Entanglement

The Greatest Mystery in Physics

By: Amir D. Aczel

Narrated by: Henry Levya

Can two particles become inextricably linked, so that a change in one is instantly reflected in its counterpart, even if a universe separates them? Albert Einstein's work suggested it was possible, but it was too bizarre, and too contrary to how we then understood space and time, for him to prove. No one could. Until now.

Entanglement tells the astounding story of the scientists who set out to complete Einstein's work. With accesible language and a highly entertaining tone, Amir Aczel shows us a world where the improbable—from unbreakable codes to teleportation—becomes possible.Executive Producer: Jacob Bronstein
Producer: John Wager
Jacket design by Archie Ferguson
©2002 Amir D. Aczel
(P)2002 Random House, Inc.

Not Aczel's best

Aczel is normally a top-notch science writer, but here he falters, producing an only mildly interesting book that tries to explain elementary quantum mechanics. There are some interesting parts of this book, particularly the history of entanglement theory and the rivalry between Einstein and Pauli, two of the greatest physicists of the 20th century. However, when the book gets technical, it becomes difficult to impossible to understand, like most popular accounts of quantum mechanics. It similarly drags when current physicists talk about recent advances in quantum mechanics, as their explanations are often difficult to understand, usually relying on the previous explanations. There's also surprisingly little discussion of practical applications in computing, cryptography, and (despite the description) teleportation.

I'd recommend Aczel's other book, especially God's Equations, but not this particular one. For a popular account of quantum mechanics, The Fabric of the Cosmos is a little better, though still far from ideal.

I wish there was more real details

A little too much of the history, and not enough of real physics , I wish it would be deeper at the end, as it is supposed to explain entanglement ...

Hard to follow

What's good about this book is that it gives a great history of quantum physics, with interesting biographies of key figures in the field. I can see that the history of how thought evolved around quantum physics is important to understand how it lead up to the idea of entanglement, but I expected more explanation of entanglement itself. I don't have a strong background in math or physics, but I expected to grasp more of this book, since I do have a strong background in the biomedical sciences. I have enjoyed books on the subject "dumbed down" for lay people, like the Stephen Hawking books, which I was more or less able to follow--at least enough so to get a reasonable grasp of what he was talking about. In the case of this book, I was able to get some grasp of what the author of this book was talking about, but I would have liked a bit more explanation with less hard-core math and physics. I someone with an undergraduate degree in physics or better might find this book would be readily accessible, and probably very enjoyable, too.

Not Bad, But Guilder's book is better

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The lower score is due to the lack of illustrations.

If you’ve listened to books by Amir D. Aczel before, how does this one compare?

Yes. Not as god ast his others. But OK

What about Henry Leyva’s performance did you like?

Excellent performance. Very clear and easy to listen to.

Any additional comments?

My biggest complaint is not about the book itself, but the publisher. Non-fiction books should have available for download somehwere a pdf with the pictures and drawings that suppor the book. They never include the maps with history books or the illustrations with science books.With this topic you REALLY need those aids.

Excellent from start to finish!

An easily understood look at the history of modern physics! The narration is equally great, with Leyva's smooth voice is as rich and dtetailed at Aczel's text.