Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1272 in Books
• Published on: 2005-08-04
• Binding: Paperback
• 464 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
To write a book to explain in simple, non-mathematical terms what superstring theory is is not a simple task. In The Elegant Universe Brian Greene, a physicist who works in the area, does a very good job. Superstrings are a theory of particle physics that lays claim to being the ultimate "Theory of Everything", merging Einstein's relativity and quantum mechanics into an understanding of the physics of the very small and very large in the Universe. Hence to understand superstrings relativity, quantum mechanics have to be explained as well. In this Brian Greene does a very good job, giving one of the best explanations of relativity I have read in the process. Superstring theory is still very much in its infancy and The Elegant Universe does not claim that all the problems have been solved, in fact a point is made of pointing out all the present deficiencies of the theory.

Probably not a book for the very beginner but anyone who has read popular accounts of particle physics and relativity should gain a lot from reading this book. In places not an easy read, not for style reasons(which was generally very easy) but simply for the difficulty of some of the concepts involved. Superstring theory may or may not be the theory of everything but this book will certainly tell you what we think we know so far. Definitely recommended but don't expect to read it in a weekend. --Simon Goodwin

Edward Witten, Institute for Advanced Study
Everyone who is curious about the horizons of theoretical physics—past, present, and future—will enjoy this book.

David M. Lee, professor of physics, Cornell University
[A] beautifully crafted account of string theory...a delightful; read for the professional.

Customer Reviews

Not a "light" read
Brian Greene has a talent for conveying complex ideas in a way that is easy to understand. He is constantly using word pictures (and sometimes actual pictures) to explain relativity, quantum theory, and other topics that are utterly fascinating but are sometimes difficult to get your brain around. Elegant Universe is not a light read, but for those looking to get a moderate understanding of the subject matter I highly recommend it.

Too much personal history. Disappointed promise.
I took this book with me on holiday with great hopes. It started well with the tables of complete and regular features of fondamental particles exercising my imagination and being very satisfying to show how a few particles could engender all the complexity of the elementary particles, then the atoms, etc.... Many of the other reviews here show the other good and strong points, as well as some of the weaknesses of this book. I will not go through them again.
I did find the " internal personal history " of the author and his colleagues over long and of some, but not much relevance to the subject. At the end of the book, I was left unsatisfied by the promise of the beginning with the neat tables of fundamental particles, I felt we knew nothing of how each, and which, different frequency of the vibrating strings engendered a specific fondamental particle.

An Introduction to SuperstringTheory/M Theory
This book offers an enjoyable ride through a lovely landscape of Superstring theory/M theory. The author is an active researcher and a popular writer in this field who is also known for his presentation on PBS's NOVA about quantum cosmology. Since the postulation of special theory of relativity, Einstein and subsequent physicists have struggled to explain the four natural forces of the most basic components of matter; the electromagnetic force; the strong and weak nuclear forces; and the gravitational force by one unified field theory (a.k.a., theory of everything: Superstring/M Theory). This theory must unify the forces of the cosmos, and forces of microcosm thereby explaining the creation of heaven and earth. The author covers significant amount of material in simple clearly written non-technical and non-mathematical form. The book is described in four parts; first two parts introduces theory of relativity and quantum mechanics and the unholy marriage of the two that results in the complexity of understanding the forces of the cosmos and subatomic forces. The latter two parts describes Superstring theory that evolves into more focused M theory to explain all physical forces of nature. This theory suffers from lack of experimental evidence, but rests solely on mathematical calculations. Hence it was subjected to heavy criticism during early years of the theory by leading physicists. However it has emerged as a winner as the theory grew out of academic obscurity to leading contender in quantum cosmology. The book has interesting tales about the leaders of the field such as Ed Witten who is strongly favored as the true successor of Albert Einstein. The author's enthusiasm and excitement about his involvement in this field is evident abundantly, when he discovers that fabric of space tears and repairs itself. This book is lot more informative and enjoyable than Michio Kaku's Hyperspace (see my review of this book). At the end of the book, notes to each chapter, Glossary of scientific terms, and suggested books for further reading offers stepping stones to more enthusiastic readers for furthering their knowledge. The author has done an excellent job of writing this book, and I encourage you to buy it: But he could have considered writing a chapter on mathematical methodology and some basic approaches to calculations that probably would have made this book one of the top few in this field.