Einstein's Outrageous Legacy (Commonwealth Fund Book Program)

Science fiction can only hope to emulate the deep intricacy and magnificent wonder that the reality of our universe can boast. While seemingly complex and evasive in nature, the laws that govern our universe hold answers that may astound even the most imaginitive. Kip Thorne has elegantly captured the "majic" of the universe and tamed the unknown into an understandable context.
Understadable, that is, for anyone you has ever wondered about the universe and the mysteries it holds. Thorne's gift for theoretical physics and penchance of explanation creates a "window" of understanding to the reader where other authors of the same field have mistakenly left the layman reader struggling. Through the use of thought experiments and historical enlightenment,
Thorne had me suggesting answers to questions I had never encountered before. Black Holes and Time Warps is a zesty meal for the inquisitive. Managable and tantelizing to the "physically challenged" and physicist alike. This exquiset quisine will leave the reader satiated yet ravenous for more.

Kip Thorne is an eccentric author who reveals scientific enterprise of quantum gravity and black holes research in a simple language. This book is rich in history, and classical (Newtonian physics and theory of relativity) and modern physics (quantum mechanics) are presented in non mathematical form. We get rare first hand insights of scientific styles and temperament, and his personal involvement in various aspects of black holes research and his interaction with scientists all over the world especially those from former Soviet Union and the impact of communism on black hole research. The first part of the book describes theory of relativity, concept of spacetime fabric of the universe and curvature of spacetime in presence of matter (stars, galaxies, etc.) to generate gravity. The author gives us a good historical background to build his case for black hole concept. Theory of relativity predicts the existence of black holes but Einstein refused to accept it and so is Arthur Eddington another leading exponent of theory of relativity. The idea of black holes remained in academic obscurity among few who believed in it and it progressively became clear that dying giant stars undergo implosions in which nuclear force the strongest of all four forces of cosmos buckles under gravitational force creating a blackholes. Black holes have been discovered in the center of dying giant stars and in centers of galaxies, and efforts are underway to detect the black hole gravitational waves carried to earth from distant parts of the universe and to seek the secret of what is inside a black hole: a route to another universe? The author warps up the second part by discussing the possibility of constructing wormholes with exotic matter (tunnels in space connecting two widely separated locations in the universe) through hyperspace for interstellar travel and back to the future. He is one of the leaders in proposing interstellar travel. Physicists and academics are too conservative to get involved in space travel research as it is traditionally linked to science fiction and Star Trek junkies. The author can mesmerize the reader with his incredible knowledge and ease with which he can communicate to the reader; at the same time he is eccentric enough to work in one of his laboratory (Palomar Mountains) nude and draw criticisms from peers. He is also crazy enough to take bet with peers for things such as Penthouse magazine and annoy his wife and family with Mormon heritage. This book is free of marketing strategies of the publisher as the author shares his knowledge with the reader to his best of abilities to make everyone understands it even by offering few simple calculations and formulas. Do not be discouraged by the size of the book (619 pages). The text flows well and it is deeply engrossing. Anyone interested in black hole and space travel must have this book.

Sorry doomsayer & Larry you are way off. This is a fabulous book. I am a BscHons Engineer and closet physicist/astronomer, and fascinated by most things. I've followed Hawking for many years, and loved his moves to make his fascination more accessible. I read "Big Bang" and "Nutshell" but felt I was left hanging with much unexplained. So I looked around for something else. I was put off by Kips' book in that it was some years old but that has been shown to be a mere non-comprehension of the history of astro-physics and quantum physics.
At first I was a little disappointed that Kip spends much time presenting the history of discovery, particularly with respect tot the understanding of Einsteins' theories and of black holes. What I in fact found was a very thorough, knowledgible and fascinating recount of the history of research since the 2nd WW. It opened my eyes to the fact that my perception that most revelations to do with relativity, space-time and black holes were recent events of the 1970'2 & 1980's was wrong, and in fact they have been on-going since Einsteins day, post 1905, and in fact, in the 1950's many of the issues still discussed today were being aired and investigated.
So in fact I very much appreciated Kips' ability to put the history in perspective, and to tell the story of many of the main protagonists. He spends some time telling how the history of the development of the atomic bomb was intertwined with research into the beginnings of the universe. This becomes a very poignant part of the book which only sinks in after a while, and leaves you with a sense of awe at how men have been able to deduce so much about our universal beginnings and how it has danced on the brink of being something both beautiful and devastating at the same time.
But this is not just a history lesson, though I do appreciate being informed of the lives of the people who have made such startling discoveries. What I most like is Kips' ability to explain to me "how it all works" by using analogy and simple entertaining language. He shows a sense of humour, and a considerable talent for understanding that people like me still desperately wish to understand as much as we can even though we couldn't begin to approach the Maths that his colleagues deal with.
For me, he tackles the subjects that Hawking tended to only tantalise us with his often ambiguous manner. I feel far more satisfied having read this book; I feel I have learned some incredible history whilst also being given a far more understandable insight into the wonders of the universe. I also have to credit Roger Penrose for one of his books which did much to fill in the gaps and cliff hanger's that Hawking left.
So, I disagree; I think this is a book for the layman who has a sense of wonder. It IS very palatable and takes more time to explain. You will feel that you have been told a very great story, a great story of the tenacity of men to ask the question "why?"

