Jason LaFrenais

PHY 311

Dr. S.D. Marcum

April 7, 2008

BOOK REVIEW THREE

The Fabric of the Cosmos

Brian Greene’s, The Fabric of the Cosmos, is one of the most interesting books I have read in quite a while. Unlike the two previous books we have read, Greene’s conversational style of writing allows us to easily identify with and understand even some of the most complicated theories and concepts.

Throughout his book, Greene discusses the thought work of physicists and humanity’s attempt to describe the nature of the universe. Much like the Zubrin and Boss’s books, he begins with a little history, and uses Newton’s bucket experiment as a point of reference for the explanation of various ideas of motion and space.

Greene’s lighthearted tone throughout the book was essential in keeping my attention. I never thought that I would find myself laughing while reading a book about physics, but there were time in The Fabric of the Cosmos that I did just that. From analogies involving the Simpsons to nearly an entire page of numbers describing entropy, Greene’s humorous elements make his book that much more enjoyable to read.

Compared to A Case of Mars and Looking For Earths, this book feels like the author put his heart and soul into its creation. Rather than just being a documentation of an idea or a time period, Greene demonstrates his passion for understanding the universe through his dedicated and thorough descriptions. Either he has spent a lifetime formulating these completely understandable analogies, or he has such an incredible understanding of the topics that he can relate them to common ideas on a whim. In either case, as a reader, his simple and associative descriptions we more than welcome.

It is also worth noting that Greene recognizes the breadth of his audience, including forty pages of notes that provide more complicated and scientific descriptions of the issues he discusses. This allows the reader to enter a “choose your own adventure” environment in which we have the ability to add or omit information as we please. Although I rarely found myself flipping to these back pages, it definitely increases Greene’s credibility to know that he has substantial information to support his explanations.

As a visual artist, I tend to understand things much better when I can see or feel them. I found the illustrations throughout the book to be particularly helpful, especially when dealing with the concepts of string theory. I assume that these illustrations were just as helpful to others, and it is comforting to know that even some of the most complicated ideas can be simplified and understood by such means. As I expected, I found myself looking forward to the illustrations, sometimes flipping ahead just to see them and then realizing that I had to catch up on my reading.

It is difficult to pinpoint any faults in this book. If I was forced to come up with a complaint, I might say that the writing can become a little predictable at times. Beginning with a complicated idea, Greene chooses a comparison, be it baseball or Chewbacca, and then rambles on for a bit until he feels like we should understand what he is talking about. Making this complaint is a little hypocritical as this style of writing is extremely effective in communicating Greene’s points, and it is in fact the reason why the book is so successful.

This is a book that I do not intend to sell at the end of the semester. The insight that it provides into the history and function of the universe is something inspiring. It prompts its readers to question their experience of the world around them. It is enlightening and should be read by anyone with the slightest curiosity about everything we have come to know and strive to understand about the universe.