No comments about Renormalization Methods: A Guide For Beginners.

1 comments about States of Siege: U.S. Prison Riots, 1971-1986.

1. This book was an excellent resource of learning about prison riots. Not only did it describe actions that took place in a detailed manner, but it also brought to light some of the causes contributing to the riots...a must read for corrections officers.

1 comments about Mirror Symmetry (Clay Mathematics Monographs, V. 1).

1. Mirror symmetry has become an established branch of mathematics and mathematical physics, and research in the subject has resulted in brilliant developments. This sizable book contains essentially some (polished) lecture notes of a seminar series in mirror symmetry that was given in the spring of 2000. This reviewer only studied Part 5 of the book, entitled "Advanced Topics" and so only that part will be reviewed here. In addition, space constraints then dictate only a small portion of this part can be reviewed. Needless to say, any reader who intends to tackle this book will need a substantial background in modern mathematics and advanced physics, and a sizable commitment in time. The time spent is well worth it though, as both the mathematics and physics behind mirror symmetry has to rank as one of the most fascinating research topics in the last two decades.
   
   In the chapter entitled "Topological Strings" the authors consider the functional integration of worldsheet geometries. This project involves essentially the integration over the complex structures of Riemann surfaces. Referring to this procedure as "quantum gravity", they do not address it in-depth, but instead focus on the coupling of topological sigma models to worldsheet gravity, which is called `topological string theory' in the literature. The authors first consider the case where the target is a Kahler manifold whose first Chern class is zero, since for this case the quantum cohomology ring is less easy to obtain, i.e. it can obtain contributions from holomorphic maps of any degree. Even for the case where there is no coupling to gravity, the degree 0 contribution is related to the classical intersection number. The contributions from higher degree result in the deformation of the classical cohomology ring into the quantum cohomology ring. The authors then ask whether there are any other correlators that will give nontrivial (non-zero) invariants in genus 0. Posing this question leads to the WDVV equation and the genus 0 topological string partition function. The n-point correlation functions of topological strings can then be defined as the nth partial derivatives of this function. For higher genus cases, the correlators are all zero, but the authors show the connection between the higher genus partition function and holomorphic anomalies. The case of three-dimensional Calabi-Yau manifolds is special, if one concentrates on the integration over the complex structures of the worldsheet. When the complex dimension of this moduli space is 3(g-1) then there are isolated points where holomorphic maps exist. Defining a topological string theory for Calabi-Yau threefolds is straightforward, as the author shows, and proceeds analogously to the case of topological field theory. A measure is defined on the moduli space of Riemann surfaces of genus g that cancels the axial charge anomaly. A genus g (>1) topological string amplitude, which is a section of a bundle over the moduli space of Calabi-Yau manifolds, is then obtained from this procedure. Modulo the presence of holomorphic anomalies, the authors show that the definition of topological string amplitudes is consistent with the topological symmetry. The origin of these holomorphic anomalies is discussed in fair detail by the authors, having their origin in the boundaries of the moduli space.
   
   The rigorous mathematical formulation of mirror symmetry is of course of great interest to mathematicians. Because of its origin in string theory and quantum field theory, mirror symmetry has not yet received this kind of rigor. Chapters 37 and 38 of this book discuss some of the approaches that attempt to put mirror symmetry on a more rigorous foundation. One of these involves the use of `derived categories,' an approach that was recommended by the mathematician Maxim Kontsevich. The discussion in these chapters takes place in the context of D-branes, and Kontsevich conjectures that mirror symmetry is the equivalence of two categories: the derived category of coherent sheaves, and the category of Lagrangian submanifolds with flat U(1) connections. Specifically the equivalence entails the equivalence between the bounded derived category of coherent sheaves or `B-cycles' and the category of A-cycles with compositions defined in terms of holomorphic maps from disks. This latter category is derived from the Fukaya A-infinity category, as is shown by the authors. They discuss in detail this category, being essentially a generalization of a differential, graded algebra, especially how to obtain the compositions. In chapter 37, the authors give an explicit example of the equivalence of these categories for the case of the elliptic curve. The elliptic curve is interesting in this regard in that it is its own mirror, i.e. the complex parameter is mapped to the complexified Kahler parameter by the mirror map.
   