This book is exceptional but progressively difficult to understand.

Do complement the reading of this book with Kip Thorne's lectures for the general public
[...]

My special recommendation

Kip Thorne public lecture about "The Warped Side of our Universe: From the Big Bang to Black Holes and Gravitational Waves"
Wolfgang Pauli Lecture 1, at the ETH (Zurich, Switzerland, 16 May 2011)
[...]
This is just Kip Thorne packing updated information on the black holes 17 years later after he published the book!!!

Panel discussion about "Black Holes and Holographic Worlds" at the World Science Festival (New York City, June 3, 2010)
[...]
Panelists: Alan Alda, Raphael Bousso, Robbert Dijkgraaf, Andrew Hamilton and Kip Thorne.
Black holes are gravitational behemoths that dramatically twist space and time. Recently, they've also pointed researchers to a remarkable proposal--that everything we see may be akin to a hologram. Alan Alda joins Kip Thorne, Robbert Dijkgraaf and other renowned researchers on an odyssey through one of nature's most spectacular creations, and learn how they are leading scientists to rewrite the rules of reality.

Panel discussion about "Astronomy's New Messengers" - World Science Festival (June 2010)
[...]
Marcia Bartusiak joins Kip Thorne, Laura Danly and Rainer Weiss to demonstrate how two observatories on opposite sides of the country, called LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory), may open a new window on observing the cosmos--one based not in light but in gravity.

The title of my review is cribbed from a translation of Aristotle (the POETICS, I believe). It occurred to me simply because I am nearing the end of this fine, fine book and -- even after more than 500 pages -- am wishing that it could go on forever. Thorne is a *very* talented writer: I am astonished at the things he pulls off in this book. It succeeds as personal memoir, as history of 20th century physics, as exploration of the difference between U.S. and [then] Soviet approaches to science, as well-grounded speculation, as explication of the scientific method, as portrait gallery ... aaahh, I could go on forever, myself, but who would read it? There are dozens of other reviews of -Black Holes and Time Warps ... save your time and buy the book! You will not regret it. Oh: and the interplay between Thorne's text and the illustrations by Matt Zimet are exemplary.

As I have with "Stephen Hawking's Universe" by John Boslough, I've read this book a number of times. The beginning pages of Kip Thorne's book give a hypothetical situation of a space traveler caught in the unapologetic and unforgiving throes of a tortuous black hole. Kip Thorne then goes into tremendous detail and great length about black holes including much history about legendary and not-so-well-known scientists and their contributions to black hole-type theories. This book effectively combines science history with science fact. While the book, at times, seems rather "heavy", a few re-reads of certain parts makes the information more easily digestible. This book is not generally an easy read, but it is a fascinating journey through the history of cosmological science. This book is, without doubt, one of the best (non-fiction) books I've ever read on any topic. Kip Thorne is an exceptional writer and, from what I can gather from this book, an exceptional scientist as well. This book laid a lot of the foundation work for my research into black holes in preparation for the writing of my science fiction novel "Temporal Armageddon".

If you are interested in not only the modern accumulated knowledge about black holes, time warps, etc.., but also the history of science discoveries in those fields, this book is superb. It throughly develops the current understanding of black holes, in particular, adn does so by citing what seems to be almost every researcher who worked on the projects that made discoveries into black holes. At points, Thorne seems to be writing more about the atmosphere f the time of a particular discover than the consequences of that discovery. However, if the history of current theories interests you, this 500 page book provides that history. Personally, I found the parts about theory well written, but tired when reading a long section about the history of the theory. Overall, I would recommend this book, but with the reservation that if you dislike history, there are more concise books for you.

