Review by Choice Review
In What Is Real?, Becker--a science writer and an astrophysicist at UC Berkeley--tackles the challenging and strange topic of quantum physics, with a particular emphasis on the history of the debate surrounding it. Using lay terms, he explains some of the most challenging concepts in quantum physics, including the mathematics behind common quantum concepts such as string theory, the Everett-Wheeler interpretation, and Bell's theorem. The diagrams found throughout the text help readers understand what Becker is trying to describe or explain, and the historical pictures further act to bring history to life. The book is organized into three sections. In the first, Becker writes about the beginnings of quantum theory, including some heated debates between Einstein and Heisenberg. The second section leads to John Bell's theorem. Again using everyday items to explain difficult concepts, Becker uses a casino to describe Bell's theorem in a way nonscientists can follow. In the final section, the multiverse is explored. In the end, all Becker asks of readers is to keep all these differing theories in mind as they further explore the universe and search for truth. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers. --Catherine Charnawskas-Jasionowicz, Rochester College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by New York Times Review
THE MARS ROOM, by Rachel Kushner. (Scribner, $27.) Kushner's much-anticipated new novel, a powerful and realistic page turner about a former lap dancer serving two life sentences in a women's prison, reveals an imagination Dickensian in its amplitude - and in its reformist zeal. YOU THINK IT, I'LL SAY IT, by Curtis Sittenfeld. (Random House, $27.) In the lives of Sittenfeld's characters, the lusts and disappointments of youth loom large well into middle age. But their trials, in the scheme of things, are manageable enough to allow for comedy, which Sittenfeld is a pro at delivering in the details. THE ROAD TO UNFREEDOM: Russia, Europe, America, by Timothy Snyder. (Tim Duggan Books, $27.) In his latest book, Snyder considers how democracies fall apart, placing the blame for political instability in Western countries from France to the United States on domestic cultural forces but also, in particular, on Russia and the policies of its leader, Vladimir Putin. BIBI: The Turbulent Life and Times of Benjamin Netanyahu, by Anshel Pfeffer. (Basic Books, $32.) This superbly researched biography of the controversial, scandal-plagued Israeli prime minister will likely become an essential contribution to understanding Netanyahu and his fractured country. WADE IN THE WATER: Poems, by Tracy K. Smith. (Graywolf, $24.) In her new collection, the poet laureate addresses national traumas including slavery and the Civil War - some of the poems are drawn from the letters of black soldiers - while asking how an artist might navigate the political and the personal. FEAST DAYS, by Ian MacKenzie. (Little, Brown, $26.) The disaffected American narrator of this novel has followed her banker husband to Säo Paulo, Brazil. But the city and its people may be too much for her. MacKenzie makes clear what his protagonist might not always see: that her life stands in stark contrast to those of the impoverished locals. BATTLESHIP YAMATO: Of War, Beauty and Irony, by Jan Morris. (Liveright, $15.95.) The end of World War II signaled the end of the era of great sea battles. In this slender, lavishly illustrated volume, Morris sees the sinking of Japan's greatest warship as a fitting symbol of that passing. WHAT IS REAL? The Unfinished Quest for the Meaning of Quantum Physics, by Adam Becker. (Basic Books, $32.) "Figuring out what quantum physics is saying about the world has been hard," Becker writes in his incisive exploration of quantum theory, possibly the most consequential controversy in modern science. THE DRAGON SLAYER: Folktales From Latin America, written and illustrated by Jaime Hernandez. (TOON Books, $16.95; ages 6 to 12.) Three folk tales in graphic-novel form; a buoyant delight. The full reviews of these and other recent books are on the web: nytimes.com/books
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [August 30, 2019]
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Quantum physics is "stubbornly mute on the question" of what is real, writes science writer Becker in this fresh debut. Most physicists in the early 20th century believed quantum physics revealed nothing about the everyday world; it was seen as the "shut up and calculate method." It's the dissenters to that view who take center stage here: scientist David Bohm challenged the status quo with his pilot-wave theory in the 1950s; Hugh Everett followed his curiosity to the sci-fi-like "many-worlds" interpretation; and John Stewart Bell's "scathing critic's pen" led to his eponymous theorem, later called the "most profound discovery of science." Catchy chapter openers ("It was the Summer of Love in New York City, and John Clauser was cooped up in a room at the Goddard Institute for Space Studies") and vivid biographical portraits enliven even dense theoretical explanations with wit and bite. Readers trace decades of experiments, alternative philosophies, and surprising drama in the physics boys' club to three intriguing possibilities: "Either nature is nonlocal in some way, or we live in branching multiple worlds despite appearances to the contrary"-or quantum physics is incomplete. With his crisp voice, Becker lucidly relates the complicated history of quantum foundations. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Astrophysicist and science journalist Becker (visiting scholar, Office for History of Science and Technology, Univ. of California Berkeley) here builds a solid case to counteract the typically prevailing (since the 1930s) notion that the quantum, subatomic world consists of a reality disconnected from our own. His research is as detailed and meticulous as a dissertation, though he includes clear descriptions of quantum phenomena using both texts and illustrations. Yet, the book is also personal, as Becker describes how, along with physicist John Bell, he is working to overturn the Copenhagen Interpretation created by Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg, a commonly taught theory of quantum mechanics. The narrative is enlivened by the personalities of key scientists and physicists, such as Albert Einstein's preference for solitude despite being sociable; Werner Heisenberg's hay fever that helped lead him to his uncertainty principle; and, the hero worship of Niels Bohr's students, despite his dense lecturing style. VERDICT This fairly technical work offers a fascinating revision of pivotal decisions around quantum physics discoveries. It should appeal to those interested in physics as well as the history of science in the interwar period.-Sara R. Tompson, Jet Propulsion Laboratory Lib., Archives & Records Section, Pasadena, CA © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A historical exploration of quantum physics, which "predicts a stunning variety of phenomena to an extraordinary degree of accuracy."The realm of quantum physics is extremely difficult to comprehend. According to Niels Bohr's "Copenhagen interpretation," largely devised in the 1920s, subatomic particles have no definite properties until they are measured. One can only calculate the probability of a certain resultfor example, the location of an electronand the very act of measurement changes matters. In his first book, astrophysicist and science writer Becker agrees with a minority of physicists that quantum physics needs a better interpretation "because it's not immediately clear what the theory is saying about the world. The mathematics of quantum physics is unfamiliar and abstruse, and the connection between the mathematics and the world we live in is hard to see." Until his death, Einstein insisted that this bizarre picture couldn't be correct, but most colleagues disagreed. Becker summarizes the debate and then takes up the cudgel. Einstein's objections never caught on, but successors have had some success. David Bohm and Hugh Everett maintained that particles have specific properties and location, but they also introduced complex concepts such as nonlocality, hidden variables, and a many-worlds view. The leading genius was John Bell, whose 1964 theorem postulates certain phenomena that violate traditional quantum theory. Subsequent extremely delicate experiments proved him right. Quantum physics works, so most physicists don't concern themselves with its view of reality, and the debate rarely reaches popular media. It's a philosophical question whose major figures are not household names and whose arguments do not simplify matters. The author works diligently to introduce them to a lay audience. Readers must put in the effort, but those who persist will come away with a taste of a basic scientific issue that a century of controversy has yet to resolve.A useful introduction to the history of quantum theory for scientifically inclined readers. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
