How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World
by Lisa Randall
Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Sep 2011
464 pages
Genre: Science, Health and the Environment
Publication Information
The bestselling author of Warped Passages, one of Time magazine's "100 Most Influential People in the World," and one of Esquire's "75 Most Influential People of the 21st Century," Lisa Randall gives us an exhilarating overview of the latest ideas in physics and offers a rousing defense of the role of science in our lives.
Featuring fascinating insights into our scientific future born from the author's provocative conversations with Nate Silver, David Chang, and Scott Derrickson, Knocking on Heaven’s Door is eminently readable, one of the most important popular science books of this or any year. It is a necessary volume for all who admire the work of Stephen Hawking, Michio Kaku, Brian Greene, Simon Singh, and Carl Sagan; for anyone curious about the workings and aims of the Large Hadron Collider, the biggest and most expensive machine ever built by mankind; for those who firmly believe in the importance of science and rational thought; and for anyone interested in how the Universe began…and how it might ultimately end.
"Randall's witty, accessible discussion reveals the effort and wonder at hand as scientists strive to learn who we are and where we came from." - Publishers Weekly
"Starred Review. [A] whip-smart inquiry into the scientific work being conducted in particle physics.... [Randall] brings a thrumming enthusiasm to the topic, but she is unhurried and wryly humorous. ... [Knocking on Heaven's Door] dazzles like the stars." - Kirkus Reviews
"Although these topics may seem abstruse, Randall has an accessible style and does not demand that her readers come armed with an advanced knowledge of mathematics or modern physics." - Library Journal
"Science has a battle for hearts and minds on its hands ... against superstition and ignorance on one flank, and against pseudo-intellectual obscurantism on the other. How good it feels to have Lisa Randall's unusual blend of top flight science, clarity, and charm on our side." - Richard Dawkins
"Randall’s lucid explanations of ... the frontiers of physics - including her own dazzling ideas - are highly illuminating, and her hearty defense of reason and science is a welcome contribution.... Read this book today to understand the science of tomorrow." - Steven Pinker
"I didn’t think it was possible to write a complex, detailed look at the world of physics that the non-scientist could understand, but then Lisa Randall wrote this amazing, insightful, and engaging book and proved me wrong." - Carlton Cuse, award-winning producer and writer of Lost
This information about Knocking on Heaven's Door was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
The Flower Sisters
by Michelle Collins Anderson
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