Kip Thorne merges incredible depth in his subject with a passion for writing and clarity of exposition to produce a masterpiece of popular science.
General relativity is one of the most successful theories of science above the subatomic scale. It describes the nuances of gravity as a field intracately tied in with the curvature of space, attracting matter and bending light. Yet it has some strange implications-- gravity can warp the spatial fabric so much that not even light can escape it, leading to objects known as black holes, the product of stars that have collapsed below the schwarzschild radius. Space in general becomes somewhat stretchy and flexible; it's even hard to identify what constitutes a universe, since space can twist and turn, branch, and even tunnel through itself-- with wormholes warping regions of space or even connecting different universes, possibly even acting as time machines (though with a catch-- the past cannot exactly be changed, since any traveler going to "the past" creates a "present" that is no longer the past).
Thorne dives right into this territory with gusto. A lot of the work is obviously speculative, but Thorne does a brilliant job of applying relativity, quantum theory, and logic to provide plausible explanations about what the interior of a black hole, the singularity, and a wormhole might be like. He even has diagrams suggesting what somebody might find. This can be difficult reading in places; though there are no equations, you might have to draw some things out for yourself to get an intuitive feel for them. But don't be intimidated by the concepts; general relativity can be difficult for anybody at first, but it's actually pretty logical overall, and Thorne is fabulous with the examples and analigies that he provides to make the concepts visualizable.
The 9th chapter went a little too far afield, and was too speculative without much backing it up. But this is a minor criticism, and whatever defects occur in occasional places are totally outweighted by the quality that is packed in this book's pages. So find a long weekend and read this; you won't be disappointed.

Once a reader embarks on the journey of discovery through this book, it is hard to turn back. Thorne manages to keep one interested, with each topic and chapter logically following from the last. He uses numerous diagrams, photographs and simple language to enlighten the reader. For example his illustration of how stars of various mass 'die' gives a masterful introductory explanation into white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes in one diagram!
This book not only describes complex cosmological phenomena, but gives concise accounts of the people involved and their political and social influences. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the mysteries of space and leaves the reader contented that he now has at least some comprehension of phenomena that everyone seems to have heard about (quasers, pulsars, neutron stars, black holes) but few understand.

Although a bit dated now, this book is a fascinating explanation of the history of black holes. It is very accessible to readers not trained in advanced physics. The author's writing style is engaging throughout and the book is full of anecdotes about the physicists who contributed to our understanding of black holes. The author explains relativity, warped space-time, gravitation, singularities, how black holes are formed, and how they may evaporate. The final chapter is a diversion about the possibility of wormholes and time machines, with a interesting connection to Carl Sagan's book Contact (which was made into a wonderful movie by the same name).

This book is a great book for anyone interested in learning more about black holes and other anomolies. It's extensive in its explanations regarding the more unknown areas of physics and astrophysics, however, it might be a bit too in-depth for the average reader. I wouldn't suggest this book unless you either know a bit about physics already OR if you are like me, extremely fascinated by these types of things (black holes, time travel, worm holes, etc.) Otherwise, be prepared for a wild ride and a wonderful opening by Hawking who is amazingly gifted at presenting material in a way that anyone can understand.

I thought not. I was wrong. The reason: Kip Thorne. I really enjoyed the reading of this book because it offers the theoretical face of the so-called "Black Holes Mechanics" and a very important and delightful part, the history behind the theorems. The book begins with several chapters dedicated almost exclusively to the bases of the Special Theory of Relativity and the General Theory of Relativity, which describes the gravitation field in almost any place of our universe (if you get the book you will see why I say "almost"). Thereafter, the text covers the most important aspects of stellar implosion, which, in fact, brings Black Holes into existence. Once you are immersed in the very topic of the holes, the author studied profoundly their properties with informative boxes, spacetime diagrams, lots of references about discoveries, people and, the great difference with others books, an outstanding and thorough historical background. By the end, the author presents the most excitement predictions about the future use of Black Holes and the yet ill-understood Quantum Gravity Theory (predictions like backward time travel and wormholes). Finally, Kip Thorne closed the book with an excellent glossary of exotic terms and a list of principal characters that appeared throughout the text. I can say, without any doubt, that this is one of the most illustrative and complete books I have ever read, and in my opinion, is a book that every "Black Hole serious student" might have in his/her shelve. If you are looking for a less technical book, I suggest you "Black Holes: A Traveler's Guide" by Clifford Pickover. Nevertheless, if you want a higher challenge, get the book "Gravitation" by Thorne, Wheeler and Misner.

