For the Love of Physics

From the End of the Rainbow to the Edge of Time - A Journey Through the Wonders of Physics

By: Walter Lewin, Warren Goldstein

Narrated by: Kent Cassella

Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

"You have changed my life" is a common refrain in the emails Walter Lewin receives daily from fans who have been enthralled by his world-famous video lectures about the wonders of physics. "I walk with a new spring in my step and I look at life through physics-colored eyes," wrote one such fan. When Lewin's lectures were made available online, he became an instant YouTube celebrity, and the New York Times declared, "Walter Lewin delivers his lectures with the panache of Julia Child bringing French cooking to amateurs and the zany theatricality of YouTube's greatest hits."

For more than 30 years as a beloved professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lewin honed his singular craft of making physics not only accessible but truly fun, whether putting his head in the path of a wrecking ball, supercharging himself with 300,000 volts of electricity, or demonstrating why the sky is blue and why clouds are white.

Now, as Carl Sagan did for astronomy and Brian Green did for cosmology, Lewin takes listeners on a marvelous journey in For the Love of Physics, opening our eyes as never before to the amazing beauty and power with which physics can reveal the hidden workings of the world all around us. "I introduce people to their own world," writes Lewin, "the world they live in and are familiar with but don't approach like a physicist - yet."

Could it be true that we are shorter standing up than lying down? Why can we snorkel no deeper than about one foot below the surface? Why are the colors of a rainbow always in the same order, and would it be possible to put our hand out and touch one? Whether introducing why the air smells so fresh after a lightning storm, why we briefly lose (and gain) weight when we ride in an elevator, or what the Big Bang would have sounded like had anyone existed to hear it, Lewin never ceases to surprise and delight with the extraordinary ability of physics to answer even the most elusive questions.

©2011 Walter Lewin and Warren Goldstein (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"As joyful as Richard Feynman's Lectures in Physics (but without the math), this text (written with the aid of University of Hartford historian Goldstein) glows with energy and should please a wide range of readers." ( Publishers Weekly)

I wish I had Walter Lewin as my physics teacher!

He sounds like an awesome teacher, and his love for the subject comes through in every line of the book. I give it a slightly lower rating because while his infectious enthusiasm comes through, the structure of the book makes it a little tougher to digest the concepts than perhaps a lecture in a lecture hall. The book skips around to different topics that are of interest to Lewin, but is not really a physics primer that builds on topics in a progressive way. The presentation of the mathematics is really difficult to get across in audible format without being able to see it (at least for me).

Physics for the common man

All of my great teachers were able to show me the importance of the seemingly insignificant in some dramatic style. Walter Lewin is a master of dramatic presentation. After listening to "for the love of physics", twice, I found myself watching hours and hours of his lectures and demonstrations on the web.

the thoughts and writing are engaging and lively and I will never look at rainbows the same way. Because of this book I now know how to look for rainbows as well.

Thank you Professor Lewin.

Mr. Cassella's narration is very good, warm and well paced.

A Professor with enormous talent and heart

An inspiration for all ages, masterfully presented and written. Thoughtfully crafted to deliver maximum effect for the reader. Solid piece of work, timeless.

Interesting Book But Better to Read

This is an interesting book but it doesn’t translate well as an audiobook. It’s a better book to read to concentrate on some of the more challenging passages with math.

Good start — go to YouTube next

Book is a great quick intro to Walter Lewin’s approach to teaching physics. I’d highly recommend checking out his lecture series on YouTube if you want to keep going.

JOY IN PHYSICS

The book cover of “For the Love of Physics” summarizes its endearing intent. Walter Lewin bridges the chasm between the lay public and Physics by simplifying and vivifying fundamental laws of a confusing science. With erudition and demonstration Lewin reflects joy in physics. Lewin is a teacher and astrophysicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Lewin considers Newton, Maxwell, and Einstein to be the greatest scientists in history because of their prescient ability to produce theories that unify laws of nature. Though quantum mechanics was never accepted by Einstein and not discovered until Newton and James Clerk Maxwell were gone, these three scientists viewed the world with blunt measurement tools and, through force of imagination, succeeded in creating theories that have been confirmed by future physicists within the probability environment of quantum mechanics.

Science continues to advance with refinement of particle physics cyclotrons like the Large Hadron Collider that are exploding protons into constituent elements, and refined tools that measure smaller and smaller elemental particles that define bigger and bigger natural laws.
Lewin and Goldstein’s book excites the imagination and encourages the future of science.

Remarkable Book!

What did you love best about For the Love of Physics?

I loved how Walter Lewin told his story and taught physics side by side. It was very engaging.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Walter Lewin himself!

Which scene was your favorite?

Every part

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

His story during WW2

Any additional comments?

Amazing book, everyone should have the opportunity to read/listen to it.

I like it very very good

book i enjoy. good explain world. funny so good laugh. good teacher learn much for me.

Entertaining and Insightful

I enjoyed this book. The science was understandable and relatable, but the history of the field provided the most benefit. Lewin doesn’t hesitate to discuss other scientists who have disagreed with him over the years, and makes well the point that science is never static but constantly changing as better technology makes new discoveries possible, and it always properly includes discussion and disagreements.

First year physics teacher

I was looking for some ideas and came across this book; and I enjoyed each chapter. Not that I’m at MIT but the book is filled with great tales of research and occasional teaching philosophy that I’ll use to bring the students world to them.