Physics Book
Annotated Bibliography
by
Anthony Reynolds
Here are some
physics-related books that I've been reading. I recommend
all of them, but some are better than others.
July
2012
A Hole in Texas,
by Herman Wouk - A pretty good novel about a possible
resurrection of the SSC. It's not as good as his other
novels - The Caine Mutiny,
Marjorie Moriningstar, Aurora Dawn, etc - but he's
definitely a good writer. His brother, Victor Wouk, earned
his PhD in electrical engineering from CalTech in 1942. He
was a pioneer in hybrid vehicles, and authored a Scientific
American article in Oct 1997 on hybrid vehicles.
May 2012
Quantum Man, by Lawrence Krauss
- An excellent history of Feynman, with just the right amount of
stories versus technical details. Of course, Krauss is well
equipped to understand Feynman's technical expertise, and is a
good enough writer to explain it well in both a popular format and
one readable by physicists at the same time.
Cosmology, by Edward Harrison
- A very nice, thought-provoking, book at the advanced
undergraduate level. I give it this level not because of the
mathematical or physical difficulty, but because he attacks the
underlying concepts very deeply. A younger student could
benefit from this book if they were willing to think deeply and
write quite a bit.
Twentieth Century Physics, by
Laurie Brown, Abraham Pais, and Brian Pippard, eds. - An
excellent three-volume work with articles by the editors as well
as John Stachel, Val Fitch, Pierre de Gennes, and Steven Weinberg.
A total of over 2000 pages of physical history at the level of
Pais's "Inward Bound." Wonderful reading for your inner physicist.
Facing Up: Science and Its
Cultural Adversaries, by Steven Weinberg - Lots of great
essays on the interaction between science, religion, and
philosophy.