The Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics

On the whole good, but lacks clarity in parts. It tends to go from A to C without explaining what happened to B.

This insider's account of the theoretical battles between Stephen Hawking, the author and Gerald t'Hooft over the true nature of black holes, THE BLACK HOLE WAR, is a rare, fascinating examination of how scientists interact, how theories are created and challenged, and how the reputations of three of the world's greatest scientists - as well as the nature of physics itself - were affected by black hole research. THE BLACK HOLE WAR details the battle as much as the science, making it a 'must' for not only science collections strong in physics and history, but for the general public library.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

If you are a fan of Black Hole theory, you have to read this book. There is enough intrigue here to keep you turning the pages, and the physics primer on Black Holes, Quantum Mechanics and Relativity is very approachable.

This is not an in-depth book on the physics of Black Holes - on the contrary, this is an enjoyable read for those who appreciate the topic and respect the brilliance of Leonard Susskind. This book tells the story that few of us have heard (from any side) - and shows us the human side of theoretical physics.

I have had the pleasure of attending lectures at Stanford with Prof. Susskind for the past 4 yrs. now. While his wit and colorful commentary do come out in the book, you will only get a glimpse of why he has such a following amongst "quantum groupies" and academics alike.

I highly recommend this book.

This book demands some concentration by the layman, some acceptance of presumably factual statements without further discussion, and concerns a topic not at the height of curent concerns. On the other hand, it does allow sifnificant insight into the various modes of thinking about major issues in cosmology and, in particular, the role of gravity-normally a very weak force-in keeping us all together.

WELL WRITEN CHRONICLE OF A FAIRLY ARCANE SUBJECT. INTENDED FOR READERS WITH AN INEREST IN QUANTUM MECHAMICS, COSMOLOGY AND PHYICS IN GENERAL.