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The Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics | 
 enlarge | Author: Leonard Susskind
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Category: Book
List Price: $27.99
Buy New: $15.67
You Save: $12.32 (44%)
New (45) Used (14) from $15.67
Avg. Customer Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 5413
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 480
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6 x 1.6
ISBN: 0316016403
Dewey Decimal Number: 530.12
EAN: 9780316016407
ASIN: 0316016403
Publication Date: July 7, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
What happens when something is sucked into a black hole? Does it disappear? Three decades ago, a young physicist named Stephen Hawking claimed it did-and in doing so put at risk everything we know about physics and the fundamental laws of the universe. Most scientists didn't recognize the import of Hawking's claims, but Leonard Susskind and Gerard t'Hooft realized the threat, and responded with a counterattack that changed the course of physics. THE BLACK HOLE WAR is the thrilling story of their united effort to reconcile Hawking's revolutionary theories of black holes with their own sense of reality-effort that would eventually result in Hawking admitting he was wrong, paying up, and Susskind and t'Hooft realizing that our world is a hologram projected from the outer boundaries of space.
A brilliant book about modern physics, quantum mechanics, the fate of stars and the deep mysteries of black holes, Leonard Susskind's account of the Black Hole War is mind-bending and exhilarating reading.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 11 more reviews...
 If you are a fan of Black Hole theory... October 9, 2008
If you are a fan of Black Hole theory, you have to read this book. There is enough intrigue here to keep you turning the pages, and the physics primer on Black Holes, Quantum Mechanics and Relativity is very approachable.
This is not an in-depth book on the physics of Black Holes - on the contrary, this is an enjoyable read for those who appreciate the topic and respect the brilliance of Leonard Susskind. This book tells the story that few of us have heard (from any side) - and shows us the human side of theoretical physics.
I have had the pleasure of attending lectures at Stanford with Prof. Susskind for the past 4 yrs. now. While his wit and colorful commentary do come out in the book, you will only get a glimpse of why he has such a following amongst "quantum groupies" and academics alike.
I highly recommend this book.
 Black holes turn grey October 8, 2008
This book demands some concentration by the layman, some acceptance of presumably factual statements without further discussion, and concerns a topic not at the height of curent concerns. On the other hand, it does allow sifnificant insight into the various modes of thinking about major issues in cosmology and, in particular, the role of gravity-normally a very weak force-in keeping us all together.
THE BLACK HOLE WAR: MY BATTLE WITH STEPHEN HAWKING October 2, 2008
WELL WRITEN CHRONICLE OF A FAIRLY ARCANE SUBJECT. INTENDED FOR READERS WITH AN INEREST IN QUANTUM MECHAMICS, COSMOLOGY AND PHYICS IN GENERAL.
A new rewiring of the brain of physicsts September 15, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book tells the story of the "battle" between the author and Stephen Hawking regarding the latter claim that information is irretrievably lost in black holes.
This story is the extraordinary account of the paradigm shift that has occurred in physics in the last 25 years. Moreover, the book reads like a novel thanks to the various analogies and the anecdotes concerning the lives and personalities of the physicists involved. In summary, a very recommendable book for someone who wants to keep abreast of the advances in quantum gravity and cosmology, although the author discusses also the basic concepts of quantum mechanics and relativity.
Very strange things seem to happen in the vicinity of black holes and, as Susskind says, this needs rewiring of our brains, as we had to do before for relativity and quantum mechanics. When someone approaches and finally crosses a black hole horizon we have a similar situation as the famous Schrödinger's cat paradox. For the astronaut crossing the horizon, nothing happens (if the black hole is big enough so that he does not still notice the effect of the tidal forces). For the observer outside he deducts that the astronaut is fried to death. Believe it or not, this is not a contradiction in physics because the two of them will never be able to compare notes. Susskind calls this paradox black hole complementarity. The holographic principle and Maldacena's duality (well explained in an article in Scientific American not too long ago) are also part of the resolution of the battle for which Hawking finally conceded defeat in 2007.
Chapter 23 hints to a new duality that could indirectly provide experimental evidence for String Theory. Strings and hadrons behave in similar ways and the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider in Brookhaven is investigating the properties of the quark-gluon plasma which mirror, 20 orders of magnitude higher, the properties of fundamental strings. Quantum gravity in Anti de Sitter space would be similar to quantum chromodynamics. However, our universe is not an Anti de Sitter spacetime. In any case some light between the shadows is finally shining in quantum gravity.
Simply clear and concise September 9, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Leonard Susskind has been added to my list of general science authors that I really enjoy. Because of this book, I'm actively seeking his other general science books. He joins my list, which include Michio Kaku and Lee Smolin.
Dr Susskind writing is clear and honest. His examples, especially when describing the simplified concepts of string theory are easy to understand due to his gifted narrative ability and clear examples. The chapters where he explains the scientific concepts make this book worth every bit of the book price. His narrative style is also honest enough to explain where he is coming from even if he disagrees with the idea or belief, unlike some other books like Stuart Kaufmann's Reinventing the Sacred, which appear a little less honest and much less straightforward.
The humor he displays is very special. His story about how many ways to wear a jogging t-shirt is one I have now used repeatedly with friends, coworkers and family to the amusement of all (geek/nerd humor at its best).
The story of his and others' disagreement with Stephen Hawkings concept of information loss in a black hole is intriguing in the sense it is interesting to view the politics and dynamics of an academic world where few mere mortals can understand some of the elaborate concepts and theories, no matter what re-wiring is done. The author admits even some of the advanced "masters" of the subject fail to understand the full implications of the paradigms.
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