   The derived category has sometimes been a stumbling block to those who want to understand the Kontsevich conjecture. The authors do not attempt to give the reader the needed insight into this kind of category, but merely take it to be a collection of all holomorphic bundles and coherent sheaves. Sheaves in this category can be subtracted from each other using a map between them. Physically, this subtraction corresponds to the annihilation of branes and anti-branes via a tachyon. Derived categories though are straightforward to think about if one views them from the standpoint of algebraic topology. Derived categories are rich enough to include notions of localization and triangulated objects (i.e. "complexes") and maps (i.e. morphisms) between these objects. This is a kind of "homology" but what is of main interest are homotopies between the morphisms. The class of homotopic morphisms between two complexes forms an abelian group and one can then obtain a category consisting of complexes as objects and classes of homotopic morphisms as morphisms. A cohomology functor can then be defined on this category, along with graded objects and differentials between them. The homotopic category can be given a "triangulation" and morphisms in this category that give rise to isomorphisms in cohomology are given special status, called `quasimorphisms.' The localization of this category with respect to quasimorphisms is called a derived category.

5 comments about Primer of Quantum Mechanics (Physics).

1. A good and relatively easy introduction to Dirac notation for quantum mechanics. Very suitable for self study--I have worked through all of it, including all the problems. Most of the problems are an integral part of the text, but there are solutions to many and hints for many of the others. Should be suitable also for an undergraduate text in quantum mechanics. As an example of his method, Chester treats EPR in a general and apparently original manner, i.e. he uses neither the formulation in the EPR paper nor Bohm's--in most treatments the latter is most common (and certainly easiest to apply to experimental tests). I found the chapter on indistinguishable particles particularly helpful. Using simple examples, the author provides a clear introduction to the topic. Somewhat weak in the area of matrix mechanics; using Dirac notation in that section seems forced. There is a number of typographical errors, which are not serious however.



2. What a wonderful gem of a book this is! It is written with grace and eloquence and yes with a bit of passion for the subject as well! It probably cannot be used as a stand alone textbook since it lacks the rigour and depth of standard textbooks. However, it is a perfect adjunct to any QM class. The book uses the Dirac notation from the beginning, much like the books by Townsend, Shankar and Sakurai (a couple of these are graduate level books). As such it will not follow the typical undergraduate's class experience if books such as Griffins are used. As with most books the problems are an integral part of the book and of your education. For the most part these are not untractable and hints and solutions are given for some.
   If you are planning on taking QM in the fall then you have enough mathematics to tackle this on your own (perhaps the summer prior to the first QM class). And if one puts the effort much can be gained from this little book. Also, since Dover is the publisher the price is not unreasonable.



3. The author has an original way with words that makes for interesting reading. Many paragraph headings make memorable slogans, such as "WHAT YOU MEASURE IS WHAT YOU KNOW".
   
   But in order to understand this book you must come to terms with the author's own terminology; for instance he regularly uses the word "language" to mean a mathematical "basis".
   
   Dirac notation is used liberally, and the Dirac bracket is explained in words in several different ways; but nowhere is it defined in mathematical terms, as the inner product (scalar product) of two vectors. This seems surprising in view of the author's statment that "The entire business of practical quantum mechanics is devoted to obtaining transformation matrices!". The elements of transformation matrices are Dirac brackets, but this book shows how in many cases they can be evaluated without knowing their mathematical definition.
   
   This book has a strongly practical approach, with emphasis on the physical apparatus used to make physical measurements.



4. "Primer of Quantum Mechanics" by Marvin Chester allows the reader to
   organize his thinking and basic knowledge of Quantum Mechanics. It does
   assume a fair amount of mathematics: matrices, calculus and vectors. It
   also focuses on the content and foundations of the science and so will be
   useful to those just wanting an overview. It tends to be somewhat dated but as a basic guide it does not suffer.



5. This book takes you step by step into quantum mechanics concepts. You might need to buy another book to flesh out the details but this one really helps to get the basic concepts across.

5 comments about Quantum Field Theory.

1. 1)as other reviewers put, we cannot expect every thing from one source. but without doubt, this is a good buy.
   2)this is not so pedagogic as the book seller's copy on the backcover. it needs some endeavor of course.
   3)major flaw i noticed is only one: at page 150 the author mingled two different things i.e. (a)subsidiary condition which excludes unphysical state from consideration (b)re-definition of norm which brings the unphysical state into consideration.



