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Summary: Makes relativity and superstring theory as simple as it gets
Review: Although I am a layperson in the ture sense of the word, I have reead over a dozen books on relativity theory and quantum mechanics. This book is the best I've read so far. It takes subjects that are obtuse counterinuitve, and makes them accesible, even to those with little or no scientific background. The chapter on Special Relativity was particularly enlightening.
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Summary: Sets the Standard for Science Writing
Review: Brian Greene sets the standard for science writing with this book. While someone who does not have a good basic understanding of physics probably could not follow the book, you do not need to know anything more specialized. Dr. Greene has very imaginative ways of explaining the subject matter without formulas and the diagrams are excellent.
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Summary: A Great Book.
Review: This is a very interesting book. Although I do not agree with everything he says, it is still a good read and I recommend it. The only problem I had with it, is that he tries too hard to explain stuff. He will explain the same thing over and over using different examples, one example is enough for me. Other than that it is a great book.
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Summary: History, Science & Religion - Like Finding a Lost Parent
Review: This book explains a lot about life and the possibilities that await us. I can't wait for the sequel. It's a real-world drama. You'll need to shift into low gear, some chapters are heavily math/science oriented. Opens you up to a world of possibilities. There are no religious references in the book, but you can see where God, Angels and Heaven may be hiding. Debunks any notion that science has figured out how the universe works, but has opened the door to inifinite possibilities. The progress that has been made in the last 50 years is amazing. We should be putting the budget surplus into more physics research. This stuff is amazing!
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Summary: Very good
Review: First of all I share the enthusiasm that most reviewers expressed in their comments. It is a very good book. Therefore I can focus on the aspects I would have liked to have learned about after reading this book. I gave it 5 stars but I had to think hard whether 4 are more appropriate. It is because I found it terribly hard to put this book down that I gave it 5 stars - so I must have enjoyed reading it ! The first 120 pages or so covered special and general relativity and quantum mecanics. This part I knew quite well and I was eager to learn about strings which I had no clue about before I read this book. Dr. Greene managed to give a very good introduction to this complex subject. What I would have liked to see is a bit more mathematics. I am not a mathematician but when Dr. Greene talks about a theory that has the deepness that can explain everything I would have liked to see a bit of the mathematics behind it. Or is it too difficult to even write down a single formula ? Maybe he is saving some of it for the next book on this subject. It is certainly just the beginning. I sure will buy the next one too. I can recommend this book: it deals well with a complex and very fascinating subject.
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Summary: The best book for laypersons
Review: If you are interested in physics and the direction of the field, but were no good at math like myself, then this book is for you. My back ground is in philosophy and I did a fair amount of work in the philosophy of science. This book gives you the back ground and intuitive understanding of some of the most difficult hypotheses and theories in physics. However, the book does get more difficult as you delve deeper into string theory, but I would buy this book just for the first 3 or 4 chapters that cover Einstien and Quantum Physics. Overall, a must have for the physics enthusiast who never took a physics course.
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Summary: Beauty and Physics
Review: Hi, just so you know, everyone that gave this book a rating LESS THAN 5 probably was a biology major in college or had a fear high school physics. Thus, did not understand the context and brillance that emmanates from this book. I love physics and I grown a great respect for Dr. Greene, for his creativity and his humor as well as his physics.
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Summary: Overblown and overrated.
Review: If the proof of understanding is the ability to explain the concept simply to a layman, this author doesn't truly understand string theory. He also fails to understand why string theory is elegant, because he does not succeed in explaining that either. The lasting impression I got from the book was that among the universe of scientists, the bulk of them do uninspired, derivative, mediocre (albeit necessary) drudgery. While certainly they uncover truths, truths that merely quantify rather than elucidate the subject aren't interesting to read about. More importantly it seems that the string theorists in the book seem to be doing either physics without experiment or mathematics without proof. Such activity at best leads to theories which describe the universe by coincidence, and at worst leads down the path of the ancients -- a mathematical physics that appeals to beauty and symmetry rather than proof and experiment. On the positive side, the book has an excellent section on the special and general theories of relativity, an adequate explanation of quantum mechanics, and a very clear section explaining their contradiction.
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Summary: Simply Outstanding
Review: This is one of the best books I have ever read. It easily surpasses the genuis of Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time. This book is exceptionally well written, and easy to follow. If you do not have this book buy it. You will find no clearer book on the subject.
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Summary: Clearly enigmatic
Review: Greene has a talent for explaining things. His descriptions and examples of gravity, physical forces, and the Theory of Relativity are fresh and crisp even though the theories themselves have been around for decades. For me it was more than a refresher course as I had forgotten exactly how they worked and what evidence there was for making these theories absolutely true. I begin to enter a cave as Greene journeys into string theory and super string theory. The descriptions and examples become dim and harder to conceptualize perhaps because the theory is still relatively new. Greene does not go into the "math" but having a math mind would certainly make things easier to understand. I did have glimpses of understanding from one sentence to the next. String theory is a revolutionary way of looking at things and bringing the physics of everything together hence its name The Theory of Everything (TOE). Most difficult for me was understanding the significance of Calabi-Yau shapes and their relationship to string theory and hidden dimensions. Rather like the ultimate Chinese jigsaw puzzle. The desire grew to "play" around with these shapes on a computer in an attempt to get intimate with them and gain some beginnings of understanding. And the difficulty of string theory is the framework of conceptualization. Like being told you can breath underwater, there is an inherit distrust and discomfort in letting yourself go and breath in the water. If I gained one kernel of understanding string theory it would be that this theory brings together two huge theories in physics that have great evidential support for their truth and existence, but when taken together fail at nearly every level. Why the disparity? Can they both be right just not compatible? The two great theories being general relativity and quantum mechanics. Two theories that explain opposite ends of the universal spectrum: for one, the very large or cosmological, for the other, the very microscopic, so small the individual "elements" can not be seen even with our most powerful magnifying tools. String theory offers a new view of what these tiny constituent elements are and how they work, and why they work in bringing the two existing theories together. I think in terms of bringing past theories down to earth, compared with Hawking's A Brief History of Time, Greene brings the laymen a notch higher in his understanding. This, even with the very difficult and ambiguous ideas of string theory. I think Greene's book is more accessible and more likely to be used as a quick point of reference material. It's difficult not to wonder how close to the mark string theory actually is to the "truth". I think we may not know for a hundred years although that estimate may be pessimistic. I don't give the sciences a fair estimate in coming up with compelling solutions and the evidence to support them. I always think they are decades away. However the speed of knowledge may have momentum in its favor and solutions may present themselves quickly and accurately. Maybe even in my own lifetime.
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