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THE VOID BY FRANK CLOSE On our Oxford University Press: 2007. 166 pp. £9.99 bookshelf

From time to time trends emerge in popular tour of the frontiers of modern physics physics books — short books, illustrated and cosmology. Moreover, counter to the books, personal books, books criticizing recent trends, Close seeks to cover all this Guide to Weather string theory, books with the word ground — plus the Lamb shift, the Casimir Forecasting ‘universe’ in the title, and so on. However, force and a few other nooks and crannies that by Storm Dunlop the overwhelming trend in recent years rarely feature in popular physics books — in Philip’s: 2008. 176 pp. has been for popular physics books to a mere 166 pages. Although the breadth of £9.99. become longer and longer, bolstering topics covered is impressive, the book gives their bulk with copious notes, exhaustive the impression of being written and published Think you can do better references, a detailed index and, for many US in a hurry. than the weatherman? authors, an acknowledgement to the super- Non-physicists will certainly struggle with This practical guide agent John Brockman. some of the explanations in the book, whereas includes weather However, a common feature of almost physicists might wonder why CERN is the charts, satellite images all popular physics books, long or short, is only particle physics lab to be mentioned, or and maps, as well as that they have to rehash the basics (atoms, why Philip Anderson is (rightly) mentioned explanations on how to quantum mechanics, relativity, for example) in connection with the Higgs mechanism, but interpret them. and the not-so-basics (such as the cosmic lots of other theorists who made important microwave background or the Standard contributions — notably Robert Brout and Model of particle physics) before they reach François Englert, who shared the 2004 their own raison d’être. Indeed, in many Wolf prize with Peter Higgs — are not. (My ways these topics constitute a standard own theory is that Close has noticed that model of popular physics writing, and the Anderson, who reviews a lot of physics challenge for all authors is to go beyond this books, routinely criticizes authors who model and tell the reader something new overlook the role played by condensed- and interesting. matter physicists in the history of the The best books achieve this by focusing Higgs mechanism.) And physicists and on a specific scientific problem and telling non-physicists alike will wonder why the a story — reliving the twists and turns, the author bothers to discuss Stephen Hawking personalities, the controversies, the blind and James Hartle’s notoriously difficult- The Mystery of the alleys and the breakthroughs on the way to to-understand ‘imaginary time’ in such a Missing Antimatter where we are now, which is rarely the end desultory manner in the last chapter. by Helen R. Quinn and of the story. The Extravagant Universe by However, the main problem with The Void Yossi Nir Robert Kirshner, who led one of the teams is that it offers little or nothing that has Princeton Univ. Press: that discovered dark energy, is a good recent not been offered in more detail and with 2008. 292 pp. $29.95. example. Professional writers and journalists greater clarity in many other books. This cannot, as a rule, bring the same level of is a pity because Close has an excellent Immediately after the authority and insight to their books, but they track record of bringing physics to the Big Bang, there were can compensate with other tools and skills, public, and because it is easy to imagine the equal amounts of matter such as extensive background research and vacuum being used as a theme to go beyond and antimatter. But a interviews: Strange Beauty, George Johnson’s the standard model of popular physics millionth of a second superb biography of Murray Gell-Mann, is the writing in new and interesting ways, but later, a teeny surplus best example of this approach. only if the material is given more time and of matter — about one The Void by Frank Close — eminent more space. part per 10 billion — led particle theorist, award-winning science to our Universe today, writer and former head of communication Peter Rodgers with antimatter mostly and public education activities at CERN — Peter Rodgers is the chief editor of confined to particle takes the vacuum as its theme on a whirlwind Nature Nanotechnology accelerators. Why? nature physics | VOL 4 | FEBRUARY 2008 | www.nature.com/naturephysics 85 © 2008 Nature Publishing Group