Is there an error in my title? A contradiction, perhaps? Not at all. This collection of essays by many noted experts, based on a series of public lectures at Oxford University, is an intelligent and entertaining review of many fields in philosophy and modern physics.

It's surprising, really, how many people have such a strong interest in the most exotic and often difficult aspects of physics. For the reader who is not afraid of careful reading and thinking, Flood and Lockwood's The Nature of Time will provide one of the best brief accounts of these topics.

So, what is the nature of time? There are no spoilers in this review; after a hundred seventy pages a definitive answer is still lacking. The point of these essays is to describe the state of our current knowledge and the direction of our current thinking. The depth of knowledge presented by the essayists is impressive, with all of them seeming coversant in what the others are doing, even crossing the physics/philosophy divide. At times it is not clear how the discussion relates to time, but of course this is a complicated subject, and the authors make their points clear soon enough.

I would say that this work is an excellent second book on the subject. Someone with no background in physics (and by this I mean not even modern popular physics - certainly formal university study is not a must here) will probably find much of the talk difficult. But once you have some background, you'll find here an eminently readable and useful discussion of the fields.

This is not an easy book, although the author says that it was written for the layman.
It treats very interesting scientific problems, like the body/mind duality, Schrödinger's cat, self-consciousness, freedom and space/time.

But the author didn't give me any solution. On the contrary, he tends to make the problems more complicated.

I cannot recommend this book. Readers interested in the above mentioned items should turn to other authors like Brian Greene, Daniel C. Dennett, Paul Davies or John Gribbin, to name a few.

this is the best book written on the philosophical implications of quantum mechanics. in 100 years, these ideas will have made it into the popular culture. it's a difficult read, and while it does not assume that much pre-knowledge, it is quite heady. but if that's what you want, this is the best one out there.

This is a far ranging book with a very original point of view. No one can doubt Michael Lockwood's extensive command of a variety of scientific and philosophical disciplines and he protrays his subject matter in a clear and compelling manner. He attempts a bold answer to the traditional philosophical problem of the nature of mind. Although speculative its ingenuity makes it a leading theory which deserves close attention.

I RECENTLY TRIED TO 'GET THROUGH' VOLUME 1 OF LAWRENCES SHORT STORIES. I LOVE HIS WRITING. IT'S BEAUTIFUL AND FILLED WITH WILD SENSUAL IMAGES. HOWEVER, WHEN I FINISH EACH STORY, I WONDER: SO WHAT??? WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT??? EACH STORY SEEMS TO BE SIMPLY A SLICE OF LIFE, MANY DEALING WITH MAN/WOMAN RELATIONSHIPS. BUT AT THE END OF EACH, I DID NOT FEEL THAT I HAD LEARNED OR GAINED ANYTHING FROM THE READING. ALSO, MOST DID NOT HOLD MY ATTENTION - EXCEPT FOR THE BEAUTIFUL USE OF LANGUAGE AND SENSE IMAGERY.

Honestly, I've never been an avid reader of DH Lawrence. This is not to say, I dislike him as a writer. Not true. The literature that I have read by him, most I've found interesting and good. It had been a while since I read any DH, until I picked up SELECTED SHORT STORIES. I picked it up primarily for the story "The Prussian Officer." I wasn't disappointed with the short story at all. It's quite a homoerotic story about a Captain and his subordinate, telling of DH and his other work in many ways. The story is compelling, yet tragic, which I liked. The other stories that followed didn't quite compare. I found the other's dry and verbose (especially "Daughters of the Vicar"). I'd recommend this collection just for the "The Prussian Officer."

D.H. Lawrence was a superb short story writer, and The Rocking Horse Winner is perhaps one of the greatest short stories ever written. The only other short story that is its equal is The Bet by Anton Chekhov. I would say more but that would be spoiling it for you. Let it suffice to say that Lawrence is now a much overlooked writer, however, his message of how modern industry is destroying all that is vital and natural in mankind is as poignant today as when he first wrote about it almost 100 years ago! So what's new?