The 2004 Nobel Prize winner in physics brings us tantalizingly close to the long-sought Grand Unification of Forces. And then takes us beyond.

Physicist’ understanding of the essential nature of reality changed radically over the past quarter century. Frank Wilczek has played a lead role in establishing the new paradigms. Transcending the clash and mismatch of older ideas about what matter is, and what space is, Wilczek presents here some brilliant and clear syntheses. Space is a dynamic material, the engine of reality; matter is a subtle pattern of disturbance in that material.

Extraordinarily readable and authoritative, The Lightness of Being is the first book to unwrap these exciting new ideas for the general public. It explores their implications for basic questions about space, mass, energy, and the longed-for possibility of a fully unified theory of Nature. Along the way, Wilczek presents new perspectives on many strange aspects of our fantastic universe. Pointing toward new directions where the great discoveries in fundamental physics are likely to come, he envisions a new Golden Age in physics.

Science News
"For a safari-like adventure into the world of physics, follow Wilczek's lead. Quirky but knowledgeable, he explores the essence of the matter that makes up the universe — combining the enthusiasm of someone like Jeff Corwin with the thoughtfulness of a David Attenborough."

American Scientist
“The Lightness of Being does a superb job of introducing the reader…to our current understanding of the nature of matter and the forces that govern the universe…. [A] wonderful program guide to what we can expect from the LHC in the coming years. Stay tuned.”

New York Review of Books
“Frank Wilczek is one of the most brilliant practitioners of particle physics…. It is too soon to tell whether Wilczek will be the new Darwin. His book is not the new Origin of Species. It is more like Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle, a popular account of a voyage of exploration, describing the landscape and the newly discovered creatures that still have to be explained…. He writes as he thinks, with a lightness of touch that can come only to one who is absolute master of his subject.”

Physics Today
“Wilczek can write with wit, grace, and an uncanny facility for using lightweight language to express heavy-duty ideas. [Readers] will find much of that kind of writing in The Lightness of Being…. Wilczek’s best writing – some of it in this book – is lucid, lively, and illuminating.”

Frank Wilczek won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2004 for work that he did as a twenty-one-year-old graduate student. His 1989 book, Longing for the Harmonies, was a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Wilczek’s work has been anthologized in Best American Science Writing and The Norton Anthology of Light Verse. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he is currently the Herman Feshbach Professor of Physics at MIT.

Imprint: Basic Books
Distributor: Perseus Books Group
Publication Date: 08-25-2008
Pages: 292
Measurements: 9.25in X 6.13in X 19.40oz