Rating: 
Summary: An excellent introduction to the details of measurement
Review: Albert's book is an excellent introduction for the lay reader. He begins by taking the reader through the basic mathematics needed, and goes on to introduce the measurement problem. He then goes on to examine the various pros and cons of proposed solutions to the problem, in a way that is wonderfully lucid. This book is a valuable resource for anyone looking to learn where things stand with regards to the measurement problem, regardless of ones previous knowledge of topic.
Rating: 
Summary: I am not sure who to blame: Albert or his editor
Review: I purchased Albert's book in anticipation of a philosophy course that he was teaching. Fortunately, I didn't enroll in the course. While Albert's intent to provide the lay person with a rigorous understanding of the conflicting interpretations of quantum physics is commendable, he is not very effective at accomplishing his goal. To begin, he misleads the reader in stating that the only prerequisite for the book is high school mathematics. While Albert cleverly uses thought experiments with which the reader can identify when describing the experimental results of quantum mechanics (e.g., uses incompatibles of color and hardness to describe the results of the Stern-Gerlach experiment), Albert fails in effectively describing the fundamental linear algebra that he uses in his text. Secondly, his writing style, while initially appealing in its informality, obstructs his message. The man is parentheses happy -- he uses them in nearly every sentence to convey key ideas. He also loves to leave key explanatory ideas for footnotes that can run on for pages. Furthermore, the progression of the text frequently obfuscates the logical relationship between ideas that he describes. After having read a section, I would often wonder which ideas were the premises of his argument and which were the conclusions. While we may excuse a physicist of this offense, I can't excuse Albert, a professor of philisophy. However, I do not think that Albert should solely bear the responsibility for these offenses. Where was his editor? I know that she, as the editor of R.I.G. Hughes' "The Structure and Interpretion of QM", is capable of better work (I recommend this text to anyone disappointed by Albert's book who still has the energy to pursue a less technical account of QM). She should have informed Albert that the cutesy informal style was a big failure. She also should have tested the accuracy of Albert's claim about book's mathematical prerequisites. It was a noble but failed attempt. With a great deal of editting/rewriting, and a better account of the QM formalism, the book could be a success.
Rating:
Summary: Nearly Unreadable Half-Breed
Review: I took his class, for which this book is required reading. Other reviewers are correct in saying the writing is pretty poor. Even if you can look past the distracting prose style, I still think most readers would be better served looking elsewhere for books covering similar material. It says on Albert's bio on the philosophy department website where he teaches that his work is so highly theoretical that he can proceed without a laboratory. But nor is he a philosopher primarily. He's a middling, and so is this book. I think the result is that the science is short changed as well as the broader treatment of the philosophical implications of the material. Perhaps he knows his stuff inside and out from BOTH angles, but all readers get is a strange half-breed that is almost unreadable. Some scientists have the enviable ability to look up from their work and give the rest of us a good look at the most fundamental problems posed by their work, and in dashing fashion. Albert is not one of these.
Rating:
Summary: Nearly Unreadable Half-Breed
Review: I took his class, for which this book is required reading. Other reviewers are correct in saying the writing is pretty poor. Even if you can look past the distracting prose style, I still think most readers would be better served looking elsewhere for books covering similar material. It says on Albert's bio on the philosophy department website where he teaches that his work is so highly theoretical that he can proceed without a laboratory. But nor is he a philosopher primarily. He's a middling, and so is this book. I think the result is that the science is short changed as well as the broader treatment of the philosophical implications of the material. Perhaps he knows his stuff inside and out from BOTH angles, but all readers get is a strange half-breed that is almost unreadable. Some scientists have the enviable ability to look up from their work and give the rest of us a good look at the most fundamental problems posed by their work, and in dashing fashion. Albert is not one of these.
