Brian Greene biography

Author Biography  | Interview  | Books by this Author  | Read-Alikes

Brian Greene
Photo: Markus Poessel

Brian Greene

Brian Greene Biography

Brian Greene (born February 9, 1963) is a theoretical physicist and one of the best-known string theorists.

He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University and his doctorate from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He joined the physics faculty of Cornell University in 1990, was appointed to a full professorship in 1995, and in 1996 joined Columbia University where he is professor of physics and mathematics. He has lectured at both a general and a technical level in more than twenty-five countries and is widely regarded for a number of groundbreaking discoveries in superstring theory. He lives in Andes, New York, and New York City.

In his national bestseller, The Elegant Universe, Greene recounts how the theories of general relativity and quantum mechanics transformed our understanding of the universe, and he introduces us to string theory, a concept that might be the key to a unified theory of the universe. The book has sold more than a million copies.

The Fabric of the Cosmos: Space, Time and the Texture of Reality, spent 6 months on The New York Times bestsellers list and inspired The Washington Post to describe him as "the single best explainer of abstruse concepts in the world today." Greene's other books include Icarus at the Edge of Time and The Hidden Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos.

In fall 2003 Greene hosted the Emmy Award-winning NOVA special, "The Elegant Universe," on PBS, taking audiences on a thrilling journey through hidden dimensions, superstrings and black holes in a quest to unify the laws of nature.

Brian Greene's website

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Interview

Brian Greene discusses The Fabric of the Cosmos, in which he translates cutting edge research into language the layman can understand.

Q: What would you say to people who think they are just not smart enough to ever fully wrap their minds around the nature of the universe?
A: For most people, the major hurdle in grasping modern insights into the nature of the universe is that these developments are usually phrased using mathematics. But when the impediment of mathematics is removed and the ideas themselves are rephrased in common language, they're not that hard to understand. So, I say: give it a try--and most people do find that they grasp much more than they expected.

Q: Is it a challenge, as a physicist and mathematician to write in a way that everyone can understand?
A: It is a challenge, but for me its both a useful and exciting one. I find that translating cutting-edge research into more familiar language forces me to strip away extraneous details and zero in on the core ideas. Often, this helps me to organize my own thoughts and has even suggested research directions. And it's exciting to see ideas that are close to my heart and those of other researchers in the field reach a wider audience. The questions we are tackling are universal, and everyone deserves the right to enjoy the progress we&#...

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Books by this Author

Books by Brian Greene at BookBrowse
The Hidden Reality jacket Icarus at the Edge of Time jacket The Fabric of the Cosmos jacket
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Read-Alikes

All the books below are recommended as read-alikes for Brian Greene but some maybe more relevant to you than others depending on which books by the author you have read and enjoyed. So look for the suggested read-alikes by title linked on the right.
How we choose read-alikes

  • Stephen Hawking

    Stephen Hawking

    Stephen Hawking is the former Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge and author of A Brief History of Time which was an international bestseller. Now the Dennis Stanton Avery and Sally Tsui Wong-... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Fabric of the Cosmos

    Try:
    The Universe In A Nutshell
    by Stephen Hawking

  • Richard Holmes

    Richard Holmes

    Richard Holmes (born 1945) is an award-wining British author best-known for his biographical studies of major figures of British and French Romanticism.

    He is a Fellow of The Royal Society of Literature and a Fellow of the ... (more)

    If you enjoyed:
    The Fabric of the Cosmos

    Try:
    The Age of Wonder
    by Richard Holmes

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