2. One of the basic questions in the education of theoretical physics is, what is a good way of introducing QFT and giving the student a taste of what is to come? In my opinion, this book offers a fine solution to this thorny problem.
   There are many sides to this question; for example, there is the view that the students should be exposed to this vast topic in a complete and thorough way (for such a text, I HIGHLY recommend Weinberg's 3 volume set, which, if not commonly regarded as a classic yet, soon will be), and also there is the point of view that most of the students studying QFT are experimentalists, so they should first be exposed to how to calculate amplitudes and cross sections for useful processes as soon as possible (see Peskin-Schroder for an outstanding exemplification of this principle). Both of these points of view have strong arguments supporting them, and there are many other reasonable opinions that might be taken; perhaps this is an indication that there is not any one approach to this subject which is a good introduction for all, but rather that the student must choose intelligently which text he/she finds they are most comfortable with. However, I can say that for me at least, this book had just the right selection of topics and at just the right level to get me interested in the subject and to give me a taste as to what it would be like if I were to go into it in more depth (which indeed I did). Other reviewers are quite right in pointing out that there are several inaccuracies in this text; also in more than a few places the treatment is considerably less clear than it might have been (this is one of the main strengths of Weinberg's set; every last detail is crystal clear, and the physical reasoning in the derivations is very rarely muddled in the math). Perhaps in this sense, the book could have been better written, and just by this element of style, I probably would have rated this 4 stars. However, I think that these valid criticisms are more than offset by the overwhelming strength of the book:that it is truly inspiring. Several reviewers have gone over details; I shall not rehash these matters, but instead leave off with the statement that this book was the best introduction to QFT that I could have bought.



3. its a good book for the beginners.The only drawback is it does not have exercise problems.



4. This book should not be used for beginners by which I mean those individuals with a background in QM and SR but not QFT. It presumes, like any QFT text, a thorough understanding of QM and SR. A strong foundation in tensor analysis, group theory, differential geometry and lie groups is recommended.
   
   It has some interesting ways of introducing topics in QFT for example the dirac equation:
   
   The author begins by showing the defects in quantizing the energy mass relationship resulting in the Klein Gordon equation. The author digresses before introducing the dirac equation and goes on about the correspondence between SU(2) and O(3), rotation group in 3-D, and then introduces the correspondence between SL ( 2, C) and the Lorentz group. It is shown that the Lorentz group is essentially SU(2) x SU(2). Thus we can specify a state to be operated by a Lorentz transformation by two angular momenta. Special combinations of these give spinors which transform in specific ways under lorentz transforms. We see that the dirac equation is a relation between these spinors.
   
   Symmetries of the Langrangian and the "appearance" of gauge fields in constraining the Langrangian to certain local symmetries from global ones is introduced almost immediately. We see how this necessitates the introduction of the electromagnetic field. Maxwell's and Proca's equations are put in tensorial form. There is a nice section here on the geometry of gauge fields. Differential geometry really helps here.
   
   The canonical quantization of scalar, spinor and photon fields is undertaken.
   
   Path Integral quantization of spinor scalar and gauge fields is undertaken. The usual topics of functional integration and wick's theorem are dealt with. With see how Zo(J) ..transition amplitude of particle creation and destruction with source..is the generating functional for free particle green functions and it's relation to n point functions and VEV is given.Interaction are introduced and their relation to Zo(J) is explained. The relation between greens functions and the S matrix are derived. It is shown how the usual approach for photons does not work requiring gauge fixing. Fenyman rules for all of these are derived.
   
   Spontaneous Symmetry breaking and the standard model is briefly delved into. Renormalization is dealt with.
   
   Overall, I found the presentation of the material disorganized with poor motivation for the topics. However, the derivations are detailed and a nice supplement to other QFT books.
   
   One major drawback is the lack of problems.



5. To understand quantum field theory it is necessary to read more than one author. Ryder's book should definitely be included in the list of titles.

5 comments about Quantum Physics: Illusion or Reality? (Canto).

1. It has only been once in a great while that a thin little tome has taught me so much, and been so much fun. Before Quantum Physics by Alastair Rae, the last one I remember was Richard Feynmann's QED. I now feel like I have at least a near understanding of Bell's Theorem, EPR, SQUIDS, and an assortment of things and concepts that were tantalizing but vague until now. Thank you, Alastair, you're a good teacher. And, the little surprise at the end, Prigogine's possible answer. I'd always found him intriguing. Now I know why.



