Dreams of a Final Theory

Version: Unabridged
Author: Steven Weinberg
Narrator: Jonathan Tindle
Genres: Science & Technology
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Published In: April 2000
# of Units: 8 CDs
Length: 8 hours
Ratings:
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Overview

In Dreams of a Final Theory, Steven Weinberg, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist and author of The First Three Minutes, describes the grand quest for a unifying theory of nature -- one that can explain forces as different as the cohesion inside the atom and the gravitational tug between the sun and the earth. Writing with dazzling elegance and clarity, he retraces the steps that have led modern scientists from relativity and quantum mechanics to the notion of superstrings and the idea that our universe may coexist with others.

But Weinberg has as many questions as he answers, among them: Why does each explanation of the way nature works point to other, deeper explanations? Why are the best theories not only logical but beautiful? And what implications will a final theory have for our philosophy and religious faith?

Intellectually daring, rich in anecdote and aphorism, Dreams of a Final Theory launches us into a new cosmos and helps us make sense of what we find there.

Reviews (4)

I gave it my best shot

Written by Trey Causey from Baton Rouge, LA on July 7th, 2007

  • Book Rating: 2/5

I went into this book with an open mind having read the other reviews, but I just could not make it past the third disc. I spend over 50% of my free time reading science related books (non-fiction) and watching science related television, so even I was surprised that I could not bring myself to enjoy this book as much as the author enjoyed writing it. I'm sure some people will enjoy it, it's just not for me.

Dreams of a Final Theory

Written by Murray Schlussel on March 2nd, 2006

  • Book Rating: 3/5

Very ramifying in concepts dealt with. Demands a terrific knowledge in modern physics. I was a physics/math major some decades ago and found it difficult to follow much of what he discusses. Good writing style.

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Written by Anonymous from Yardville, NJ on January 2nd, 2006

  • Book Rating: 3/5

Highly technical and is not written for the layman. I'd pass unless you have a college background in the material.

Dreams of a Final theory

Written by DAS on August 4th, 2005

  • Book Rating: 4/5

Dust off that physics degree before tackling this one. However, if you have some awareness of college jr. - sr. level physics, this book is a joy to listen to. Weinberg tells you right up front that he isn't going to bother with physics lessons on the many topics he covers. Accepting those conditions, the reader gets to listen to the thoughts of one of our time's leading physicists as he explores the "why" of our physical world. Why should the universe be governed by laws that are elegant and beautiful? What does it mean when a scientist says a natural law is beautiful? This is a wonderful mixture of science fact, science theory, and philosophy.

Author Details

Author Details

Weinberg, Steven

"Steven Weinberg was educated at Cornell, Copenhagen, and Princeton, and taught at Columbia, Berkeley, M.I.T., and Harvard, where from 1973 to 1982 he was Higgins Professor of Physics. In 1982 he moved to The University of Texas at Austin and founded its Theory Group. At Texas he holds the Josey Regental Chair of Science and is a member of the Physics and Astronomy Departments.

His research has spanned a broad range of topics in quantum field theory, elementary particle physics, and cosmology, and has been honored with numerous awards, including the Nobel Prize in Physics, the National Medal of Science, the Heinemann Prize in Mathematical Physics, the Cresson Medal of the Franklin Institute, the Madison Medal of Princeton University, and the Oppenheimer Prize.

He also holds honorary doctoral degrees from a dozen universities. He is a member of the National Academy of Science, the Royal Society of London, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the International Astronomical Union, and the American Philosophical Society.

In addition to the well-known treatise, Gravitation and Cosmology, he has written several books for general readers, including the prize-winning The First Three Minutes (now translated into 22 foreign languages), The Discovery of Subatomic Particles, and most recently Dreams of a Final Theory. He has written a textbook The Quantum Theory of Fields, Vol. I. and Vol. II."