written and was a joy to read. I recommend it highly to anyone with the modest physics background described above who enjoys exploring theoretical physics and cosmology at a level approximating that of Scientific American.
Rating:
Summary: this book is insanely great!
Review: it is amazing to me that a theoretical physicist could write a book that is actually entertaining! when I first saw this book, I was like, "okay, big whoopdee, I bet it's boring." How wrong I was. this book explains a complicated subject in easy to understand terms which make reading this book a pleasure. I would seriously recommend this book to anyone who can concentrate for more than two minutes. Very cool book.
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