2. Since the formulation of quantum theory in the 1920s the Copenhagen Interpretation of reality has been the mainstream view among physicists. But this interpretation has been uncomfortable for many, because it raises a number of paradoxes. The lack of cause and effect, (indeterminism), the so called "observer effect (quantum measurement problem), and non-locality, are among them.
   Waisting no time in this 118 page book, Alastair Rae grabs the reader in the very first sentence of the book by quoting Albert Einstein's famous pronouncement: "Does God play dice [with the universe]?"
   Using impeccable logic and only a bit of mathematical jargon, which can be circumvented by the reader, Rae sets out to solve many of these paradoxes. Citing experiments with polarized photons of light, he asks: What exactly constitutes a measurement? Does a measurement occur when a record is made? Or does it take consciousness to collapse the wave into a definitive particle? Is there a resolution to the Schrodinger's Cat paradox? How can we explain nonlocality?
   Rae systematically entertains and rebuts in a convincing and objective way many different philosophies put forward to make sense of quantum reality. Some have claimed, most notably Niels Bohr, that it's the interaction of the partilce with a macor-measuring device that instigates the collapse. Others believe that it takes a consciousness to create reality. Still others, looking for a way to save determinism, and circumvent the measurement problem latch on to Hugh Everett's many-world interpetation.
   Ironically as Rae points out most scientists claim to be "positivists", believing that it is meaningless to speculate on unobservable quantities. yet, they apparently have no problem believing in a myriad of unobservable and unmeasureable universes, completely and irreversibly cut off from our own.
   In the final two chapters Rae objectively entertains what he believes is the most likely resolution of the quantum measurement problem. His idea was first proposed by Ilya Prigonine who won the Nobel Prize for his work in the field of irreversible chemical thermodynamics. The classical idea put forward by Prigonine states that there is an irreversible arrow of time and the second law of thermodynamics is never violated. Citing Prigonine's work, Rae explains: If no measurement is made of a quantum system no impression has been made on the universe, and the information which could have been obtained can be reversed and destroyed. If, however, a measurement is made, a change of some sort has occurred, either in the measuring device or our brain. The measurement has impacted the universe in some manner, and as a result the macro system must now follow the second law of thermodynamics, which has and arrow of time and hence is irreversible.
   Rae states that "if we follow Prigogine's approach, indeterminism becomes an implicit part of classical physics.
   Has Alastair Rae accomplished what he set out to do in this Book? Not quite. At the beginning of the book he states that he will tackle the problem of indeterminism, yet he spends most of his time attempting to explain the quantum measurement problem which is something quite different. And when he does address determinsim it falls short on several points.
   First, a Prigogine macro system is indeed unpredictable, but it is not indeterminate as Rae seems to imply. Rather, it is a determinate and irreversible system having and arrow of time and an initial cause, no matter how subtle.
   Secondly, he fails to address the process of nuclear decay, and the jump of the electron from one orbit to another--both of which are "real" and indeterminate.
   Finally, in regard to the quantum measurement problem. Rae does not take into account recent experiments done with photons as cited in Scientific American (November 1991). In this particular experimental set-up at the Universtity of Rochester, researchers demonstrated that "The mere possibility that the paths can be distinguished is enough to wipe out the interference pattern." There is no measurement made, no record made, and no interaction with a macro system. Yet, the collapse of the wave happens without interacting with a macro sytem. Therefore, it seems that Ray's explanation of a resolution to the problem by creating a record in a classical Prigogine system is invalid.
   This is still a very well written, concise, and provacative book and I would recommend it for those who want to understand the basic principles and paradoxes of quantum reality. This review written by: Quantum Reality1, author of "Quantum Reality: A New Philosophical Perspective."



