Greene's New Book: Reviews & Worth Picking Up

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around opinions and reviews of Brian Greene's new book, comparing it to his previous works, particularly "The Elegant Universe" and "The Fabric of the Cosmos." Participants share their thoughts on readability, content, and the overall value of the new book.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants express positive views on Greene's ability to balance accessibility and depth in his writing, noting that his books can be read almost like novels.
  • One participant mentions that they find the new book easier to read than "The Elegant Universe," suggesting a positive reception.
  • Another participant critiques "The Fabric of the Cosmos," stating it felt repetitive compared to "The Elegant Universe," leading them to stop reading it.
  • Some participants argue that the new book takes a different approach, focusing on broader scientific questions rather than explicating a specific theory, and that Greene presents contrasting opinions from other scientists in the end notes.
  • One participant feels that the new book does not gel as well as "The Elegant Universe," although they still consider it better than many other contemporary works.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express a range of opinions about the new book, with no clear consensus on its overall quality or how it compares to Greene's earlier works. Some appreciate its readability and approach, while others find it lacking in comparison to previous titles.

Contextual Notes

Participants reference specific aspects of Greene's writing style and thematic focus without resolving the subjective nature of their opinions. There are varying interpretations of the book's purpose and effectiveness.

Peter Pan
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Has anyone started or finished greene's new book? What did you think? Is it worth picking up?
 
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Greene is able to achieve a wonderful state of equilibrium in his books, in my opinion; it's not excessively layman in that it leaves those familiar with the material without reverance, and it's casual enough that you can almost read it like many would a novel. It doesn't read like Feynman, but it doesn't read like Dan Brown either.

Of course, the above is my opinion of The Elegant Universe, so it's possible his new book abberrated from this preferred (by me) state of equilibrum.
 
I bave read about half of the book, and I think it is excellent. The book is easy to read, in fact I think that it is easier to read than The Elegant Universe.
 
I started reading "The Fabric of the Cosmos", but it seemed like a lot of re-iteration of that which was already explained in "The Elegant Universe", so I put it down. Krazie, when you finish it, tell us how well you like it, and maybe I'll pick it up again.
 
different than elegant universe

elegant universe was a lot better than this book he took very different path's in the next book and just didn't gel like the first. but still a good book much better than many other writers today.
 
I'm reading it now. It has a different purpose than "Elegant". Rather than explicating a given theory he is trying to show what science is saying and can say about the basic questions of time, space, causality, realism, and so on. He is very frank when he states his own opinion but gives you end notes with other scientists' contrasting opinions.
 

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