A fascinating tour of particle physics from Nobel Prize winner Leon Lederman. it's the dogged pursuit of this almost mystical entity that inspires ...
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May 05, 2008
Jim
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A very lively, funny, and informative book by Nobel Laureate Leon Lederman. The first part of the book is a vivid and hilarious historical survey of ideas and discoveries in Western physics from the Greeks down to the present day. Having brought you as a reader step by step on this journey, Lederman then opens the door to his own utterly fascinating but little-understood speciality, particle physics. Lederman conveys with excitement and humor what it is like to be one of two or three people i
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Jun 29, 2010
Dallas
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This book provides an interesting foray into the deep mechanisms of particle physics. Nicknamed 'The Plumber'(due to his preference for experimentation) by Murray Gell-Mann, it is clear from this book that Lederman's work in the 60s and 70s is nothing short of Nobel calibre. This book is fairly dense in terms of physics technicalities, but one can still appreciate the humorous anecdotes throughout.
As generally explained in the book, a neutrino ('little neutral one') is an elementary More...
As generally explained in the book, a neutrino ('little neutral one') is an elementary More...
May 18, 2009
Roger
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Far more informational than I had hoped, perhaps even better than all the questions it answered for me was all the new questions it made me think up that weren't answered between its covers; without loading his book down so as to be unwieldy or frightening for the mathophobes, Lederman's managed to get at least this reader enticed to learn more. If only it had a list of other books that are great reads for the couch physicists out there.
Anyway, it's a must-read to round out all that More...
Anyway, it's a must-read to round out all that More...
Feb 14, 2009
Ellen
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As a history of particle physics, it's pretty good. However, I still had to consult Wikipedia after I read it to find out what the Higgs field is (the point of the book was to tell the story of the quest to prove its existence, upon which all of particle theory rests...), And despite many references to God and Creation, Lederman is still a champion of making science more accessible to the general public. And there's this one great passage where he rips on "The Tao of Physics" and ot
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Dec 17, 2008
Nick
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The story of particle accelerators and particle physics told in an amusing, entertaining tone by a Nobel-prize laureate. Lederman does a great job stepping the beginner reader through how particle physics started and what its study aims to accomplish, including finding the Higgs boson.
Since the time of the book the SSC was shot down by Congress but the LHC finally made it to realization (albeit with some technical issues to be worked out yet.)
It's a good read if you're i More...
Since the time of the book the SSC was shot down by Congress but the LHC finally made it to realization (albeit with some technical issues to be worked out yet.)
It's a good read if you're i More...
Aug 06, 2010
Jason
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This was arguably the best popular science book I've read. The titular God Particle, or theoretical Higgs boson, is a recurring character in the book, but the scope is far broader than one yet-to-be-discovered particle. Nobel laureate Lederman tells the story of particle physics from Thales and Democritus up to the as-then-not-yet-aborted Superconducting Supercollider in Waxahachie, TX. He re-envisions the history of physics and chemistry as the quest for the fundamental piece of nature, a quest
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Jun 28, 2007
Eric
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This book is written in an extremely coherent, informative manner with a touch of intellectual humor and imagination. Not having much of a history with the study of physics, the first time reading through this book, many concepts seem somewhat beyond my grasp of initial comprehension. Although, it touches on nearly every theorist's and experimenter's ideas and results concerning the physical world and it's constituents. I'm still in the process of getting into this book, but for the first few ch
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Apr 05, 2010
Alyssa
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Really the only thing that irks me are the god references. I like a catchy name as much as anyone, and it really doesn't detract from the content, it's just a pet peeve. Lederman gets in some good cracks against the Tao of Physics/Dancing Wu Li Masters types and gives a solid and pretty unbiased layman's overview of QM, with good humor and no BS. His explanations are clear and fun. If the Higgs Field/Boson is all that interests you and you have some familiarity with QM, you might want to skip so
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Oct 12, 2011
Bud
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This is the best popular treatment of particle physics I've ever read maybe because I've finally read enough to begin understanding the subject. My only complaint is that the author (who is probably an atheist) insisted on always using the pronouns she/her when referring to God. Other than that the book was very informative and entertaining.
Jun 22, 2008
Modern Times
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The pursuit of THE GOD PARTICLE. This title may turn off the hard core atheists among us, so let me rephrase: the pursuit of the SINGLE PARTICLE THAT MAKES UP THE ENTIRE EVERYTHING. What? Yes. Wait, what? That is sort of the premise of this book, but in order to get to that point, our authors give us a great 101 of physics, starting with, of course, an ancient Greek and winding all the way up to the present day and the creation of super particle accelerators built to smash already tiny shit
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Mar 05, 2011
Jack
rated it:
Unquestionalbly the best science book Ive ever read.
Such an easy informative humorous tour through the world of particle physics,a branch of science which
the U.S. was preeminent,but due to underfunding and shortsightedness the preeminence has moved to Europe.
Library Book.
Such an easy informative humorous tour through the world of particle physics,a branch of science which
the U.S. was preeminent,but due to underfunding and shortsightedness the preeminence has moved to Europe.
Library Book.
Feb 15, 2010
John
rated it:
A fun, and funny history of particle physics. I appreciated Lederman's focus on experimental contributions to our understanding of the quantum theory, but I thought he could have done a better job providing some theoretical background to things such as relativity, uncertainty, etc. Still, an enjoyable read.
