Scan barcode
mary_soon_lee's review against another edition
3.0
This short non-fiction book tells the story of CERN (the European particle physics laboratory) including its confirmation of the Higgs boson. For years, physicists tried to hunt down the elusive Higgs boson predicted by the Standard Model of particle physics, and in 2012 CERN succeeded.
I had wrongly assumed that the focus of the book would be on particle physics and the Higgs boson. Instead, the emphasis is on the history of CERN, which I found somewhat interesting, but far from fascinating. The sections with emphasis on theory, notably chapters 2 and 6, were my clear favorites.
That said, the non-theory sections included a quote that I love. Robert Wilson, answering Congress about whether a proposed particle accelerator would contribute to national security, said, "It has nothing to do directly with defending our country except to help make it worth defending." (This quote may be found near the start of chapter 11.)
Three and a half out of five intergovernmental stars.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
I had wrongly assumed that the focus of the book would be on particle physics and the Higgs boson. Instead, the emphasis is on the history of CERN, which I found somewhat interesting, but far from fascinating. The sections with emphasis on theory, notably chapters 2 and 6, were my clear favorites.
That said, the non-theory sections included a quote that I love. Robert Wilson, answering Congress about whether a proposed particle accelerator would contribute to national security, said, "It has nothing to do directly with defending our country except to help make it worth defending." (This quote may be found near the start of chapter 11.)
Three and a half out of five intergovernmental stars.
About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).
More...