The true secrets of universe can only be understood by a deep understanding of highly complicated mathematical and physical concepts. For mere mortals like me, books like these offer a good taste of such pleasures. Kip Thorne, a relativist of very high caliber (coauthor of the classic textbook "Gravitation"), takes the reader through a exciting journey through the history of modern cosmology starting with Einstein's Field Equation.
Unlike most popular physics books dealing with such a topic, he actually spends (relatively) little time dwelling on Einstein's work itself (just a couple of chapters) -- there are several books that deal with relativity itself (I'm talking books for the layperson). Instead he quickly starts talking about the "Legacy" of Einstein's great theory. We are led through drama of 20th century cosmology as different solutions were found for the Field Equations which challenged human reason and intuition, ultimately leading to the great crisis: the black hole.
As the author himself is a very active and very highly respected member of the scientic community, the book is full of very interesting (and sometime illuminating) anecdotes about various luminories (I love the one about his bet with Stephen Hawking about the existence of Cygnus X-1 black hole).
If you are a layperson (as far as modern astrophysics is concerned, probably most are lay people) interested in science in general and astronomy in particular, I'd strongly recommend this book (heck, I'd recommend it for any one who's even mildly curious). This is one of the best books in its field (if not the best) that caters to the lay readers (not unlike Richard Dawkins's "Blind Watch Maker" for evolution).

Although a bit dated now, this book is a fascinating explanation of the history of black holes. It is very accessible to readers not trained in advanced physics. The author's writing style is engaging throughout and the book is full of anecdotes about the physicists who contributed to our understanding of black holes. The author explains relativity, warped space-time, gravitation, singularities, how black holes are formed, and how they may evaporate. The final chapter is a diversion about the possibility of wormholes and time machines, with a interesting connection to Carl Sagan's book Contact (which was made into a wonderful movie by the same name).

This book is a great book for anyone interested in learning more about black holes and other anomolies. It's extensive in its explanations regarding the more unknown areas of physics and astrophysics, however, it might be a bit too in-depth for the average reader. I wouldn't suggest this book unless you either know a bit about physics already OR if you are like me, extremely fascinated by these types of things (black holes, time travel, worm holes, etc.) Otherwise, be prepared for a wild ride and a wonderful opening by Hawking who is amazingly gifted at presenting material in a way that anyone can understand.

I thought not. I was wrong. The reason: Kip Thorne. I really enjoyed the reading of this book because it offers the theoretical face of the so-called "Black Holes Mechanics" and a very important and delightful part, the history behind the theorems. The book begins with several chapters dedicated almost exclusively to the bases of the Special Theory of Relativity and the General Theory of Relativity, which describes the gravitation field in almost any place of our universe (if you get the book you will see why I say "almost"). Thereafter, the text covers the most important aspects of stellar implosion, which, in fact, brings Black Holes into existence. Once you are immersed in the very topic of the holes, the author studied profoundly their properties with informative boxes, spacetime diagrams, lots of references about discoveries, people and, the great difference with others books, an outstanding and thorough historical background. By the end, the author presents the most excitement predictions about the future use of Black Holes and the yet ill-understood Quantum Gravity Theory (predictions like backward time travel and wormholes). Finally, Kip Thorne closed the book with an excellent glossary of exotic terms and a list of principal characters that appeared throughout the text. I can say, without any doubt, that this is one of the most illustrative and complete books I have ever read, and in my opinion, is a book that every "Black Hole serious student" might have in his/her shelve. If you are looking for a less technical book, I suggest you "Black Holes: A Traveler's Guide" by Clifford Pickover. Nevertheless, if you want a higher challenge, get the book "Gravitation" by Thorne, Wheeler and Misner.

When Carl Sagan wanted to have his fictional herione from Contact travel in time, he turned to Kip Thorne.

This book is Thorne's attempt to more fully explain the science of time travel.

And in the process Thorne takes you to the prediction and discovery of black holes.

