Euclid's Window

The Story of Geometry from Parallel Lines to Hyperspace

By: Leonard Mlodinow

Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld

Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

Through Euclid's Window Leonard Mlodinow brilliantly and delightfully leads us on a journey through five revolutions in geometry, from the Greek concept of parallel lines to the latest notions of hyperspace. Here is an altogether new, refreshing, alternative history of math revealing how simple questions anyone might ask about space -- in the living room or in some other galaxy -- have been the hidden engine of the highest achievements in science and technology.

Based on Mlodinow's extensive historical research; his studies alongside colleagues such as Richard Feynman and Kip Thorne; and interviews with leading physicists and mathematicians such as Murray Gell-Mann, Edward Witten, and Brian Greene, Euclid's Window is an extraordinary blend of rigorous, authoritative investigation and accessible, good-humored storytelling that makes a stunningly original argument asserting the primacy of geometry. For those who have looked through Euclid's Window, no space, no thing, and no time will ever be quite the same.

©2009 Leonard Mlodinow (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Surprisingly readable for a subject so complex

I learned a great deal about the history of geometry, which was unexpectedly interesting, and string theory. Most surprising was the quality of writing. Dr. Mlodinow is clever frequently funny, and graciously easy to understand, even for us non-physicists.

Pointless Examples

While this book is full of interesting information the authors examples make the point he is trying to make overly complicated because he insists on injecting his version of humor into almost every one leaving the example hard and at times almost impossible to understand.

The book would have been much better if the author could have used some restraint in trying to prove his whit every 30 seconds.

World history and math together.

Don't try to follow the equations, follow the story. A second listen is worth your time.

Good mathematics, questionable history

I liked hearing about the more modern concepts toward the end of the book, and it's clear that the author is an expert in these areas, but I found that the history presented early-on was colored by the author's (rather obvious) anti-religious biases. For example, he repeats myths about Hypatia and the Library of Alexandria's destruction that show a lack of careful research about current scholarship regarding that time period. Instances like this make me question the historicity of other aspects of the book. If you are interested in the *history* of science, take this book with a grain of salt. If you are interested in hearing explanations of how some modern physics concepts (e.g. relativity, string theory) came about and how they're related, this is a good introductory resource. Basically, this is a book written by a physicist and clearly not a historian.

Keeping it real

What did you love best about Euclid's Window?

I liked the way the author covers the history of discoveries in physics and mathematics from Pythagoras and Euclid to Einstein and beyond. I'm just a layman and I actually got the gist of most of the math and physics. I now understand how the leap to hyperbolic geometry helped Einstein and others to describe relativity and how the universe works. The author explains how math and physics evolved through the efforts of many great thinkers leading up to Einstein. And he finishes with the current state of string theory.

What other book might you compare Euclid's Window to and why?

I also liked About Time and The Clockwork Universe because they give you a historical perspective of our understanding of the universe and our place in it.

What about Robert Blumenfeld’s performance did you like?

He read very well.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Provides structure for understanding math

Loved it. I have always enjoyed math, but I have a much greater appreciation for it now that I understand the back stories involved in its discovery. I like the way the author uses simple analogies to explain technical concepts. The book provided a means to structure certain math concepts in my head and encourages me to find structure for other match and science ideas.

entertaining to the interested reader

I thought the author did an excellent job---particularly with the history up through Gauss---of crafting an interesting "story" out of the history of Geometry. Lots of fun anecdotes, many of which were new to me, and I think would be of interest to a reader interested in the subject.

I wouldn't recommend it for everyone, but for someone who likes interesting non-fiction, it's not bad.

goes well beyond Euclid

If you just want to know about Euclid the stop after the first three chapters. Discussion on Einstein helped me explain Relativity to my spouse in general terms. Area on Newton was OK but left out other contributors of the Age. I plan a second listen soon. More on the Ancients would have been nice since that is what I expected from the title.

Good book!

The author of this book was surprisingly funny. He did a good job bringing you through the history of geometry. I just have one question, Wheres Euler?

About the math not the people

I think as an audible text, may have been more engaging if it were more biographical. Probably a 4 star book if read from paper.