Jun 29, 2008
I'm really interested in quantum physics (layman's quantum physics), particularly when using the discipline to try to gain a greater understanding of the very fabric of existence and how that begins to approach spirituality. In theory, God Particle has the recipe to satisy this penchant, but I cannot get past Lederman's hokey methods e.g. fabricating a conversation with a Greek philosopher that is supposed to be funny but is actually as entertaining as watching a silent film without picture. L
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Aug 28, 2011
Jack
rated it:
With the constant reminders that Lederman wrote this in 1993, the book sometimes dates itself, but ultimately, it's a fun look at the history of physics and the really incredible personalities and research that have come out of it in the mid- to late-20th century. Lederman's humor is sometimes a little too campy (even for me...yeah...it's pretty campy), but it grew on me after a while. By the end, I wouldn't have minded another chapter--always a good sign!--and so if anyone has any suggestions
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Aug 29, 2010
Joe
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Leon Lederman is a pip! This book is really fantastic and you don't need a physics degree to appreciate it. He covers a lot of history of advancement in the field and spends a lot of time on quarks since that was big shit when he wrote the book. There's also some cutesy, fun diagrams that paint a really neat picture of the standard model and some geometric classification of every single subatomic particle. But don't be frightened, it's not like a text book at all! At the end of the book, Lederm
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Feb 02, 2012
Denise
rated it:
Highly enjoyable read. The brunt of the book is dedicated to historical advancements in the quest for the a-tom, all building up to the accelerators/colliders in search of quarks and Higgs. A favorable and accessible balance of history, physics, mathematics, and wit to keep the reading light and help await results from the Large Hadron Collider. PS. Texas politicians are Aristotelian #@$%#!
Oct 23, 2011
Marv
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This book is very funny. Leon Lederman has a good sense of humor.
He takes a difficult subject Physic's and makes it very easy to understand.
I give this book 5 stars!
He takes a difficult subject Physic's and makes it very easy to understand.
I give this book 5 stars!
Oct 11, 2010
I like Lederman's sense of humor. For being a physics book, it's pretty interesting and quite readable. I have used a couple exerpts for reading in my chemistry class.
Feb 07, 2009
Travis
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Anyone who can make particle physics so accessible is a friend of my simple mind. I was particularly taken with the mysticism of the Higgs boson and Lederman's implication that there almost seems to be a force that prevents us from discovering it. His tower of babel analogy and comparison of using particle colliders as the modern tower to reach and see the realm of God was poetic and scary, so I still think about it when I'm falling asleep, or stumble across a news article that mentions partic
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Apr 11, 2008
Medeyle
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An excellent guide to particle physics/quantum physics for the layman. I understand the structure of the atom and the history of physics in a way that I did not before. The "God Particle" of the title is the Higgs boson, not a reference to a deity. The biggest drawback to this book is that it is somewhat outdated; it was written in the early 1990's, and predates the cancellation of the Superconducting Supercollider in Texas, and the discovery of the top quark. Lederman is somewhat f
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Aug 08, 2011
Albert
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I love this book. Every time I read I think I understand it. Then I try to explain it, and start to re-read. It is excellent.
Aug 01, 2011
Tomasz
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Get it, read it and then you'll be able to properly admire and appreciate physicists for their hard work after reading this book.
Feb 09, 2010
Brayden
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It was an interesting summary of the field of physics as of 15 years ago. Not as mind-shattering as I'd hoped.
Apr 09, 2009
Marina and Joshua
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I really enjoyed the book. I like it when these books turn more into a primer on the subject than anything else. Who knew I could be so interested in particle decay?
Oct 09, 2009
The God Particle: If the Universe Is the Answer, What Is the Question? by Dick Teresi (2006)
Feb 19, 2010
Vaman
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Shockingly readable, the first book which imbued the word quantum with all the beauty it deserved.
Sep 01, 2009
Sonia
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What an awesome book. This is where I finally learned what the Higgs Boson really is.
Mar 31, 2008
Trickey
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So right now I'm in the midst of learning about particle physics and this is the best book I've read on the subject. The author knows his stuff (being a Nobel winner for the subject) he's witty, and it has the best historical digest of the ideas mapped through history. Unfortunately, it's a little out of date and discusses how amazing science will be once the SSC (superconductor super collider)is built. Well, funding for that project was cut in 1993 (another issue I have will Bill Clinton), so i
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Jun 15, 2009
Thomas
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Learned a lot more about particle physics. Always a good thing, right?
Mar 04, 2010
Chelsea
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I am ashamed to admit that I, as an IMSA student and now Fermilab employee, had not read this book until now.
While it's a little dated (written in 1990); if you substitute "theorized top quark" with "discovered top quark" and "SSC in Texas" with "LHC in CERN" and everything works out OK. He does a great job of walking the reader through a history of the theorists and theories on the nature of matter. His writing style is very conversational an More...
While it's a little dated (written in 1990); if you substitute "theorized top quark" with "discovered top quark" and "SSC in Texas" with "LHC in CERN" and everything works out OK. He does a great job of walking the reader through a history of the theorists and theories on the nature of matter. His writing style is very conversational an More...
