The essays in Seven Brief Lessons on Physics arrive like shots of espresso, which you can consume the way the Italians do, quickly and while standing up. As slim as a volume of poetry, Mr. Rovelli's book also has that tantalizing quality that good books of poems have; it artfully hints at meanings beyond its immediate scope…[The] book is a roll call of the scientists who have taken us so far, from Einstein and Niels Bohr through Werner Heisenberg and Stephen Hawking. Like us and everything else in our universe, they emerged from one small, dense hot cloud. These men's intellects simply burned a bit brighter. The lessons in Mr. Rovelli's book, as elegiac as they are incisive, do them justice.
The New York Times - Dwight Garner
01/04/2016
In clear, elegant prose, Rovelli guides the reader through a whirlwind tour of some of the biggest ideas in physics. His passion for his chosen field is evident on every page… One can easily imagine perusing these essays while comfortably ensconced in an overstuffed chair by the fire, a snifter of cognac in hand… The reader will come away…with a deeper understanding of how modern physics has brought us closer to an ultimate understanding of reality.”—The New York Times Book Review The Economist The Times Magazine New Scientist Seven Brief Lessons on Physics arrive like shots of espresso, which you can consume the way the Italians do, quickly and while standing up. As slim as a volume of poetry, Mr. Rovelli’s book also has that tantalizing quality that good books of poems have; it artfully hints at meanings beyond its immediate scope... [H]is book is a roll call of the scientists who have taken us so far, from Einstein and Niels Bohr through Werner Heisenberg and Stephen Hawking... The lessons in Mr. Rovelli’s book, as elegiac as they are incisive, do them justice.”—The New York Times Nature Esquire , The Best Books of 2016 (So Far)NPR —The Guardian “Brief but eloquent... The slim volume is stereotypically the province of poetry, but this beautifully designed little book shows that science, with its curiosity, its intense engagement with what there really is, its readiness to jettison received ways of seeing, is a kind of poetry too”—Financial Times — Scientific AmericanForbes — Daily Herald San Francisco Chronicle — Gizmodo—The Independent —Brain Pickings “Written to be accessible and to appeal to the imagination of the liberal arts major…Rovelli highlights the beauty of theories of gravity, time, and consciousness.”—The Curious Wavefunction —The Millions Seven Brief Lessons on Physics .”—International Business Times —Amy Poehler's Smart Girls Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli is a short accessible introduction. The chapters are manageable chunks of famous theories, most recognizable even to those of us who don’t happen to have a Ph.D... Mr. Rovelli shows how scientists can not only accept [contradictions between theories] but also revel in its infuriating layers.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette —Raleigh News & Observer —Kirkus Reviews , —Publishers Weekly —Shelf Awareness — Bookpage— Seven Brief Lessons on Physics , Carlo Rovelli delivers physics lessons in a most untraditional way, inspiring readers to think differently, to get excited about discovery, to open their minds, to see beauty in the strange... Exquisite... If you love nonfiction and science as much as you love literary fiction, this is a must-read.”— Seven Brief Lessons on Physics is an absorbing, lovely book... This is physics as romantic poetry and, by God, it’s beguiling”—New Statesman .”—Evening Standard Seven Brief Lessons on Physics has turned relativity and quantum physics into best-selling material.”—la Repubblica Corriere della Sera “Plain words can be utterly beautiful when they tell a thrilling story. Carlo Rovelli's words take us on a great adventure as the human mind reaches out to understand the universe. The book is a joy.”—Alan Alda— Philip Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials trilogy— Paolo Giordano, author of The Solitude of Prime Numbers “This brief and beautiful introduction to a few key discoveries of modern physics reminds us that the roots of science are curiosity and wonder.”—Lee Smolin, physicist and author, Time Reborn and The Trouble with Physics “No one should hold office unless they have read Carlo Rovelli's Seven Brief Lessons on Physics .”—Nick Harkaway, author of The Gone-Away World and Angelmaker “This is a beautiful and moving book that will make you see the world with different eyes. It is soulfully human and yet full of the wonder of the natural universe. Rovelli somehow conveys the scope and depth of modern physics in everyday language without losing the poetry of the mathematical equations.”— Jenann Ismael, professor of philosophy at University of Arizona
11/01/2015
★ 2015-12-08
This brief audiobook covers the highlights of twentieth- and early-21st-century physics in a series of playful essays. Rovelli, a prominent Italian physicist, wrote the original text in Italian. Here, he reads the English translation in a clear voice and a charming northern Italian accent. He knows what to emphasize and when to slow down to allow his listener to absorb the material. Although the “lessons” are brief, they’re dense with both science and philosophy. Sometimes Rovelli uses traditional metaphors from the literature of physics. Sometimes he presents new perspectives. Each lesson deserves more than one listen: an enjoyable challenge. F.C. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
This brief audiobook covers the highlights of twentieth- and early-21st-century physics in a series of playful essays. Rovelli, a prominent Italian physicist, wrote the original text in Italian. Here, he reads the English translation in a clear voice and a charming northern Italian accent. He knows what to emphasize and when to slow down to allow his listener to absorb the material. Although the “lessons” are brief, they’re dense with both science and philosophy. Sometimes Rovelli uses traditional metaphors from the literature of physics. Sometimes he presents new perspectives. Each lesson deserves more than one listen: an enjoyable challenge. F.C. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