Rating:
Summary: Forget the 1 stars - it's 5
Review: In spite of some previous 1 star reviews (which I can't really agree with) this book is a great intro to QM - if ya have some Linear Algebra behind you. I've studied many technical and general accounts of QM and this one is one of the better ones. There is some missing material but this book will help many see the issues and learn some of the interesting QM mathematical formalisms as well. Hell - maybe ya don't even need Linear Algebra as a precursor - I don't know. He does a decent job at presenting the relevent basics of even that. But I'm not sure I'd know what he was talking about if I hadn't already gotten familiar with vector spaces. Anyway, I stand by my opinion that this is fine and worthwhile exposition of the subject. Plus - being a philosopher familiar with the mathematically technical background that forms QM, he is able to present those philosophical issues in a way that he has already educated the reader to percieve.
Rating:
Summary: Provides a deeper understanding about quantum theory.
Review: This book explores quantum theory with a slightly mathematicalapproach. Albert presents the information largley with respectto linear algebra and how it directly represents paradigms in quantum theory, which definatley help the average reader understand abstract concepts such as non-locality and superposition. In doing so he gives a very elementary view of linear algebra, which should make even the mathematically inclined reader to reconsider how he/she views things like vectors, spaces and probability. At times he might delve a little to deeply into the basics, but it doesn't detract from the overall idea presented in the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Well Worth The Effort Needed
Review: This book is a very good introduction to Quantum Mechanics. I thought that the first three chapters on "Superposition", "The Mathematical Foundation and " Nonlocality" were particularly interesting and well written and alone worth reading. Later chapters are of a lesser quality and the writer seems tired towards the end of the book. Also be warned this book needs effort, review will be required, and if you don't have some talent for mathematics its going to be hard going. Overall I think that the knowledge to be gained will be proportional to the work put in by the reader and I believe that this book is well worth the required effort.
Rating:
Summary: Well Worth The Effort Needed
Review: This book is a very good introduction to Quantum Mechanics. I thought that the first three chapters on "Superposition", "The Mathematical Foundation and " Nonlocality" were particularly interesting and well written and alone worth reading. Later chapters are of a lesser quality and the writer seems tired towards the end of the book. Also be warned this book needs effort, review will be required, and if you don't have some talent for mathematics its going to be hard going. Overall I think that the knowledge to be gained will be proportional to the work put in by the reader and I believe that this book is well worth the required effort.
Rating: 
Summary: Almost what I wanted, but not quite
Review: This book is unusual in that the author's interpretation of quantum mechanics is at variance from the one that is popular today. And since it seems to be close to my own preference in this regard, I wanted to give the book a high rating. But it misses for two reasons. The mathematics is done using a notation that is sometimes a bit difficult to follow. (And I say this as a holder of a Ph. D. in theoretical chemistry, i. e., one thoroughly familiar with the kind of mathematics that is presented in the book!) And the writing is hard to follow in some places (especially because he'll make lists of points as A, B, C, D and then refer to them by those letters, making the reader go back to find out what he's talking about!) Another reviewer stated that what this book really needs is some editing by someone else. With that judgment I concur. The _material_ in the book is first-rate. The _presentation_ could use some improvement.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely worth the effort
Review: This book was a revelation to me. It covers exactly the middle-ground I was looking for, between no-math lay books and dense PhD-level math texts. It's a book for someone looking to take the next step, once you've understood enough of basic QM on the lay level to start asking deeper philosophical questions. The author's approach is unique in asking these philosophical questions about this utterly strange QM world, but yet doing it in a way that is formal enough to be credible, as opposed to many fuzzy lay texts that leave you in a rather more than less confused state. Mind you, despite the first innocent-looking impression, it is not an easy read. But then the really interesting books seldom are. I read it once, then I studied it again, taking notes. But at that point I got rewarded by insights unavailable elsewhere. As to the tone of the author, it is indeed unusual, but I personally like it. The parentheses, repetitions and footnotes other reviewers complained about actually helped me a lot, by providing multiple angles on difficult concepts constantly. I'd welcome more books written in this style. Also the math-level in the book is certainly within reach of most people, if you are willing to learn while reading the book. I have no significant math background myself and yet could understand almost everything.
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