Rating: 
Summary: A fabulous review of the mysteries of the quantum world
Review: This book clearly spells out some of the mysteries of the world of quantum mechanics and discusses the vast experimental support of quantum mechanics. It also delves into possible "solutions" to the paradoxes of quantum mechanics, including time moving backwards, or a pre-determined Universe more "clockwork" than even Newton envisioned. The book is appropriate for the lay reader with a general interest in science.
Rating: 
Summary: An Adequate Primer For Quantum Physics and Its Mysteries
Review: This book does a great job of describing the principles of quantum mechanics and problems introduced by its notions. Gribbin does a great job of building a mystery of what may be possible (i.e. the unified field theory, a.k.a. the theory of everything). However, the book comes short of delivering upon its promise. Gribbin and the editor basically rifle through proposed theories and solutions of various physicists and ultimately say regarding these theories "I kind of like it" or "I don't like it." There is no in-depth probing of the theories, but glib judgments. The book, in those sections, has an unpleasant effect of reading like a transcript of a dilettante grad student running his mouth in a campus cafe. There are better written, and more elegantly explored books than this book. Kaku's books deserve a special mention, and for its simplicity, Hawkings' "Black Holes and Baby Universes".
Rating:
Summary: it was a great book
Review: this book is soooo good! although i'm only 13 yrs. old, i found this book highly informative on quantum theory, quantum electrodynamics, and the special and general theories of relativity. the way John Gribbin uses analogies to compare quantum mechanics to everyday life, is just amazing.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!
Review: This book presents a very lucid, engaging, and
often humorous explanation of the oddities of
quantum physics. It's a wonderful
introducion for the curious, the neophyte
physicist or the experienced metaphysician!
Rating:
Summary: A fascinating continuation of the original with new twists.
Review: This book provides even more background of the development of the "new physics," but also takes a turn into the philisophical implications of a theory so opposed to our notion of the real world as is quantum theory. Not only does it lead to amazement at the findings that have been made in recent experiments,it also plants the seeds for an analysis of science as a product of the uniquely human perspective. At the conclusion I was not only awestruck, but stimulated and intrigued as well. The book is a great experience, but if you are not willing to put some miles on your thinking cap don't bother.
Rating: 
Summary: Introduceing quantum physics
Review: This book was my first introduction to the complex world of quantum physics. I got it as a gift for passing my GCSEs, and found it facinating. I'd vaigly glanced in the general direction of quantum physics before, but all the explination I could find were so long winded and over-complex that I never looked too closely. This was not the case when reading Schrodinger's Kittens. The book was interesting, in depth, and never got stuck down in the quagmire of complex terminology that you just dont need to hear when your first looking at a subject.
All round a very good book, especially for teenage readers.
Rating: 
Summary: Good Material, Poorly Written
Review: This books attempts three things: (1) a non-technical introduction to quantum mechanics, by historical background, analogy, and descriptions of predicted phenomena; (2) descriptions of a number of relatively recent experiments elucidating the "mysteries" of quantum mechanics; and (3) a critical summary of various interpretations. As a popular introduction I would not recommend this book over superior accounts such as Nick Herbert's "Quantum Reality." Despite the fact that Herbert's book is substantially older, the basic theory is still the same. Descriptions of experiments are very poorly written, and many lack diagrams that would make them faster to read and easier to understand. The interpretative section is extremely poorly written and self-indulgent. It does give extensive space to "many-worlds" interpretations, but these have largely fallen out of favor among physicists. In any event, Gribbin is a shallow writer, and fails to convey many of the philosophical nuances -- or, for that matter, to connect the interpretations to the experiments in a clear and easily comprehensible way. His final twist (relative to other popular works) is the introduction of an interpretation incorporating the quantum "backwards" wave. This is an extremely interesting addition to the interpretive literature. Gribben butchers his description, but if you've have a solid course in QM already under your belt, you'll get it.All in all this book, this book, which probably had considerable promise in its initial proposal to the publisher, fails in execution. I notice, however, that competition in this market has thinned in recent years, so it may still be a viable alternative for readers looking for a popular text that is relatively up-to-date.
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Summary: Yes You Can Understand Quantum Mechanics! (Or Maybe Not...)
Review: This is an amazing book that gets to the heart of modern physics in an easy (relatively speaking), fast paced manner. The book provides the historical and scientific context needed to build a "solid" understanding of the accomplishments and limitations inherent in modern Quantum Mechanics. I really enjoyed the way Gribbin was able to weave together a complete story of the development of Quantum Mechanics by explaining the theoretical and experimental achievements of so many of the legendary figures in physics. His understanding of the topic is extraordinary and makes it possible for him to present page after page of complex ideas in a clear and exciting manner. I have found myself re-reading many sections of "Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality" and each time I find more and more depth to explore. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in Quantum Mechanics and the convergence of physics and philosophy.
Rating:
Summary: Yes You Can Understand Quantum Mechanics! (Or Maybe Not...)
Review: This is an amazing book that gets to the heart of modern physics in an easy (relatively speaking), fast paced manner. The book provides the historical and scientific context needed to build a "solid" understanding of the accomplishments and limitations inherent in modern Quantum Mechanics. I really enjoyed the way Gribbin was able to weave together a complete story of the development of Quantum Mechanics by explaining the theoretical and experimental achievements of so many of the legendary figures in physics. His understanding of the topic is extraordinary and makes it possible for him to present page after page of complex ideas in a clear and exciting manner. I have found myself re-reading many sections of "Schrodinger's Kittens and the Search for Reality" and each time I find more and more depth to explore. I strongly recommend this book to anyone interested in Quantum Mechanics and the convergence of physics and philosophy.
Rating:
Summary: Gets you closer to an understanding of quantum behavior
Review: This is the follow on to In Search of Schrodinger's Cat, which was a laymen's introduction to the complexities of Quantum behavior. I strongly recommend you read that book first to get a general introduction to the amazingly different world of behavior below the level of about one hundred nanometers or 200 atoms. At that level the rules change profoundly. So much so that we do not seem to even understand quantum behavior but we do understand the effects of quantum behavior. That is, as Feynman described it in QED we can measure and predict with astonishing precision (accurate to the thickness of a hair measuring between two points one in New York and one in Los Angeles) what happens but we cannot explain why. Gribbin seeks to create a deeper understanding of the principles of quantum behavior and the why of it. Gribbin explains elegantly why all this matters: "the interactions of electrons with one another and with electromagnetic radiation determine almost everything about the world around us . . . All of chemistry is explained by quantum physics . . . biological life depends upon the behavior of complex molecules such as proteins and DNA, which is also chemistry and also depends ultimately on the quantum properties of electrons". If you want to have a better understanding of the most powerful area of basic knowledge for the early 21st century you should read these three books and Brian Greene's The Elegant Universe. If after you get through it and it doesn't make sense then you are on the right track. You will, however, be closer to understanding quantum dynamics which will be as important for the first half of the 21st century as physics was in the 20th or electromagnetic theory and the internal combustion engine were for the second half of the 19th. Gribbin does his best to make this subject both interesting and understandable and I recommend his two books to anyone willing to take the time to stop frequently to think about the amazing ideas they have encountered.
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