The story of reality-or at least as we understand it-this book is a testament to perseverance, a riveting account of dogged scientific effort to comprehend the fundamental forces of nature. Krauss (director, Origins Project, Arizona State Univ.; Fear of Physics) has a knack for making complex concepts accessible to lay readers who are willing to put in time and energy. Covering everything from Plato's allegory of the cave to the discovery of the Higgs boson and beyond, he describes the process by which scientists made sense of the universe, a long, arduous, and collaborative journey filled with false starts, red herrings, twists and turns, and creative thinking. While many consider the Bible to be the greatest story ever told, Krauss believes that this tale is the better one, a look at how science explains the mysteries of the origins and smallest building blocks of life. Verdict A must-read for anyone who enjoyed Krauss's previous titles, especially A Universe from Nothing, and those interested in delving into the history of science.-Holly Boyer, Reston, VA © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Krauss (A Universe from Nothing), a theoretical physicist and director of the Origins Project at Arizona State University, exhaustively relates the history of physics in three parts, which thematically parallel parts of the Bible-Genesis, Exodus, and Revelation. He starts with such familiar topics as gravity, electromagnetism, and the experiments of Newton and Maxwell. Krauss defines science as the "discovery of connections between otherwise seemingly disparate phenomena" and explains how "physics doesn't proceed in the linear fashion that textbooks recount." This is shown starkly in the discoveries of quantum mechanics, gauge symmetry, and "the weak interaction," which "is largely responsible for our existence." While the advanced concepts will challenge lay readers, they're balanced with historical context, veins of dark and subtle humor, and Star Trek references. Along the way, Krauss provides anecdotes about luminaries such as Einstein and Planck alongside lesser-known achievers such as Chien-Shiung Wu and Irène and Frédéric Joliot-Curie. In confident and verbose prose, Krauss tells a story that both celebrates and explores science. Through it, he reminds readers why scientists build such complicated machinery and push the boundaries of the quantum world when nothing makes sense: "For no more practical reason than to celebrate and explore the beauty of nature." Agent: John Brockman, Brockman Inc. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.