First seriously suggested by the theories of Albert Einstein, a black hole is a star that has grown so massive (at least three times the size of our sun) that it litterally can't sustain itself against its own weight. It assumes a gravitional force so powerful that not even light can escape its grasp.

Obviously, therefore, learning what resides beyond the visible dark exterior of a black hole has eluded science.

Yet that dark exterior has fueled speculations that black holes may enable nature (and possibly man) to perform seemingly magical feats.

As mentioned at the outset, one of the most interesting of these feats is time travel and the reason is because the great gravitional power of a black hole litterally allows it to warp the space around it. For us it would be a little like standing on one end of a water bed when someone places an anvil on the other end. Owing to the great weight of the anvil, the bed is contorted and owing to its contortions we find ourselves falling toward the anvil.

Assuming a sufficiently heavy anvil we could see both ends of the water bed being connected.

One obvious challenge would to be travel a black hole without becoming a part of it.

Another not so obvious challenge is the fact wormhole creation at best is an exotic affair not occuring above quantum distances. In this way, any people wishing to use one would have to go an extreme wieght loss program!

Because of its thoroughness, Thorne gives an extended discussion of the characters involved in the story he's telling. For example, Thorne explains that physicists use both flat and curved universe models to understand black hole behavior. Additionally, even though predicted by his theories, Einstein actually disputed the existence of black holes. As a result, the Soviet Union and not the US was the first country to really encourage serious discussion of them. However, once predicted and then once found, black holes became a unique entree into the laws of physics and with it the mind of God himself.

For those who read or saw Contact and enjoyed it, this will be an excellent account of the fact behind the fiction.

The true secrets of universe can only be understood by a deep understanding of highly complicated mathematical and physical concepts. For mere mortals like me, books like these offer a good taste of such pleasures. Kip Thorne, a relativist of very high caliber (coauthor of the classic textbook "Gravitation"), takes the reader through a exciting journey through the history of modern cosmology starting with Einstein's Field Equation.
Unlike most popular physics books dealing with such a topic, he actually spends (relatively) little time dwelling on Einstein's work itself (just a couple of chapters) -- there are several books that deal with relativity itself (I'm talking books for the layperson). Instead he quickly starts talking about the "Legacy" of Einstein's great theory. We are led through drama of 20th century cosmology as different solutions were found for the Field Equations which challenged human reason and intuition, ultimately leading to the great crisis: the black hole.
As the author himself is a very active and very highly respected member of the scientic community, the book is full of very interesting (and sometime illuminating) anecdotes about various luminories (I love the one about his bet with Stephen Hawking about the existence of Cygnus X-1 black hole).
If you are a layperson (as far as modern astrophysics is concerned, probably most are lay people) interested in science in general and astronomy in particular, I'd strongly recommend this book (heck, I'd recommend it for any one who's even mildly curious). This is one of the best books in its field (if not the best) that caters to the lay readers (not unlike Richard Dawkins's "Blind Watch Maker" for evolution).

Mr. Thorne has managed to write a book that while going into a lot of detail in explaning the history, the people involved and the science behind Black Holes, Wormholes, and Time Travel, he DOES NOT lose the reader [assuming that Astrophysics is of interest to the reader] due to the amount of detail. The illustrations in the book are superb. Mr. Thorne explains the science in such a way that is not intimidating, but doesn't skimp on the details. I found this to be a better book than "The History of Time". It is a complete package. The glossary at the back of the book is VERY helpfull.
I cannot stress enough how well Kip Thorne explicates on this subject. The amount of technical and mathematical detail instead of being a deterrent was the strenth and potency of this book. Even the history dimension of the book I found interesting. There is a sense of awe, to a person interesting in Astrophysics, in finding out how these people came to be the best in their field and their contribution as well as an understanding of thier contributions.
If I had to recommend one book for someone interested in Black Holes, Time Travel and the like, it would definately be this book! A Cosmic tour-de-force!
HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

This is a great book about the concepts of relativity, black holes and wormholes. It takes you through a breathtaking journey right from relativity to the development of the ideas of black holes. The matter is presented in a lucid way making it very easy for laymen like me and generating a genuine interest in this area. An unputdownable book, a fantastic journey full of knowledge.

A treat for all readers, I would especially recommend this to avid sci-fi readers - for once, truth is really stranger (and beautiful) than fiction.

