Great Ideas in Physics

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View books by Alan P. Lightman.

An enjoyable read for a non-physicist - Rated
I'm no physicist so I can't comment on any flaws in the books physics but I enjoyed reading it. The author takes the approach which a lot popular maths books use with great success and that is to combine historical background with conceptual presentation. Occasionally the maths can be slightly daunting but I felt the books strength was the presentation of the personae and quotations of the historical characters involved. I came away with four important physics concepts implanted in my mind so to that extent the book made an impression. The relativity chapter was, in my opinion, the best and left me a clear idea of what time dilation was all about (but I'm still not sure if the times are still different when B, after travelling near the speed of light, slows down when they get back to A).

Decent philosophy, mediocre physics - Rated
This is a decent book when it comes to discussing the philosophical implications of physics, but its discussions of the concrete physics are lacking. There are many typos and ambiguous problems, and in some cases important concepts are actually explained incorrectly. Only buy this book if you are already conversant with the physics it discusses (thermodynamics, quantum mechanics, and relativity) and want to read about the history and philosophy of them.