Product Description
This book is intended as an introduction to what soon may prove to be the most important theory of science...ever. It is a theory that is still evolving, but it already shows great promise of explaining the most fundamental mysteries of nature. The theory is based on the simple concept of miniscule vibrating strings as the source of all matter and forces in our universe.

Our Superstring Universe begins with the big bang and traces the evolution of matter and force strings as they form and become the building blocks of our evolving universe. Then the focus shifts to the properties of strings and how they fit into the current knowledge of particle physics. The book concludes with discussions of the quest for experimental proof of strings and a look into the sometimes surprising, and always amazing, potential of superstring-M theory.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 2.5 based on 6 reviews)

It would be easier just to set fire to your money than to order this

Normally I wouldn't bother wasting any time or effort even mentioning such a pathetic excuse for a book, but then I realized that maybe the one small, positive thing could come out of the mistake I made in ordering this garbage is that I could warn others against making the same error.
I came across this thing while clicking around Amazon searching for books about the universe and particularly string theory. Fascinated by the implications of string theory, I wanted more info, and when "Our Superstring Universe" crept out of the shadows, it actually seemed like a decent choice: a concise, understandable summary of string theory that was up-to-date and professionally done. I emphasize: this is what it SEEMED to be. So I took a chance and ordered it, and when it arrived, the only lesson I got was in how appearances can be deceiving.
First off, I don't know if the author even truly understands the concepts he's writing about. Inventing his own (highly suspect) terminology and glossing over several things he should be explaining in detail (as other reviews have noted), I immediately got the sense that this was not a trustworthy source for information on string theory. Instead, I got the sense that this author realized that string theory is a "hot" field, and he wanted to get in on the action... a lot of science writers have made names for themselves (not to mention getting their books on bestseller lists) in this area.
But wait! As if that isn't bad enough, it gets even worse. The diagrams and illustrations are not only pointless filler material, they look like something a 4th-grader might have printed out from a mid-1980's home computer for a school paper. I am 100% serious. It would be hilarious if not for the fact that I paid good money for what was billed as a cutting-edge book.
The bottom line is this: there are so many excellent books on this subject, as well as webpages devoted to it, that spending good money on "Our Superstring Universe" would be a very foolish move. Buyer Beware!
July 04, 2006

Grade-school prose, very short, yet padded

This little book has 128 pages of text. After some cosmology and particle physics, discussion of string theory commences on pages 53-57, conintuing on 73-102, 110-111, and 115-125, for a total of 48 pages. Subtract maybe another 25% for amateurish diagrams that do nothing but repeat the text, massive white space, and constant repetition, and you end up with about 36 pages of content on the subject of the title of this book.

I'm not sure who the target audience is for this work. It contains no mathematics beyond addition. It contains sentences such as this: "The nine planets of our solar system, in order of distance from the sun are: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto." Or: "Dividing by a number greater than one yields a smaller number." What do you think, maybe 5th graders?

The content is necessarily shallow, tossing out buzzwords, with no continuity, no real explanations. Branes are never actually defined. M-theory is never defined beyond being the theory that ties together all the other string theories. Somehow. I wonder what the "M" stands for.
March 16, 2005

Not much real science in this booklet

The pictures and tables are so poor in quality and printing that would have been wiser not to include them.
To make matters worst, the author attempts but completely fails to explain anything in this booklet.

There are websites built and maintained by amateurs and enthusiasts that are far better sources.

If you're looking for good books on M-Theory and related subjects, buy "The Elegant Universe" and "The Fabric of the Cosmos".
October 31, 2004

Not for the advanced physics reader

Probably a fair book for somebody's first book on String Theory, but definitely not for the advanced reader who is looking for new news. The author covers a lot of areas of quantum physics, but not in any real depth or background. In his first section on string theory he barley talks about strings. He introduces the concept well, and discusses the mathematical challenges of the string theory revolutions in more-or-less, introductory terms. Makes use of diagrams, but seemingly to take up space, rather than visual aids.

I read the entire book in about three hours.
December 09, 2003

Much better than expected.

This book is very well written and it gets right down to the point. It is, also, very clear in concept with only a few points here and there that might have needed a better explanation. This is only an introductory edition, and if more in-depth knowledge is needed I recommend: The Elegant Universe by Brian Greene. Overall: VERY GOOD.
December 02, 2003

SIMILAR PRODUCTS

Parallel Worlds: A Journey Through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos
by Michio Kaku

Warped Passages: Unraveling the Mysteries of the Universe's Hidden Dimensions
by Lisa Randall

Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the 10th Dimens ion
by Michio Kaku

The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimensions, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory
by Brian Greene

The Great Beyond: Higher Dimensions, Parallel Universes and the Extraordinary Search for a Theory of Everything
by Paul Halpern