Customer Reviews

Gravitation made understandable - By: L. O. Shea, 29 Jun 2007
The search for gravitational waves has been going on for almost 100 years ever since Einstein postulated their existence. This book is a history of that search. This is a complex subject matter (if it was easy the waves would have been already found) but it is writtenin such an engaging & user friendly manner that it becomes a journey rather than an expedition. The author has an easy story telling style that many popular science books lack & this helps enormously with understanding. The analogies are clear & the feeling of "Oh so that's how it looks" brings the oft times complicated theories to life.
I would have given this book 5 stars but for the fact theat it isn't instantly accessible to everyone. I have no background at allin physics & so some of the maths (actually all of the maths) was over my head. This didn't detract from the story of the searchin any way but it would have been nice to have been able to understand a bit more, this is a personal problem, however, rather that a textual.
Kenneficks personal encounter with Wheeler,Thorne etc gives a very "hands on" feeling & this easy intimacy with the subject & protaganists makes for an excellent read. Well worth the purchase price as this book will also become an important part of the ongoing search for the elusive waves.