The Elegant Universe

Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory

By: Brian Greene

Narrated by: Erik Davies

Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

"[Greene] develops one fresh new insight after another...In the great tradition of physicists writing for the masses, The Elegant Universe sets a standard that will be hard to beat." --George Johnson, The New York Times Book Review

In a rare blend of scientific insight and writing as elegant as the theories it explains, Brian Greene, one of the world's leading string theorists, peels away the layers of mystery surrounding string theory to reveal a universe that consists of 11 dimensions where the fabric of space tears and repairs itself, and all matter-from the smallest quarks to the most gargantuan supernovas-is generated by the vibrations of microscopically tiny loops of energy.

Green uses everything from an amusement park ride to ants on a garden hose to illustrate the beautiful yet bizarre realities that modern physics is unveiling.

Dazzling in its brilliance, unprecedented in its ability to both illuminate and entertain, The Elegant Universe is a tour de force of science writing-a delightful, lucid voyage through modern physics that brings us closer than ever to understanding how the universe works.

©2003 Brian Greene (P)2008 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

"[Greene] writes with poetic eloquence and style.... [He] does an admirable job of translating a wholly mathematical endeavor into visual terms." -The Washington Post Book World

"[An] important book.... The Elegant Universe presents the ideas and aspirations-and some of the characters-of string theory with clarity and charm." -Scientific American

"As good as it gets.... [A] thrilling ride through a lovely landscape." -Los Angeles Times

super string super story

awesome well organized story, very educational and easy to follow, no need to understand the math to understand this explanation

love it

I like the narrate, gental and soothing, also a great book to listen to before sleep.

Tough, but worth it

I had also read the book years ago, but found the audiobook to be thoroughly enjoyable. This is a great book, but the subject matter will prove to be mind-bending to most. Approach with caution and go slow. Highly recommended.

Informative and entertaining

Where does The Elegant Universe rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I've always enjoyed the way Brian Greene explains complex topics, and this book isn't the exception. Because of the way that he describes the experiments, it's very easy to picture them in your mind, making the concepts very understandable and simple. I have the audible and digital version, both of them very enjoyable. One of my favorite books of all times.

Enjoyed the experience of learning

could have used less selling in the beginning and less reviewing at the end - but when sifted out, the interesting theories made it worthwhile.

Hiss

This narrator's "s" sounds hurt my ears! Hard to listen to! I wish the author had read this; his voice was so much easier on the ears.

Advanced topics made understandable enough

For the rest of us mortals we can at least imagine strings and concepts like curled up dimensions. very entertaining and the narrator channels Brian Greene's message superbly.

Parts 1 and 2 are Excellent!

The fist 1/3 of this book have the best explanation for special and general relativity that I have every heard. I finally feel I understand the reasoning behind those concepts. The rest of the book is a little harder to keep up with. It seems like Mr. Green was a little to close to the problem to do as good a job in his layman’s descriptions as he did for Einstein's work. Or, maybe those older concepts are just better understood by the physicists themselves, I couldn't tell.

Excellent and very in depth.

As a non astrophysicist, I'll be rereading this about a dozen times to better understand the more abstract concepts that require a background in mathematics to fully appreciate. However, Brian Greene does an amazing job using analogies to explain string theory for the previously uninitiated.

Am I smarter now?

I really enjoyed the first chapters. They read like an in-depth review of college physics or physical science. Maybe I was finally ready to get it. I struggled with the theoretical chapters. They are not as clear and compelling. Overall, a worthwhile read.