cover image How to Love the Universe: A Scientist’s Odes to the Hidden Beauty Behind the Visible World

How to Love the Universe: A Scientist’s Odes to the Hidden Beauty Behind the Visible World

Stefan Klein, trans. from the German by Mike Mitchell. The Experiment, $18.95 trade paper (240p) ISBN 978-1-61519-486-5

Traversing subjects from the earliest moments of the universe to the possibility of life on other planets, physicist Klein (The Science of Happiness) energetically invites readers “to let yourself be enthralled by the reality in which we live.” The author breaks his work into 10 chapters suitable for reading straight through or dipping into at random. Consideration of the “visible world” introduces the Big Bang and cosmic expansion. From there, he invites readers to ponder a question along with the young Albert Einstein—“what would it be like to take a ride on a ray of light.” Klein has a knack for mixing complex topics with more mundane images that bring those ideas into sharp focus. A hypothetical robbery investigation, for example, introduces probability and quantum entanglement. Cosmic inflation and warped space, the measurement of time, and the search for dark energy are all examined in thoughtful, accessible language that brings ideas to vivid life. Klein’s latest work encourages readers to think, consider, and give in to scientific fascination. [em](Dec.) [/em]