If Albert Einstein were alive, he would have a copy of The Road to Reality on his bookshelf.

So would Isaac Newton.

This may be the most complete mathematical explanation of the universe yet published, and Roger Penrose richly deserves the accolades he will receive for it.

That said, let us be perfectly clear: this is not an easy book to read.

The number of people in the world who can understand everything in it could probably take a taxi together to Penrose's next lecture.

Still, math-friendly readers looking for a substantial and possibly even thrillingly difficult intellectual experience should pick up a copy (carefully--it's over a thousand pages long and weighs nearly 4 pounds) and start at the beginning, where Penrose sets out his purpose: to describe "the search for the underlying principles that govern the behavior of our universe." Beginning with the deceptively simple geometry of Pythagoras and the Greeks, Penrose guides readers through the fundamentals--the incontrovertible bricks that hold up the fanciful mathematical structures of later chapters.

From such theoretical delights as complex-number calculus, Riemann surfaces, and Clifford bundles, the tour takes us quickly on to the nature of spacetime.

For more information about the title The Road to Reality: A Complete Guide to the Laws of the Universe, read the full description at Amazon.com, or see the following related books:

The Nature of Space and Time — Who doesn't love a good argument? When physics heavyweights Stephen W. Hawking and Roger Penrose delivered three sets of back-and-forth lectures ...  > read more

Flatland: A Romance of Many Dimensions (Dover Thrift Editions) — Unless you're a mathematician, the chances of you reading any novels about geometry are probably slender. But if you read only two in your life, ...  > read more

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Author: Roger Penrose

Publisher: Vintage

Date: Jan. 9, 2007

List Price:

$25.00

Discount Price:

$14.49

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