The Adventure of Physics - Vol. IV: The Quantum of Change

Reviewed by R. J. Wilkes, Professor, University of Washington on 8/21/16

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

full disclosure: i only read the first 2 chapters, at which point i determined the book would not be useful for undergraduate classes.
However, the table of contents for the multivolume series certainly covers all topics in commonly used textbooks, and more.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The physics content is generally accurate, although in some places readers might be misled about the universal acceptance of some opinions presented as facts. The flat, black and white statements the author prefers do not let the reader know that many topics in QM are still works in progress. One example is the statement that the term "quantization" is obsolete - i believe we are still trying to "quantize" gravity although the task might better be described as "attempts at unification".

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The material covered is likely to be relevant for a long time, although some topics like quantum computing and entanglement are subjects of intense current work and may become obsolete. It would be good if the author could add warnings in such places, as opposed to parts like the discussion of "uncertainty" relations or "wave-particle duality" (btw, a term the author scorns but one that has been used so long its use will not stop) which are unlikely to be overturned or significantly revised within a decade.

Clarity rating: 3

the text is very well written, but assumes readers much more sophisticated (in terms of vocabulary and tolerance for complexity) than contemporary undergraduates. I think the proper audience for this book would be adult education students (for example OLLI course-takers, in the USA): people of considerable education and broad cultural knowledge who are interested in making the effort to learn something substantial of the "quantum weirdness" they have heard so much about in popular media.
Without reading the preceding volumes it is hard to determine if all terms used have been previously defined, but it is always good practice to locally repeat definitions of terms that are not commonplace and may have been defined far away within the text, such as dispersion relation, vector potential, etc.

Consistency rating: 4

the style and terminology are both quite consistent. The author's style will certainly be taken as annoying or arrogant by many readers. the point of view is that of an all-knowing informant who is delighted to demonstrate how much more he knows than you. One might say that authors ought to be all-knowing, but Einstein and Feynman wrote books for public consumption that seemed much less "superior" in tone.
the level of depth and complexity fluctuates but that is not a problem in my opinion.

Modularity rating: 4

The chapters are well defined and are nicely divided into sections.
BTW, I could certainly see the value of taking chunks from this book as helpful supplementary readings for a class. Unfortunately the author chose the no-derivs version of cc, so snipping out useful bits is not allowed, much less the broader type of community editing that might transform this very personal opus into a practical textbook.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The material is presented in a logical and well organized sequence.

Interface rating: 5

interface was fine; i prefer reading on paper so printed it out and this worked well.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

Grammar was excellent and very clear.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

People mentioned in the parts i read are all white european or american males, mostly dead. This is hard to avoid due to the time period when the physics concepts discussed were discovered (17th through mid-20th C). There is no explicitly offensive material, other than personal value judgements presented in the same context as biographical facts (eg, Feynmann as a failed aspirant to the accomplishment level of Pauli!)

Comments

The author has taken an approach that seems unique, emphasizing the startling aspects of QM in order to ensure the reader's attention. The first chapter is a list of statements most readers will find counterintuitive, which is clearly the author's goal.
This approach makes for an interesting book, on the lines of Hofstadter's Godel/Escher/Bach, or for that matter the Feynman lectures (famously intended for freshmen but actually useful by seniors). However, it may give readers an exaggerated view of the "weirdness" of quantum theory.