Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Particle Physics For Dummies.

When the top review blurb on the back cover read "...not just physics for poets...", I was sold. And I wasn't disappointed, either.

You Are Here: A Portable History of the Universe is a very ambitious book, intending to give the layperson a thumbnail sketch of the current state of everything from astrophysics to the particle zoo to evolutionary biology. It works surprisingly well; I digested it in two big gulps. Too many popular science books are written by a twenty-pound brain who can't write his way out of a sack, assisted by a ghostwriter of dubious talents, whereas Potter is a writer who happens to have a degree in science; the difference this makes in readability is noticeable. Recommend.
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4 comments:

  1. North9:12 AM, March 09, 2011

    Thank you for the review, Tam. I added this book to my wish list.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Josh Kruschke10:25 AM, March 09, 2011

    Yes, Thank You.

    :-)
    Josh

    ReplyDelete
  3. Atom Smasher6:14 PM, March 09, 2011

    I'll have to pick that one up, thanks.

    If you haven't already, grab all the Gribbin you can. Smart and readable and fun.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Robert1:32 PM, March 10, 2011

    Bill Bryson's "A History of Nearly Everything" was educational, too.

    ReplyDelete

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