The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene

Title:  The Elegant Universe:  Superstrings, Hidden Dimmensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory
Author:   Brian Greene
Genre:  Science
Length:  464 Pages
Weight:  1.6 lbs
Date of Completion:  June 17, 2013

Thoughts:

I know that it is easy to complain about how unsciency a book about an extremely difficult physics topic that is meant for the general public can be.  There aren't any equations; the most we get are some general inverse relationships implied at one point.  The author and publisher assume that the individuals who read this book wouldn't be able to follow the equations, and they would detract from the "telling of the story".  Ironically, this is ridiculously true for a book on string theory.  At one point, the author finally acknowledges that the actual equations haven't ever been solved, just approximated.  To the uninformed public, that sounds really, really bad to be basing a theory off of a bunch of equations you can't solve.  For those who understand perturbation theory, it is a godsend in physics.  However, the lack of an actual solution does present a problem.

While I realize that there are intelligent people who would be interested in the book who are not physicists and do not have an adequate math background to keep up with a rigorous derivation of the theory, I honestly imagine them still having a difficult time with the book.  Only with my background of a physics degree helped make sense of things.  Greene talks like a physicist:  intelligent, with a large vocabulary, and completely aware that you are very stupid and he is dumbing down very complex and complicated ideas so you can try to understand it.  I've had many conversations with professors that are just like it in the past.

However, Greene is a very talented writer.  His excitement for the topic jumps off the page and helps carry you through some rough spots where he skates over some iffy explanations.  Overall, it was a book that I enjoyed reading.  Though it had the usual general physics introduction in the first 1/4 of the book (that gets old really fast when you have read the same basic intro in every book like this you read), the progression through the theory was smooth.  He addressed the major topics, who developed them and why they came about, what they mean in physics, and what they mean to the rest of the world.  For the purposes of the book, he did an excellent job.  

Years ago, I watched the NOVA miniseries Greene did for a science class.  I now own the DVD for the program and have watched it for fun.  I got the book a few years ago because I like the topic and the way Greene presents relativity.  Personally, I am very glad I waited until I had finished college (especially quantum statistical mechanics) before reading the book.  It helped with my comprehension immensely.