The God Particle

Posted by Gunnar on June 16, 1999 at 02:31:37:

In Reply to: The God Particle posted by Gunnar on June 15, 1999 at 22:40:33:

: : "The God Particle" by Leon Lederman.

: : He's a HOOT. (well, put that hooting in the context of someone who actually enjoys reading lay/physics books, as in, am I a geek or what?)

: I agree. That is a great book. Leon Lederman is not only an excellent explainer of difficult scientific concepts, he has an excellent sense of humor. I bet he could be a success as a stand up comedian. I'll bet it would have been fun to have him as a teacher.

: Another book you might like is BLACK HOLES AND TIME WARPS, by Kip Thorne. In his book, he not only explains the concepts of modern cosmology in a very clear and entertaining way, he discusses the personalities and personal histories of the scientists whose work he explains (including his own) and shows how their individual quirks and foibles and the social, physical and political environments under which they lived and worked influenced their individual approaches, creativity and conclusions. In short, he portrayed the scientists as emotional, fallible human beings with both noble traits and character flaws, just like the rest of us. I think I liked his book even better than Lederman's book.

Gunnar

: Gunnar