This book contains so much information on the wonders of our universe including everything mentioned by Stephen Hawking in "A Brief History of Time" plus so much more. He expounds in depth on black holes, what they're made of, how they're created, and how they may be of use to us. Kip Thorne shows an incredible amount of hard work as he accurately gives dates and proper names of physicists all the while teaching, not merely reciting, to the reader how black holes function. Kip even goes farther than most physicists in his book by explaining the possibilites of using wormholes as time machines. He leaves nothing out in this great book, and makes it easy to understand for the average person (atleast most of it..)

I have read more physics books after reading this one, only to be disappointed. No other book no matter how well written, with so very few expections to few to mention can compare with how well this book reads. It's surprising what a fast read it is as well. I strongly suggest anyone who is at least alittle interested in this subject matter start here.

A great book for understanding the theories that are driving physics today. The history lessions are invaluable and allow the reader to understand how modern physics evolved. The authors style is easy to read and his ability to explain the most complex concepts makes reading enjoyable. I highly recomend this book for anyone with an interest in physics.

This is a surprisingly good book for someone interested in the complex world of general relativity, without having to understand the detailed math behind the scenes. Kip Thorne provides small boxes in the text body, to explain in plain english the physical intuition and ideas, and to extend the understanding of complex experiments. A realy good bet if you are curious about modern astrophysics but do not remember the technical tools or if you do not have time do brush the tools up. Highly recomended.

Kip Thorne has done a magnificent job in explaining in great detail how the universe works. Mr. Thorne actually takes you into the minds and thought processes of the scientists who made the great discoveries of our time. His book is clear, thorough and excting. Unlike other books of the same subject that are like two astrophysists talking to each other, Mr. Thorne has given the layman the tools to understand physical science from the smallest of sub-atomic partilles to objects many light years in diameter. I highly recommend this book for everyone who is interested in the subject.

This book basically is quite simple in structure and features no hard core mathematical concepts of any sort. Thorne created the book so that even the most ambiguous of concepts concerning the esoteric field of physics can be understood by almost anyone. As a high school student I highly recommend this book to those who have plenty of time to spare and love to delve into the history relativistic theory and it's presumptions in our 4 dimension universe. All in all it's worth your money and it's non condescending.

It is really amazing.....I really liked the presentation in which, the author presents the historical facts first then the Physics....I think that this book allows you to have a deeper understanding of physics and expecially black hole formation and evaporation! Besides the amount of information in this book is phenomenal, it is a reference for persons interested in physics and would like to learn more details.

I found this book especially enjoyable since it does not only cover some of the most complex subjects in modern astrophysics, but provides an excellent insider view of how scientists work.
Highly recommend it!

When Carl Sagan wanted to have his fictional herione from Contact travel in time, he turned to Kip Thorne.

This book is Thorne's attempt to more fully explain the science of time travel.

And in the process Thorne takes you to the prediction and discovery of black holes.

First seriously suggested by the theories of Albert Einstein, a black hole is a star that has grown so massive (at least three times the size of our sun) that it litterally can't sustain itself against its own weight. It assumes a gravitional force so powerful that not even light can escape its grasp.

Obviously, therefore, learning what resides beyond the visible dark exterior of a black hole has eluded science.

Yet that dark exterior has fueled speculations that black holes may enable nature (and possibly man) to perform seemingly magical feats.

As mentioned at the outset, one of the most interesting of these feats is time travel and the reason is because the great gravitional power of a black hole litterally allows it to warp the space around it. For us it would be a little like standing on one end of a water bed when someone places an anvil on the other end. Owing to the great weight of the anvil, the bed is contorted and owing to its contortions we find ourselves falling toward the anvil.

Assuming a sufficiently heavy anvil we could see both ends of the water bed being connected.

One obvious challenge would to be travel a black hole without becoming a part of it.

Another not so obvious challenge is the fact wormhole creation at best is an exotic affair not occuring above quantum distances. In this way, any people wishing to use one would have to go an extreme wieght loss program!

Because of its thoroughness, Thorne gives an extended discussion of the characters involved in the story he's telling. For example, Thorne explains that physicists use both flat and curved universe models to understand black hole behavior. Additionally, even though predicted by his theories, Einstein actually disputed the existence of black holes. As a result, the Soviet Union and not the US was the first country to really encourage serious discussion of them. However, once predicted and then once found, black holes became a unique entree into the laws of physics and with it the mind of God himself.

For those who read or saw Contact and enjoyed it, this will be an excellent account of the fact behind the fiction.

