The Second Creation: Makers of the Revolution in Twentieth-Century Physics by Robert P. Crease, Charles C. Mann (1986) Hardcover

by Robert P. & Charles C. Mann Crease

The Second Creation is the intimate story of the decades-long scientific quest for "unification," a theory that draws together all matter and energy, from the hottest supernovas to the whirring fragments of the atom. Based on scores of in-depth interviews with such brilliant scientists as Max Planck, Erwin Schrodinger, Richard Feynman, Murray Gell-Mann, Sheldon Glashow, and Steven Weinberg, Robert Crease and Charles Mann vividly portray the tense, exciting world of investigators at the last frontier of knowledge. In telling the richly human story of the two generations of scientists who set out to find the "theory of everything," the authors recount a sweeping saga that moves from the early days of Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr arguing in a Copenhagen park to the vast, mile-long atom smashers of today. The Second Creation is a definitive group portrait of twentieth-century physics. Robert P. Crease is an associate professor of philosophy at SUNY--Stony Brook. Award-winning science writer Charles C. Mann is a contributing editor of The Atlantic Monthly and Science magazine. His most recent book is Noah's Choice.

Genres: Science, Physics, History, History Of Science, Nonfiction, Quantum Mechanics, Stem

480 pages, Hardcover

First published November 30, 1985

Reviews

[Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned quite a bit about the history of modern physics. Although it is a bit dense at times, I recommend it to anyone interested in physics.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating of 4.90

[Liam Schmidt · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best accounts of 20th century physics. Mann delivers the story of the standard model and unification with poetic fashion through the impressive collection of interviews with the men and women whose groundbreaking work made our understanding of the universe possible. It is a book that affords a personal connection to minds that were a part of the greatest breakthroughs in science that conventional books on the standard model do not offer. This is a book that should be on the shelf of every physicist looking to build on to the story that’s hundreds of physicist have put together, a story that can only be fully appreciated by the perspective of the people behind it

[প্রফেসর হিজিবিজবিজ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personally, I felt it was really a very nice presentation of the concept in a so much poetic manner, a must read!

[Steve Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This work provided a lucid and compelling history of quantum physics. The scientific jargon, although necessary on some level, does not overwhelm. Authors Crease and Mann do a great job of building the narrative from the earliest discoveries of Rutherford, and succinctly adding successes, failures and personalities until the story fits together like a New England stone wall.

I would also like to commend my favorite polymath, Charles C. Mann, on a successful foray into another genre. From cultural anthropology, to energy, to Big Pharma, Mann writes about what he is interested in at the moment and writes it well.

This book highly recommended.
SH

[Chollie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh yes--now I remember--my 'science stage'. It was a fun book to read at the time, though I'm not sure if most folks would understand some of what's involved here: the story (up to then) of unification.

Well written. To those who don't really like science, this is an easy to read book about how your iPhone, laptop, destop, and gps got to be in your hands. Further than that, we haven't got there. Yet. With the new[est] collider, maybe the Euro's will figure it out :>)

Beam me up, Scottie (:>|

[Dylan Kennedy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found it to be a very interesting retrospective on the transition from classic physics of the 1800s to a more modern view. As with many books in the genre a bit of background will go a long way to helping understand the significance of what is going on. This would likely be daunting to someone without any scientific background.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

But it was loooong and boy those physicists can talk.

[Tom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional. Really gets the characters and the feeling.

[Rushan Khan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely loved the poetic style!

[Melodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this for class and it's interesting enough. Some parts where boring and confusing but others were quite interesting. I like the way this book tells history. I've heard of many of the people in this book yet they never seem "real". This book describes the people, make them seem "human" and not just random facts off a textbook. I know I'm suppose to read this book for the history but I find myself reading for the people. Maybe it's the side-effects of reading too many novels?

[Mike Harper · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not smart enough to understand the subject matter.
I read the book - as far as I got - in connection with a class I took. Tenth grade math isn't enough to grasp the concepts, and the stories about individual physicists weren't interesting enough to hold my attention.

[Lulu]

History