3. A. Rae struggles with the conceptual and philosophical implications of quantum physics (qf).
   His book contains excellent explanations of the destruction of determinism, because uncertainty and indeteterminism are built into qf's very foundations. He also rejects the 'hidden variables' solution to solve qf's apparent contradictions. He shows also the fundamental opposition between Einstein and Bohr.
   Unfortunately, this book contains a comment on the out-of-date Popper-Eccles discussion on the body/mind problem and their statement that the mind is not subject to the laws of physics. This problem has been resolved (see V. Ramachandran's linguistic solution in 'Phantoms in the brain', or G. Edelman's 'A universe of consciousness').
   But I found certain flaws in the author's reasoning due mainly to the choice of bad examples.
   Firstly, let me state one fundamental specification: reality is a process, not a fact (L. Smolin).
   That is the reason why his ultimate question 'If reality is only what is observed ...' is not a good one.
   A qf measurement does not create the 'only' reality. Protons, electrons, dead or alive cats, DNA mutations exist, even if they are not observed. A qf measurement is part of the universal process. In qf we only measure complementarities (properties) as Bohr stated.
   Secondly, A. Rae states that macroscopic processes are irreversible (the second law of thermodynamics) and microscopic ones reversible.
   For reversibility he chooses as example the collision of two molecules. I doubt firmly that in our universe after the collision the molecules can (without an exterior intervention) go back to their initial states. Those interactions are 'theoretically' reversible.
   On the other hand, the life or death of a cat is a macroscopic event. The cat example is a good 'figure' to explain the qf theory, but it is a bad one to build a conceptual or philosophical theory on it. Nobody will calculate the outcome of a certain event based on a dead/alive scenario if a simple look at the cat's condition can eliminate 50% of the possibilities. The same goes for the DNA mutations.
   The theory of I. Prigogyne (his books are difficult) is certainly a step in the good direction. As reality is a process, indeterminism should also be the fundamental cornerstone for classical physics, but naturally not in our daily Euclidian life.
   In the case of the 'many worlds' question, I prefer Rudolf Peierls's solution where he proposes to speak of many world 'possibilities' (see P. Davies' 'The ghost in the atom').
   This is a thought-provoking book. Not to be missed.



4. Be warned, this book assumes you know a little about quantum physics to begin with. It's not going to walk you through all the basics of the field. But for those who've had an introduction to the concepts of quantum physics, it's a great examination of the conceptual problems of quantum physics. Don't be fooled by its short length -- this is a book to be read slowly, re-read, an digested. The discussion of the EPR paradox and Bell's Theory is especially good, because it's more technical and mathematical than those in other intro books, and while therefore more difficult, it's also more rewarding.



5. Even though I have a fair amount of background in Mathematics and Science, I found this book to be fairly dense. I can only speculate that this is probably because the author is not a Physicist.
   
   Instead, I would recommend a few other books that are written by physicists, deal with a wider topic (how relativity & quantum theory are at odds which led to the search for a unified theory) and are much more lucid.
   In no particular order,
   Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos
   
   Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the 10th Dimens ion
   
   Relativity: The Special and the General Theory--A Clear Explanation that Anyone Can Understand
   
   The Fabric of the Cosmos (Penguin Press Science)
   
   The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory

2 comments about Path Integrals in Quantum Mechanics, Statistics, Polymer Physics, and Financial Markets.

1. Kleinert's work is NOTHING short of phenomenal.
   After reading Feynman(+Hibbs) this is the text to follow up.
   
   Sadly the second edition which is in print contained MANY typos.
   The third edition fixes much, if not all; it also has added many new topics of various interest.
   
   The core physics remains as solid, and even clearer than the previous editions.
   
   Without casting aspersions on the presentation:
   Make no mistake; this is no comic book.
   You will suffer, scrape your gyri, and bruise your ego, but will be justly rewarded for your effort in study.
   
   Consider this an unqualified recommendation.



2. For me this book is like an encyclopedia of path integrals as it is the most comprehensive treatment of the subjects I have seen. I was shocked by the size of 1,500 pages. The level is at a graduate text, the style is heuristic, and the mathematics is done the way most welcomed by physicists and engineers.
   
   Naturally, this book is not meant to be read from the beginning to the end page by page. I did not see a "How to Use This Book" flowchart in the book though. The new 4th edition covers more semi-classical material in Chapter 4 but still does not include the Herman-Kluk propagator which has been studied a lot in the past few years especially by chemical physicists. Perturbation theory and Feynman diagrams are well presented. Spin and relativistic quantum mechanics are nicely treated. Two strong chapters are dedicated to polymer physics but Flory's theory is only briefly discussed. The last chapter, ca. 70 pages, is all about finance as the title concludes with.
   
   Overall I give a 4-start for this very competent book, I believe that researchers would need to refer to the pages from time to time as a reference work. The author lists several very informative URLs in the book, e.g. links to useful computer codes, that really makes the book a great buy at a price of $38.

5 comments about The End of the Certain World: The Life and Science of Max Born.

1. Although the physics in this book has been criticized, I noticed only a couple of errors. They did not seriously degrade the book. Be sure to read Born's reaction to his student Oppenheimer on page 146. ("My soul was nearly destroyed by this man.") I was a little disappointed that there was not more about Jordan - the Nazi who collaborated with Born for many years. Also, it would have been nice to have put in a little about Born's granddaughter - the singer/actress Olivia Newton-John.



