Genius Talk: Conversations With Nobel Scientists and Other Luminaries

by Denis Brian

In this unique book, celebrated biographer Denis Brian draws on some of the greatest scientific minds of the twentieth century, in pursuit of their distinct views on life, knowledge, and the cosmos. A provocative and revealing interviewer, Brian weaves together the insights and personal stories of a stellar cast of Nobel Prize winners and other luminaries, including Linus Pauling's ill-fated support of Vitamin C as a cure for cancer, Ashley Montagu's explanation of why the sex drive is not innate, and various personal recollections of the making of the atomic bomb, Heisenberg's role in Nazi Germany, and the spy case of Klaus Fuchs.

Genres: Science

423 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 1995

Reviews

[Julia Mertz]

This was a thought provoking collection of interviews. The first part of the book was interviews of mostly physicists of the 20th century. Many of the particular physical concepts they discussed I am minimally familiar with but the topics were discussed in such a way that I could enjoy the exposure to the subject’s personality, while putting together a list of related physics reading. Metaphysics, religion, psychology, neuroscience were themes in these interviews but became central in the later interviews. I’m definitely going to check out more of these scientists’ writing after reading this collection. The open mindedness and penchant for questioning that all of these subjects demonstrated was stimulating.

[Sepideh]

واقعا عاشق این کتابم، اول یا دوم دبیرستان بودم که اولین بار خوندمش و هیج وقت از دوباره خوندن و تورقش سیر نمیشم
به نظرم ذهن آدم رو باز میکنه