The Adventure of Physics - Vol. III: Light, Charges, and Brains

Reviewed by Claudia Eberlein, Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of Sussex on 2/1/18

Comprehensiveness rating: 1 see less

The book touches upon very many interesting topics, but it does not go into depth on many of them. This is in itself need not be a problem, but in this case the absence of depth on most topics is combined with too much technical depth on others, making up a very confusing eclectic jumble. The whole book takes a very introductory approach that may initially seem suitable for beginning physics students and even interested students from other disciplines, but even the most dedicated student would get lost almost immediately in the rambling style supplemented with a few advanced concepts and mathematics that are scattered in without being accessible from the knowledge presented.

Content Accuracy rating: 2

The book is not inaccurate in the sense of there being individual facts of formulae wrong, apart from very few misprints, but it is totally wrong in its approach to its topics. It does not convey anywhere near an overview of the knowledge on a particular topic leaving the reader confused. There is also very little balance in topics that are in fact much more controversial than the text makes the reader believe, e.g. as regards ball lighting. Some of the more philosophical parts of the book draw conclusions that most scientists would call at best wonky but probably downright wrong.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 2

The book does not accurately reflect the current state of knowledge in the subject area and hence it does not make very much sense to discuss its longevity. Many of the illustrations and examples are very modern compared to other textbooks, but that does not make it any more valid. The many video clips included are impressive, though some of those are likely to date quickly both in content and in format.

Clarity rating: 1

The lack of clarity in this book is not one of language but conceptual. The book puts together interesting morsels of knowledge without ever managing to weave it into a coherent whole. Short chunks of the text are suitable for various types of audience, but the book as a whole is largely inaccessible to anyone who does not already know the subject area very well.

Consistency rating: 1

The book is totally inconsistent intellectually; it discusses topics in a very rambling style, but then may suddenly go into an explanation that anyone who has not already got in depth knowledge of the topic will not be able to follow.

Modularity rating: 2

It is difficult to comment on the modularity of the book since every part of it suffers from the same problems of consistency already explained. The reader will not be able to follow the text, but cross-referencing within the book is only a very minor problem compared to the much larger problem of a potential student having to learn whole subject areas elsewhere before even attempting to understand this book.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 1

The book rambles on rather then presents anything in an intellectually logical manner.

Interface rating: 3

The book is nicely typeset, has mostly good pictures and graphs, and the included video clips are on the whole well made and interesting, though not always to the point. However, a significant issue for navigation is the intellectual jumble this book is in. Even though the book has chapter and section headings, these are very confusing and do not help the reader to find relevant information easily.

Grammatical Errors rating: 3

The book appears to have been written by a native speaker of German, which shows but is not a major distraction. However, readers will probably find the many untranslated quotes annoying.

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

Not applicable.

Comments

This book could serve as an intellectual challenge and entertainment for experienced physicists, but it is totally unsuitable as a textbook. This is a shame considering the huge amount of effort that has gone into producing it.