2. This is a good, easy-to-read biography of a well known yet not quite household name physicist who was pivotal in the early days of quantum mechanics and beyond.
   
   This book is mainly a biography of the man and less so of the science. It is very good in that respect and shows how Born fit into the history of those times. Due to the fact that he was a Jew in Germany before WWII lends well to an interesting history.
   
   The science is in here yet quite useless to the layman and the language the author sometimes uses is confusing to the physicist. The physicist will want to see more of the physics and mathematics but you will not get it in this book.
   
   Many will see that Max Born was a person not too much different than a university educated person nowadays in his beliefs, morals, and ethics. Since mine are opposed to his, I personally did not find his life to be much of an inspiration (with such quotes as "For the belief that there is only one truth and that oneself is in possession of it, seems to me the deepest root of all that is evil in the world").
   
   Of course, the book just made me jealous of his brains, but most biographies do that to me.



3. I've been reading steadily about the physicists from the same time period as Einstein up through and including oppenheimer and Feynman. My training in science is mostly neuroscience and cell biology, but I've been teaching a lot of chemistry lately at the local community college. This means I have to teach about the atom and what is now known about electrons and basic atomic theory. I've always been very curious about physics, especially physics that deal with atomic particles and light. Einstein has always been one of my favorite people to read about and quote, so it was natural to me to start reading about the people he came across, and those who helped build on his work through work of their own. Besides, it has always driven me batty trying to separate all the names and the countries of these guys. So many were German, and if they were not German, they went to German schools of physics for their training, or were deeply involved with the German school of physics. I was always getting Born and Bohr mixed up...so I decided the more I knew about these guys the better able to explain their work.
   
   This book is first rate. I cannot comment on the accuracy of the physics, but there are many physics concepts that Greenspan elucidated because they were Born's ideas or discoveries, and from reading this book, I certainly understand these ideas much better than I did before. Just as in reading David McCullough's books on John Adams, where you cannot separate the man from his political beliefs about individual freedom, neither should you read a book about a man such as Born and expect to get through without being introduced to the work of his lifetime, which was explaining and proving parts of atomic theory through mathematics. I enjoy reading the science, even if I have to go back and read it more than once to gain an understanding of it. Even more thrilling is reading the work of these men and being able to better explain these concepts in my classes.
   
   I admire greatly theoretical physicists and mathematicians, even if I am incapable of doing this work myself. As Einstein once stated, he wanted to know these things because he could better understand the 'work of God.' I find that the more I read from the physicists of this period of time, the more I understand. It's difficult to fathom so many great men (and a few women) who lived at one time period and worked together to bring the world to an understanding of physics as we know it. It makes you wonder why we have no outstanding physicists now (except for Stephen Hawkings) and it makes me wonder how limiting our education is, that not only the U.S. but Europe and Asia seem not to be able to produce the great men that we saw so many of during the first 50 years of atomic physics (say from 1890 to 1950). What happened, and where have all these magnificent minds gone? Why can we not produce men and women like this now...these are the questions that educators should be asking themselves.
   
   Born's life with his family and friends, the escape from a rabidly anti-Semitic Germany, the life spent in Scotland, all of which were entwined with his work is absolutely fascinating. Greenspan did a beautiful job not only of research but of editing, and placing in her book, the important letters and research. I've only seen biographies like this from one other person, and he dealt with the great men from the Revolutionary time period in America. This is definitely a book worth buying and reading, and one that I recommend highly to my students and those interested in this time period. Warning to readers, this is a heavy duty book, and not one to be undertaken lightly!
   
   Karen Sadler



4. Well done to Nancy Greenspan for this book.
   Max Born was a jewish scientist who was expelled from his job at a German university when World War 2 broke out. A friend of Albert Einstein's, he like many, fled from the NAZIs and headed west.
   This book gives a sound and very readable account of his life. It's well written and interesting and I certainly appreciate the writer's efforts as I value such a biography on the life of any scientist.
   I also have two books actually written by Born, one of which is "The Restless Universe" and is a delightful script on concepts of Physics. It shows a super sharp mind of Max Born. Though he was quite a heavyweight in Atomic Physics it seems he was always underated. Hopefully this work will set the record straight.