This book is definitely a one size fits all physics journey. It let me get as technical as I wanted to and it will let everyone walk away with a much fuller understanding of this magnificent multi-faceted topic. Also, there are numerous illustrations that help make the text hit home. I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in the universe and what makes it tick. Fabulous!

I finished reading this book today. It is not only written in a clear and understandable way, it is also very amusing! It contains all the details on how black holes were discovered and leaves a final chapter for speculation on wormholes. Fantastic reading!

I lived with the rough manuscript of this book for three
months. All I did for those three months was read this,
EINSTEINS DREAM by Alan Lightman, and the WASHINGTON POST.
At the end of the three months, I had my first scientific
eurika moment, and it was a doozy. Took the really big
guns 5 weeks to kill it. Beautifully footnoted and
annotated, truly lyrical prose. Some of it is tough-but
hang in there. When you finish, you, too, will know how
the universe works.

"Black Holes & Time Warps" was one of my favorite books on the subject. Kip Thorne explained everything very well. He discusses all of the subjects to their fullest. Wonderfully written. Outstanding

_____________________________________________

Like many, I started Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time"
(1988), bogged down, and set it aside. Thorne's book got equally good
reviews, but my God, the thing's 600+ pages.... so it sat on my "to-
read" shelf for years. This tardy review is intended for others in
similar circumstances -- or for anyone interested in modern physics &
astronomy.

The book is written as a history of 20th century physics, from
Einstein's theory of the relativity of space & time (1905), to black
holes, gravity waves and wormholes in the 90's. I found this a very
engaging approach. Thorne's writing is (usually) clear and direct, and
he includes enough biographical tidbits and anecdotes to keep the
human juice in potentially dry topics.

A few gems: Einstein's college math professor Minkowski, who had
called the young genius a "lazy dog", later worked out the
mathematics combining space and time into "absolute spacetime."
Einstein made cruel jokes denigrating Minkowski's work, not
realizing, until after Minkowski's death, that his old teacher's math
was essential to Einstein's special relativity work.

Cosmic radio waves were discovered by a Bell Telephone engineer in
1932. Despite widespread publicity, professional atronomers weren't
very interested -- the first radiotelescope was built by a radio "ham",
in his mother's back yard in Illinois, in 1940. The first professional
radiotelescopes weren't built until after WW2, in England and
Australia; Americans didn't become competitive until the late 50's.

Thorne has a fair command of Russian, which gave him an "in"
when the USSR started allowing scientific contacts in the post-Stalin
era. Now that Russia is such a mess, we forget that the Soviets
produced a *bunch* of world-class scientists and engineers [note 1],
from the 1930's on -- including some of the best physicists since

Einstein.

Dr. Thorne, the Feynman Professor of Physics at Caltech
is best known to the
general public for his 1988 wormhole "time machine" proposal. Press
coverage included a photo of the author doing physics in the nude on
Mt. Palomar. Embareassing, but didn't hurt the book sales. The
wormhole work grew out of a request from Carl Sagan for a plausible
FTL transport scheme for his 1985 science-fiction novel "Contact"
(which I recommend). Sagan's request made Thorne realize the value
of thought experiments that ask, "What things do the laws of physics
permit an infinitely advanced civilization to do, and what do the
laws forbid?" This style of speculation by world-class scientists has
become popular (and somewhat respectable) in the last decade, and
has resulted in some very stimulating reading, such as K. Eric
Drexler's "Engines of Creation" (1986), and Hans Moravec's "Mind
Children" (1988) and "Robot" (1999).

My last exposure to formal physics was two painful undergraduate
courses (mumble) years ago. Since then I've kept up at roughly a
Scientific American level or below (plus I read a lot of science fiction).
I think I'm close to the author's aim-point for his potential audience.
I found some of the physics tough going, but these sections can be
safely skimmed without losing the thread of his arguments. I read
most of the book in two sittings -- it's surprisingly gripping. So --
don't put off reading "Black Holes" any longer!
__________
Note 1) --along with some remarkable pseudo-science. Iosif Shlovsky tells
of many such projects in his very entertaining "Five Billion Vodka
Bottles to the Moon" (1991).

Happy reading--
Peter D. Tillman

You could consider this as a good place to continue if you have already read Stephen Hawkins' "A Short History of Time" and want to deepen your understanding of modern cosmology at an introductory level.

