This is one of my favorite books. I just finished re-reading my copy from 20 years ago. The pages are yellowing, but the story is as good as ever, in spite of my knowing what was going to happen.

The book deals with a small band of explorers who have some to a mysterious planet in search of metallic hydrogen. Their ship crashes and they are forced to assimilate themselves into the native cultures in order to survive.

But all is not as it seems! The planet is as astrophysical anomoly. First, it's year is 1000 standard days, while it takes 750 standard days to rotate. Or, as one character expresses it, "In a few months it'll be noon."

The world's size is an even bigger (pun intended) mystery: at 600,000 km in diameter, it is almost as large as it's star, yet the surface gravity is "normal".

But as I indicated before, the story is a good read even if you know the solution to the mystery. The plot is interesting, the characters are both alien and believable. The only disappointment that I have is that this is the only fiction that the author has published. Tony Rothman was an astrophysics student when he wrote this book, and since graduating he seems to have confined himself to textbooks, and one autobiography (of a sort). But if he ever publishes anything else, you can be sure that I'll be first in line to buy a copy.

The World is Round combines two of my favorite science fiction themes, the planet of mystery and the transition between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Along the way some of the characters experience spiritual growth in a non-didactic manner.

The planet of mystery is huge and has an extremely unhospitable climate caused by its year long day--its name in the native language translates to "Freeze-Bake". A group of adventurers land on the planet searching for metallic hydrogen and have a more than interesting time.

The two "native" races provide an interesting cultural dichotomy--one is organized on military lines, the other on communal principles. In spite of the density of ideas, there is an exciting plot involving discovering the secret of the planet and survival on a world whose temperatures range between -200 and 200 degrees.

I read it when it came out. My paperback copy is almost used up. Easily one of my favorite SF books of the past forty five years.

Although his tounge-in-cheek style occasionally gets out of hand, Tony Rothman gives us a book with abundant scientific insight that is also digestible by non-scientists. Basic demos of the most important principles give the mathematically inclined a nice treat, while giving the rest of us intuitive explanations that actually make sense. If you can handle his slightly annoying, nerdy humor, this is a good place to learn - or review - everyting in physics from the nemesis Aristotle to the quark

Do read this book. Even though it is a physics book, the author does not treat physics as a subject to be studied, pondered on, examined minutely- all of us carry the horror experiences from school and college classes. I picked this book after leafing through the foreword, where the author TonyRothman strikes an immediate chord with the reader. This is no ordinary physics book- the language is simple, the style humorous, the author very understanding and having a knack not to push things too hard.

The book is an overview of the subject of physics. It charters the birth and growth of physics , from the greek times to the post-einstein period. Unlike other general books, the author sticks to the subject without going off in tangent on irrelevant issues. So, the book is not hefty. It's around 200 pages of neat print.

The author tackles all the important theories of Physics in a fun and engaging manner. Newton's laws, Kepler's laws, Laws of thermodynamics, Electromagnetic laws, Einstein's theory of special relativity, atomic structure, Blackbody radition , photoelectric effect, Quantum mechanics, E=mc2; Wave theory, Light duality, Uncertainity principle, Einstein's general theory of relativity.
It's an amazing effort, since the book is addressed to the layman with little knowledge of physics.

I am no physics buff. I read this book by serendipity and could never put it down. I strongly recommend this book. My only regret is that i should have got this book during my school years. Giving this as a gift to the teens in the house would be a wonderful idea too.

Tony Rothman presents a unique style of explaining complex laws and theories using humor, intuitive imagery, and down-to earth illustrations. Find out what Special and General relativity actually state, what Quantum Electrodynamics is, and how Einstein got E=mc^2. Rothman's explanations are simple and often hilarious. All you need is some high-school algebra and you'll be on your way to Enlightenment

I picked this book after being impressed with Tony Rothman's "Instant physics" which was a great read. Unfortunately, Madison avenue is not for the average reader who is looking to enjoy wellthought and easily presented articles. It is a series of essays/articles on varied subjects related to physics(which can very well mean everything in and beyond this earth!), which Rothman wrote during his stint as a Reporter in American magazines. The introduction piece and the the first essay "Physicist on Madison avenue" is brilliant; it is full of wit and gives a rare peek into life of a brilliant physicist juggling the demands of the revenue-minded advertisiing world of magazines. It is a racy exhilirating read and Rothman throws in the use of statistics too in this essay. The next essay is on the "musical instruments" and how physics can influence the growth/development/refinement of musical instruments and what sort of potential impact it can have on music. It is a technical essay with stimulating philosophical insights. The most intriguing subject which ROthman covers in this book is the chapter related to the "seven arrows of time". I could understand only one arrow of time - which is the time as we all see. The others went above my understanding, but nevertheless it was a fascinating read and worthwhile to explore further. The remaining pieces are related to cosmology and is too technical with full of jargon. I could not complete those chapters.

To summarise the first two chapters are fantastic. THe arrow of time chapter is intresting. The rest of it would delight somebody who can understand the cosomology/particle physics jargon well.