5. If anyone more prototypically German in character than Max Born ever lived, I'd be interested in meeting him. Born incarnated all the best in German history, all the virtues of German culture, and yet that same German culture did its utmost to destroy him. Inevitably, this biography of Max Born is also a "biography" of Germany in the first half of the 20th Century, and of the Nazi sociopathy that created the Shoah.
   
   History, not science, is the metier of "The End of the Certain World." Those lucky few readers who fully understand relativity and quantum physics will be able to grapple with Born's contributions to science and to judge his centrality, but such an understanding is not at all required to grapple with the biographical portrait of the man and his many scientific colleagues and rivals. Author Nancy Greenspan makes no effort to explain quantum physics per se; I doubt that she would be qualified to do so. Instead she portrays the dynamics of Born's career as a scientist, in terms of his working relationships with other physicists and academic institutions. Of course, the cast of physicists in this drama includes virtually every great name of the century - Bohr, Planck, Heisenberg, Dirac, Einstein, inter alia - and each of them emerges as a specific human being, some admirable, some hateful, in Greenspan's smooth, detailed narrative. Born's marriage and the fitful course thereof constitute a parallel 'novel' to his scientific career, and a precise counterpoint to the larger narrative of Jewish assimilation and European anti-Semitism.
   
   Of particular emotional interest was the story of Born's efforts to rescue Jewish scientists as well as his own extended family members from the certain fate that awaited them in Nazi Germany. Born was not alone in that effort; in fact, he was a beneficiary of such an effort by others, including some of his own previous students. What is particularly painful to read about is the indifference and even hostility toward the plight of Jews of Germany. Born found that 'everybody' knew what was likely to be happening, but few cared enough to intervene. Physicists, in fact, fared better than most. Jewish musicians, for example, were jealously excluded from any opportunities to migrate to England because English musicians feared the competition.
   
   During his years in England and Scotland, first as a refugee and later as a naturalized citizen, Born strayed occasionally over the edges of political activism but quickly withdrew to the sanity of science. Politically, he was hardly more than a Labor party voter, yet he and other "German" scientists were routinely suspected of disloyalty, sometimes because of attachment to Germany! and sometimes because it was widely assumed that they were inherently Russian communist-sympathizers. The lunatic actions of Klaus Fuchs gave that attitude an unfortunate plausibility. As for Max Born, he remained from his earliest statements to his last profoundly anti-ideological; he declared himself "skeptical with regards to economic beliefs...not..based on ethical principles." In Scotland, when he was denounced as a probable communist, he stated that he was "not a socialist, as you seem to think, if this expression means blind belief in Marxist theories." Dialectical materialism, he said, was "rubbish." Author Greenspan summarizes her undertanding of his position:
   
   ...with the "western system of profit and vested interests," squalor and poverty existed for the masses and luxury for the few. The capitalists system - the unethical drive for profit - had supported the military buildups in Germany and Japan. Born wanted to temper the "ethical inferiority of the profit system" by merging the efficiency of free-market production with a regard for workers' rights.
   
   In Born's later years, in safer but no more economically secure straits, he became conscientiously concerned with the social/historical effects of his own and others' science, and devoted much of his time and prestige to formulating a scientific community commitment to resisting militaristic misuse of knowledge. He was an active backer and signatory of the two major proposals for nuclear disarmament of the 1950s.
   
   The stimulus that sent Nancy Greenspan into years of research about Born - reading his letters and his wife's sprawling diaries, scoring national archives, learning enough physics and math to write such a book comfortably - was oddly personal, all based on a friendship with Born's grand-daughter, who introduced her casually to surviving members of the Born family. Here's a riddle: what well-known 'British' singer/actress is the grand-daughter of the Nobel Prize-winning physicist?
   
   Altogether, this is a vivid old-fashioned biography, well worth reading for its historical significance, but fundamentally a full-length portrait of an exceptional human being, virtues and flaws included. I finished the book thinking 'hey, Max Born was a great guy,' and 'oy, what he had to live through!'

1 comments about On Physics and Philosophy.

1. This highly credentialed French physicist applies the disciplines of quantum field theory and philosophy to refute assumptions commonly held by scientists, philosophers, and lay people about what is "real," and to sort out such views as are consonant with experimental data. I take pleasure in D'Espangnat's clean writing, his dedication to accuracy, and his insistence on addressing the ground from which our concepts arise. Here D'Espagnat expands on his earlier work regarding "veiled reality." The book is accessible to lay intellectuals who like to savor ideas and reflect on them.

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