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)

This should be way to learn physics

Thoroughly and an enjoyed the narration of this book if my undergraduate physics was taught by a professor such as doctor instead of the strip old school physics professor I had as an undergraduate physics would’ve been one of my better courses

A perfect formula for a great read

I never thought I would use the word “love” and “physics” in the same paragraph! Yet Walter Lewin and Warren Goldstein introduced me to the science that I had previously thought unapproachable. Clearly Professor Lewin is an outstanding teacher. If our schools were filled with teachers like Mr. Lewin, it would surely change the world.

The story is about Physics and all that it encompasses, which is everything really. And that part had me fascinated. It is also about teaching Physics and this part was just wonderful. I found myself in my garage with a tennis ball and string, attempting to duplicate the pendulum demonstration (Yes, Physics works), and in my front garden, spraying my garden hose toward the Sun to create a rainbow (Yes, red is always on the outside). Not many books motivate me to such action.

Kent Cassella does an admirable job in communicating difficult names and locations whilst still being able to convey the humour and irony in particular stories.

Overall it was a compelling read. A book of Science. Of Teaching. And a remarkable personal story of a European immigrant to America who has certainly helped us better understand the world.

Applying what I learned in this book, I would measure the uncertainty of this review to be within ± .5 stars.

Great book for an intro to physics

For the Love of Physics was a great read. If you have watched any of Walter Lewin's lectures online, you know that he is a great teacher. In this book, he gives a good overview of physics. Towards the end of book, he goes into x-ray astronomy and talks about his research. Overall, this is a great book, I highly recommend it.

Discussion of Physics

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

not particularly because it turned into a rant on global warming.

Were the concepts of this book easy to follow, or were they too technical?

The discussion on Physics was outstanding. He should have stayed focused on it rather than delve into environmentalism. his discussion on the makeup of stars, and effects of tars and light could have been condensed.

Which scene was your favorite?

rainbows

Did For the Love of Physics inspire you to do anything?

not really

Not at advertised

I am a high school physics teacher and I often show students clips of some of his demonstrations. So I thought this book would present me with a different way to present the material. Though there are some nice tidbits within the book, this should had been labeled as his autobiography. In my opinion he spends too much time discussing his life and work (I don’t need to know why his first marriage dissolved). Plus there wasn’t much of an organized flow to the book. At times it seemed that his was rambling. The worst parts were when he would say “I will explain more in a later chapter.” Then I had issue with the narrator because he did not sound like a science “guy.” There were phrases he would pronounce differently than the norm that could be irksome to a science listener.

Just what we were hoping

Listened to this with my son in grade 11. Cool way to share our interest in science with good balance between anecdotes and higher level info, but gets a little heady to listen to all the tech/formulas at the end. We like a challenge though so really fun good listen overall.

Walter Lewin is very entertaining

It is obvious that Walter Lewin is in love with physics. His childlike sense of wonder spills out in his writing about everything from light to momentum. I found myself physically smiling on several occasions while listening to this book and commend Lewin for making tough subjects interesting and applicable. If you love physics this book will re-affirm your affections and if you are simply curious then prepare to be drawn in like a tractor beam.......and maybe even learn how that could be possible!!

LOVED IT!!!!

Any additional comments?

Why didn't I get taught this in high school.....hell!... elementary school. I would have loved it if it was taught like this.

the professor I wish I had

I loved this listen. Professor Lewin made physics the living fascinating thing it is. The vivid examples and explanations gave me a new appreciation for rainbows and cans of paint.

If you loved Physics in school I recommend this book as an interesting listen. If you hated Physics. I highly recommend this book as an eye opening explanation of so much of the world that surrounds us.

Understanding of what confused you in class

I wish I had this professor in High school and College. I have always loved physics but didn't quite get it enough that I could peruse it. This Professor explains things in a humorous that brings it to reality for you. It shows you how physics works in the world around you and gives you a basis to grow from, which is what is required to grasp the more intricate and mathematical parts of physics.

Its an awesome book for those who just want to know what the point to physics is. It is an awesome book for those who what an launching point into greater physics. the professor / writer is witty, entertaining and informative. the Narrator communicates all of that in his tone as he reads through this book and keeps you actively listening.