You'll be hooked by this book just like if you were reading a romance! Only with a few knowledge on physics, you will enjoy the reading from the Stephen Hawking's foreward to the last pages. The autors lead us through the search for the missing (or invisible) part of the Universe. The origin and the fate of the Universe in 11 parts!

This is my first time reading up on Oliver Stone, or any other director for that matter.

I found this book very well written and an enormously entertaining read. The author not only gives a keen insight into what Oliver Stone is about and how he works, but the book also gives a good basic overview of how movies get made and the inner workings of Hollywood. After reading this book, I gained a new respect and appreciation for all the tremendously hard working people involved in getting a story onto the big screen.

I give the book a 3 star rating because the author didn't stay true to his topic. The first half of the book was much more revealing (and interesting) than the latter half. It worked really well from up to around the end of the Platoon era. After that it seems like the book tapers off. Besides, I find it hard to believe that you can find more details and insights into Stone's early life, when he was a nobody, than you can into his later life where he is among the biggest directors in Hollywood and a much revered and outspoken public figure.

This is a must for any Stone fan. It is a complete history of Oliver Stone; from his birth into a wealthy New York family, to driving a cab for $30 dollars a night, to the set of JFK. It gives us a compelling insight into what created one of America's greatest and important film makers and social critics.

This book really takes you into the mind of Oliver Stone. It really gets in their an shows how he directs ,and what the actors and his peerers think of his work.

October 25, 2002

Hoddeson & Daitch, "True Genius" (Bardeen)

Our university bookstore (809 S. Wright St.) kindly informed me of your listing of Hoddeson and Daitch's John Bardeen biography, "True Genius," and, of course, I read the brief "Publishers Weekly" review, as well as the more cryptic but more positive comments of others. From the very first sentence I knew that the "Publishers Weekly" review would be superficial, and maybe even wrong, which then is of what help to a reader and potential book customer? Living in the U.S. democracy, how can we not be curious and not read about the Founders? Similarly, how can we be immersed in all the new electronics (computers, cell phones, DVD and CD machines, MRI's, digital machinery---in fact, Si here, Si there, Si everywhere) and not be curious about how all this happened, what sort of ingenius mind, or minds, might be at the beginning of it all? Imagine the calamity on the planet if the transistor vanished for a day. Does that help in understanding the scale of a Bardeen, of "True Genius"! I knew John Bardeen for 40 years (as my teacher, friend, colleague) and still I learned something further from Hoddeson and Daitch and the material they unearthed for "True Genius", a fascinating biography (a different kind of story). Hoddeson and Daitch do not disappoint in their biography of Bardeen and in elucidating over many chapters his kind of genius, which "Publishers Weekly" doesn't seem to appreciate. Genius is a diamond of many facets, and Hoddeson and Daitch reveal a Bardeen facet. It isn't the last chapter of "True Genius" that matters. It's the whole book, all the chapters, that reveal an American hero---if you will, a genius.

Nick Holonyak, Jr.
John Bardeen Chair Professor of
Electrical and Computer
Engineering and Physics, and
Center for Advanced Study
Professor of Electrical and
Computer Engineering

This book is very well written, and does a good job of telling the history of the invention of the transistor. The book focuses on the technological aspects of the invention, but also does a great job of telling the story of the personalities, and (now multi-million dollar) businesses that were involved with the invention.

Who would have thought a book about the invention of the transistor could be so compelling? And yet here it is. The authors tell two parallel stories, one about the inventors, and one about the developments in physics that led to, and followed from, the invention of the transistor. The interplay between pure science and technology has seldom been explained as well.

I'd put this book alongside "The Invention That Changed The World" as the two best popular histories of science an technology of the decade.

This is an excellent book on the history of the transistor. Not exactly light reading, but still an enjoyable read. As an engineer it is wonderful to learn the history of the one of the most important inventions of recent times. Really a well written book.

Who invented the transitor? The answer to this question is in the book. What is the transitor? The answer is in the book. Understanding the answer is another, more personal, matter. Why was the transitor invented in the US, when it was? This facinating question is well explored in the book. One may be surprised to see the names of Hitler, Einstein, Salvador Dali and Picasso mentioned in the same breath with the inventors. Which co-inventor of the transistor went on to win a second Noble prize for superconductivity? The book does not play favorites among the three co-inventors but the work of John Bardine on the transistor and superconductivity is reason enough for the biography fan to read this book instead of watching the biography of the "Hamburger Barrons" on TV. The story is not an "easy read." But cheer up, there are great pictures.

I posted the only other review of this useful book. I would just like to make a couple of emendations. The author of this book compiles useful graphics and charts to explain why every 18 inches of topsoil will reduce radiation in a shelter by a factor of ten. This is helpful, as far as it goes.

I would just like to point out something that he doesn't go into in much depth, namely the fact that a shock wave from a nuclear blast could very easily blow away a lot of that topsoil, even if you were a few miles from the blast center. Also, he should go into more detail about the fact that the guidance systems of Russian, Iraqi, etc. missiles are not very well tested, thank God. The problem with this is that there is considerable uncertainty about where they might actually strike. We just can't be sure -- they could be "off" their intended targets by a matter of miles. Therefore, if, like me, you are absolutely terrified of the very high chance that this kind of war could happen in the not-necessarily-very-distant future, you should try hard to procure shelter AS FAR AS POSSIBLE from cities, oil refineries or military targets. Ever consider buying yourself some real estate in Saskatchewan? How about Manitoba? You might want to give the idea some careful thought. And once you've bought it, try building your shelter a lot more than three feet underground. Personally, I hope to build mine at least ten or fifteen feet down, when I can afford it. Finally, don't forget about HYDROPONICS. There are a lot of ways you can grow food in a shelter, if the outside environment should become lethal for crops. Please do as much research as you can about hydroponics online -- unless, of course, you don't consider having a reliable food supply after civilization falls apart to be a high priority. Good luck.

I rated this book 4-stars because I thought it was very entertaining. I was a graduate student in physics in 1974 when the J/psi particle was discovered. This book gave me more insight into the events that lead to its discovery -- a history that I really enjoyed.

For those who are looking for detailed physics, they won't find it here. Dr. Riordan describes various experiments at different facilities but does not provide enough background for those not familiar with particle physics.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book as one person's account of the events leading us to where we are today in the standard model. This book is well written and easy to read.