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Summary: I Suffered Through Physics in High School...
Review: Although I'm a mathematical moron, I'm fascinated by things that generally require a lot of math to understand. This can be a problem! I'm about 3/4 through "The Elegant Universe," and think that I understand everything so far, even though "No One understands Quantum Theory." That is probably the best tribute to the author that I can give - he covers amazingly complex theories in a way that humble me can comprehend!I had heard about Quantum Physics and String Theory, but had only the vaguest idea of what they involved. "The Elegant Universe" discusses the latest, most mind-bending ideas in physics today. I found that I would have to stop every few pages to allow concepts to soak into my brain! If you're interested in what's happening in physics now, how Einstein's theories were affected by Quantum Theory, how String Theory has the potential for unifying the two, and most importantly - in a way that a non-mathematical or sciences educated person can understand - then this is the book you've been looking for.
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Summary: Fun book, interesting for laypersons
Review: It's difficult to really rate this book. It will be really good or really disappointing depending on whether the reader is a layperson or knowledgeable about physics. I've had the opportunity to read this book from both sides of the fence, and I will therefore break this review up into two sections. Laypersons: you will enjoy this book (4 stars), if not for any reason other than that it tells you what physicists are doing these days. The book understandably skips out on much of the gory detail of superstring theory, which is completely appropriate for any book designed to be read by laypersons. Physicists (or those with some knowledge in physics): this book will be pretty disappointing (2 stars). This is a storybook. It doesn't teach you anything useful, really. Plus, it's not intellectually honest. Green's explanations are 70% correct; getting the remaining 30% correct would require a book five times as long and lots of math, but that missing 30% is pretty important. While I agree that this book would miss the point if it went through pages and pages of math, I think Green could have done a better job of honestly explaining why certain things happen. His audience may not be experts in physics, but they're not idiots. With that all said, I'll say that I enjoyed this book both times I read it. Just be sure to read it with an open mind, and without expecting to acquire any detailed knowledge.
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Summary: house of cards
Review: [...] after skimming all reviews of this book i found three reasonable against the book. i want people to read this book - if only to see a few of the flaws of the "modern" approach. it is what i call convention - most people accept what's called the "standard model". read about renormalization. read about virtual shielding. read about all the crutches modern physics uses to hold itself up. find out it is a house of cards. that's very biased .. i'm sorry to be so negative. i Do recommend reading the book; i do not recommend buying it. borrow it from a friend. borrow it from a library. or buy another book from amazon. i could really go on and on here, but would bore you to tears. you cannot fight against convention - even if you are right. conventional minds will ignore you until you are passed away. to a conventional mind - an open minded person is an irritation. an annoyance. you can fight your whole life to offer the jewels of your understanding to others - while the ideas are spat upon. or worse - ignored .. [...]
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Summary: A Physics Epic
Review: I don't know exactly how to define "nonfiction epic", but this book certainly fits the description. In it Greene takes you from Einstein and Special Relativity through General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics through Superstring Theory and finally M-Theory, essentially a merging of five distinct versions of string theory (plus an 11-dimensional interpretation of gravity). Every section is illustrated both visually and analogously, and Greene's use of everyday (or at least commonplace) ideas to clarify the true meaning of extremely abstract ones is exceptional. You could buy this book even if you aren't curious about string theory and only want to learn about relativity. The explanations in this book are that enlightening--I for one feel immeasurably more competent in the subject now than I did before reading the book (and I was pretty competent in physics and relativity even beforehand). Similarly, the principles of quantum mechanics are explained colorfully and eloquently, in such a way that what sounds ridiculous to the rational, thinking person begins to actually make sense. But the real beauty of The Elegant Universe lies in the bulk of its content, which centers on Superstring Theory. Unless you've studied modern physics in detail, you probably didn't know (or didn't understand) that our universe consists of more than four spacetime dimensions. You may not have realized that space as we know them can tear apart and then reconstruct itself in a new form, altering the precise values of the fundamental "constants". On a deeper level, you probably never would have guessed that there actually is a minimum distance, that, beyond a certain level of magnification, there is nothing smaller. Naturally, some or all of this may not be the case after all. But, as Greene emphatically points out, string theory (which holds that the above highly unorthodox assertions are accurate) has promise. A LOT of promise. In fact, string theory, while still in something of an infant stage, is currently the exciting focus of many renowned physicists across the country and even the globe. The reason is that it is so deep and all-encompassing (and, unfortunately, painfully complicated) that it or, more likely, M-Theory may in fact be the Theory of Everything that scientists have dreamt about for years. Frankly, there is no reason for you to pass this book up if you are interested in modern science. String Theory is so intriguing that it could almost sell itself; that is, even if Greene hadn't written his book in such a clever and crystal clear way, it still would have been a joy to read (unless, of course, he resorted to highly involved technical tables and charts). But the fact is that The Elegant Universe was written wonderfully well, so well that I couldn't put it down at times. I may have even smiled while reading this book. (And how often do you smile while reading? Well, at least I don't do it.) Do yourself a favor. And I don't mean buy those cool-looking shades you want; spend your money on something worthwhile, like THIS BOOK.
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Summary: Strings Theory in a nutshell
Review: Professor Greene has done an amazying job with "The Elegant Universe." With few books on this topic, it is unbelieveable to find one that could allow other post-docs to keep in touch with the new advances in this part of theortical physics in a relatively short read. The background Professor Greene provided us was helpful in giving the casual reader a review in relativity and quantum theory. Overall though, the book may be a little slow, but such depth is indeed to simplify the visualization needed for the average layman. This is recommended for anyone that wants an update to the recent new field of string theory.
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Summary: thank you Brian
Review: Most mind expanding thing ive ever read. This book is exactly what i needed to combine matter with my theorys of consciousness, the pieces are all falling into place, Greene explains and verifys brainstormings and suspicions that i have had all along, i have the T.O.E.......
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Summary: Great Book
Review: The book starts with a review of General Relativity and Quantum Mechanics. I've been teaching science for fifteen years, and I've read alot about these topics, but Brian Greene does a great job of explaining familiar material in a fresh way; I will definately use pieces of his presentation in my classes. But the book really excels when he starts to explain string theory itself. I can't say enough in praise of it, and I urge you to get the book if you have even a passing interest in the topic.
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Summary: satisfaction guaranted
Review: The best book that I had read in the last years about the ongoing search for the secrets at the heart of time and space. Here is an updated material about cosmological theories that challenges even that common-sense notion. Much of the material is fascinating, this book may well blow your mind.
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Summary: WOW!
Review: I took two years of physics in college, I THOUGHT I understood General Relativity and Quantium Mechanics. But this book explained them much more throughly than I ever understood them before. Then went on to String Theory, and Super String Theory, and why SST is thought to be correct even though it is still untested. This has got to be the Ultimate "the way things work" book. Strongly recomended for anyone with an interest in ANY science.
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Summary: Strings with no mathematics attached
Review: Greene has done an unbelieveable job with "The Elegant Universe." Clearly he has a deep understanding of the topic, because the only equation I recall seeing is E=mc**2. Advanced physics topics in English - it's unreal. Granted, readers have to be motivated, but Greene uses analogies that should make sense to anyone with enough gumption to read the book through. Greene starts with Newtonian mechanics, move through Special and General Relativity, cruises through Quantum Mechanics and Quantum Geometry, and then takes the reader through a simple - work with me some on this - explanation of the 11-dimensional space-time fabric of String Theory. I can't understand why this book failed to nab the Pulitzer. It's more complicated than, say, a history book like "Lincoln at Gettysburg," but remains really approachable for pretty much anyone.
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