Helgoland
The Sunday Times bestseller
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- £5.99
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- £5.99
Publisher Description
The instant Sunday Times bestseller -- a beautiful story of rebellion and science
'A triumph. . . We are left in a world that is not disenchanted by science, but even more magical' Financial Times
In June 1925, twenty-three-year-old Werner Heisenberg, suffering from hay fever, had retreated to the treeless, wind-battered island of Helgoland in the North Sea in order to think. Walking all night, by dawn he had wrestled with an idea that would transform the whole of science and our very conception of the world.
In Helgoland Carlo Rovelli tells the story of the birth of quantum physics and its bright young founders who were to become some of the most famous Nobel winners in science. It is a celebration of youthful rebellion and intellectual revolution. An invitation to a magical place.
Here Rovelli illuminates competing interpretations of this science and offers his own original view, describing the world we touch as a fabric woven by relations. Where we, as every other thing around us, exist in our interactions with one another, in a never-ending game of mirrors.
A dazzling work from a celebrated scientist and master storyteller, Helgoland transports us to dizzying heights, reminding us of the many pleasures of the life of the mind.
Translated by Erica Segre and Simon Carnell
Chosen as a Book of the Year by The Times, Financial Times, Sunday Times, Guardian and Prospect
Shortlisted for the Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize
Customer Reviews
A totally engrossing masterpiece
Rovelli writes with such clarity when explaining very complex issues. As a layman, I found this book brilliant at explaining QM which, at a fundamenal level, is so contrary to human experience and intuition. Thankfully, he achieves this with almost no reference to complex formulae.
I thoroughly recommend this book (and his previous books). You don’t need to be a physicist to read this book.
Clear
He writes so clearly. I felt I almost understood bits of QM. I can kid myself for a few minutes. Thoroughly enjoyed this book.