(From wikipedia- "Black holes") "The first use of the term 'black hole' in print was by journalist Ann Ewing in her article 'Black Holes in Space' dated 18 January 1964, in the issue of the 'Science News Letter,' which was a report on a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science."
(From worldwidewords by Michael Quinion) has a the actual quote written by Ewing: "According to Einstein's general theory of relativity, as mass is added to a degenerate star a sudden collapse will take place and the intense gravitational field of the star will close in on itself. Such a star then forms a 'black hole' in the universe."

Thorne in this book, pages 256-257, along with a lot of other people, credit John Wheeler with "coining" the phrase "black hole." Per above, this is just not true. Ann Ewing was the first to use the term and this was in print, which is the main point. Anyway, Thorne is not the only person doing this kind of stuff, so I don't want to single him out here, just part of the old boys network. Ewing was a female reporter and not a male physicist in the world of the early 1960's.

(From wikipedia- "Black holes") "Does it matter who invented 'black hole' as a snappy alternative to the the phrase 'gravitationally completely collapsed star'? If we're happy to ascribe legends to our great men, probably not. If we prefer truth to fiction, then it's worth putting the record straight."

John Wheeler could have set the record straight with one sentence, crediting Ewing with the term "black hole," to my knowledge he did not do so.

Since we are on the subject of women who did not receive the credit they deserved, see: 1. Rosalind Franklin, re: the structure of DNA, who died in 1958 of ovarian cancer at 38; and 2. Miss Henrietta Leavitt at Harvard College Observatory, who (in about 1908) first proposed a fundamental hypothesis that Cepheids variables exhibit a relationship between the periods of their light variation and their absolute magnitudes. However, Hertzsprung calibrated the relationship between period and luminosity. This information was used to "secure the distances to those aggregates of stars," (the Small Magellanic Cloud). "The Expanding Universe," (1982), Robert Smith, page 71. A lot of other people were involved in this pursuit, but Hubble got all of the credit.

Unlike the other reviewers, I am a (retired) theoretical physicist (Ph.D Yale 1959). This probably accounts for the fact that my reaction to this book is considerably less enthusiastic than the others.
There is no question that Thorne writes well and the book has been carefully edited. Moreover, his personal anecdotes and portraits of many famous physicists are very interesting. You get the impression that Thorne was very sociable and popular with his peers. This plus the fact that he had powerful mentors and supporters probably explains why he has had such a succeesful career despite his apparent lack of any particular achievements let alone breakthroughs.
The General Theory of Relativity was formulated in 1915. Despite its reputation for being very difficult, it is actually fairly easy to understand provided that you have an undergraduate education in physics and mathematics. The easiest technical book to read is D.F. Lawdens's "Introduction to Tensor Calculus, Relativity and Cosmology". The theory of black holes was deduced from Einstein's field equation by Schwarzschild in 1916.
So here we have a theory that is brilliant and as far as we know true. But it is after all nearly 90 years old and most of the important consequences were worked out in the first few years. So what have people like Thorne done with it since? The answer I am afraid is much less that the general public appears to believe.
Books like this contain a lot of jazzy stuff about time-travel and similar exotica. But Thorne is not as bad as Hawking and others who have also made careers of thrilling the public with popularizations of arcane theories that have nothing to do with physics since they can never be tested.
Einstein was a true genius who made a real breakthrough in our understanding of the universe. Unfortunately there are no more Einsteins today, only academic poseurs who bask in his reflected glory. Physics today is a science in decline; its widely touted "discoveries" often have little relation to the real world. Unfortunately, an increasingly scientifically illiterate public can no longer tell the difference between real physics and largely irrelevant speculations such as are on display in this book.

I would really like to make an exchange. I ordered this book a while ago but didn't have a chance to read it. I just noticed three pages are ripped in exactly the same spot; maybe something during maufacturing. I would have to say the book is not worth much with the pages ripped.

This book, written by the great cosmologist Professor Kip Thorne, leads us through some of the wonders and paradoxes of the universe.

If you want to escape from your world, you can do no better than join him. He takes us step by step through the various discoveries that have led to this understanding of the universe in which we have evolved, in our own little corner, on this little planet.

Reading is like living in a movie, so brilliantly and with such passion, does he describe this epic search for truth.

The factual information he gives about the universe and reality itself as we proceed, provides an incomparable tableau of our surroundings and universal history.

If you are interested in what lies beyond the horizon of Earth, this book is a must!