Morris specializes in making physics understandable to those of us who are terrified by mathematical formulas.
The Universe necessarily repeats some of the material he has covered in earlier works, since it is written for those who may have only a smattering of knowledge about the vast and complex world of physics. But the repeated material can also be of help to the physics buff who hasn't completely caught up with the latest in the field.
Unfortunately, however, the book is plagued by errors. While little harm is done when "pseudoscience" comes out as "psuedoscience" or when the title of Copernicus' famous treatise on the solar system is misspelled, other mistakes are serious. For someone who is trying to learn more about the mysterious world of physics, a photon mistakenly labeled as an electron or the substitution of 1033 for 1033 will leave the less knowledgeable reader utterly confused.
That being said, Morris provides a considerable service with this small volume. His is a lucid explanation of just how science in general, and physics in particular, works. And a step-by-step explanation of what we know today in physics and what is still speculative is a truly important contribution to the interested public's understanding of that science. The section on The Scientific Imagination alone is worth the price of the book.
Dr. John A. Broussard, PhD for The Charlotte Austin Review
