Books 6 & 7 - Superstrings and Anxiety

[jazzy_dave]

Two more books from the challenge now completed

The Age Of Anxiety
Sarah Dunant, Roy Porter



As the end of the lat century , the idea that the future necessarily equals progress has sustained philosophical criticism. As technology expands choices, it also serves to diminish our sense of control. Combined with the insecurity of global economics, the threat of family breakdown, and increased fear of crime and violence, a population which finds it difficult to endure the present - let alone the future - is produced. The essays in this volume, by prominent writers and thinkers including Susie Orbach, Linda Grant and Oscar Moore, consider whether this anxiety is justified and how we can prevent ourselves being frightened of the millennium. Not all are optimistic about life in the future, but all assert the world as a place worth fighting for.


Superstrings and the Search for the Theory of Everything

Though at times, the historical overview of superstring theory development (about the first third of the book)gets a little...boring, the overall level of understanding for the average lay reader of this potentially revolutionary theory is high. Obviously written for the non physicist, this book gives necessarily short treatment to some of the more arcane aspects of superstring theory. However, even without the more involved mathematics, this theory is explained with both depth and accuracy. Overall, a first class treatment of a complex theory.