Manjit Kumar - Quantum

Praise for Quantum

An exhaustive and brilliant account of decades of emotionally charged discovery and argument, friendship and rivalry spanning two world wars. The explanations of science and philosophical interpretation are pitched with an ideal clarity for the general reader [and] perhaps most interestingly, although the author is admirably even-handed, it is difficult not to think of Quantum, by the end, as a resounding rehabilitation of Albert Einstein. Steven Poole, Guardian

The reason this book is, in fact, so readable is because it contains vivid portraits of the scientists involved, and their contexts This is about gob-smacking science at the far end of reason Take it nice and easy and savour the experience of your mind being blown without recourse to hallucinogens. Nicholas Lezard, Paperback Choice of the Week, Guardian

Kumar is an accomplished writer who knows how to separate the excitement of the chase from the sometimes impenetrable mathematics. In Quantum he tells the story of the conflict between two of the most powerful intellects of their day: the hugely famous Einstein and the less well-known but just as brilliant Dane, Niels Bohr. Financial Times

Manjit Kumars Quantum is a super-collider of a book, shaking together an exotic cocktail of free-thinking physicists, tracing their chaotic interactions and seeing what God-particles and black holes fly up out of the maelstrom. He provides probably the most lucid and detailed intellectual history ever written of a body of theory that makes other scientific revolutions look limp-wristed by comparison. Independent

Quantum by Manjit Kumar is so well written that I now feel Ive more or less got particle physics sussed. Quantum transcends genre it is historical, scientific, biographical, philosophical. Readers Books of the Year, Guardian

Highly readable A welcome addition to the popular history of twentieth-century physics. Nature

An elegantly written and accessible guide to quantum physics, in which Kumar structures the narrative history around the clash between Einstein and Bohr, and the anxiety that quantum theory disproved the existence of reality. Scotland on Sunday

It would be a rare author who could fully address both the philosophical and the historical issues an even rarer one who could make it all palatable and entertaining to a general audience. If Kumar scores less than full marks it is only because of the admirably ambitious scale of his book. Andrew Crumey, Daily Telegraph

Quantum: Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate about the Nature of Reality by Manjit Kumar is one of the best guides yet to the central conundrums of modern physics. John Banville, Books of the Year, The Age, Australia

By combining personalities and physics both of an intriguingly quirky nature Kumar transforms the sub-atomic debate between Einstein, Niels Bohr and others in their respective circles into an absorbing and comprehensible narrative. Independent

In this magisterial study of the issue, Manjit Kumar probes beyond the froth and arcane arguments and reveals what really lies behind the theory and ultimately what it means for the development of science Here we have an erudite work that takes the debate into new territory. Good Book Guide

Quantum is a fascinating, powerful and brilliantly written book that shows one of the most important theories of modern science in the making and discusses its implications for our ideas about the fundamental nature of the world and human knowledge, while presenting intimate and insightful portraits of people who made the science. Highly recommended. thebookbag.co.uk

This is the biography of an idea and as such reads much like a thriller. Ham & High

It is a revolution that, even if most people dont fully realise yet, has changed the face of science and of our understanding of the nature of reality forever. Beautifully written in a tour de force that covers the fierce debate about the foundations of reality that gripped the scientific community through the 20th century, this book also looks at the personal collision of thinking and belief between two of quantum theorys great men, Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr This is the world of Alice down the cosmic rabbit hole. Take a peek. Odyssey, South Africa

Kumar brings us through the detail of the various advances, confusions and mistakes, and what emerges clearly is a picture of how science works as a great international collective effort. Irish Times

A dramatic, powerful and superbly written history. Publishing News

The most important popular science book published this year. Bookseller

Rich and intensively researched this qualitative, narrative method is a great way to get your head around the most extraordinary and intellectually demanding theory ever devised. Kumar brings to life the wide spectrum of personalities involved in the development of the quantum theory, from the quiet and thoughtful Bohr, to the lively womanising Schrdinger I had difficulty putting this book down. Astronomy Now

As an introduction to a fiendishly difficult branch of science it is hard to improve upon Quantum. This is one of the finest accounts of the 20th centurys greatest intellectual adventure. Express Buzz, India

If theoretical and often boring physics can be delivered in an exciting novel style, Manjit Kumar has done it. His Quantum is an engrossing account of the high caliber intellectual and academic debates, sometimes acrimonious, on the then evolving concept of Quantum, in the 20th century. The Organiser, India

Manjit Kumar writes a pulsating narrative about the history of modern sciences most fundamental revolution in Quantum [He] brings lucidity and a sense of drama to what is usually considered by lay readers as an esoteric, bubble-chambered subject. He does this without sacrificing the science of it at the altar of readability. The triumphs and the tribulations, the politics and the physics, the humanity and the genius of the protagonists all collide to produce the sort of energy that we usually expect in a Le Carr thriller. Hindustan Times, India

A staggering account of the scientific revolution that still challenges our notions of reality. Kumar provides a gripping narrative of the birth of atomic physics in the first half of the 20th century [He] evokes the passion and excitement of the period and writes with sparkling clarity and wit. Kirkus Reviews

Other narratives may rival in their sweeping scopes, scenic settings, and cast of characters, but no other area of science has raised deeper questions about the very nature of reality. In Quantum, Manjit Kumar breathes new life into this classic story through superb writing and careful research, focusing on a philosophical conflict between Niels Bohr and Albert Einstein that still resonates through physics to this day. Seed Magazine, USA

A lucid account of quantum theory (and why you should care) combined with a gripping narrative. San Francisco Chronicle

Kumar has done a splendid job of explaining complex theories and describing the people involved with discovering them, mired in cultural and historical upheavals that haunted all of them. This is a necessary, mesmerizing, and meticulous volume. Providence Journal, USA

Quantum

Quantum

Einstein, Bohr and the Great Debate About the Nature of Reality

Manjit Kumar

This edition published in the UK in 2014 by

Icon Books Ltd, Omnibus Business Centre,