Quantum Physics for Poets

Author(s): Leon Lederman & Christopher Hill (2011)

A highly-readable historical and scientific account of quantum theory, written by a Nobel Laureate and a theoretical physicist. “The advancing technology and scientific skills at the turn of the century enabled those scientist explorers to, in a sense, visit for the first time the domain of a remarkable and new alien civilization, the world of the atom.... It was as if the radical artists, composers, and writers of the age were scripting the laws of nature.”

The Universe in a Single Atom: The Convergence of Science and Spirituality

Author: Dalai Lama (2006)

“I believe that spirituality and science are different but complementary investigative approaches with the same greater goal, of seeking the truth... Through a dialogue between the two disciplines, I hope both science and spirituality may develop to be of better service to the needs and well-being of humanity.”

Before the Big Bang: The Origins of the Universe and the Nature of Matter

Author: Ernest J. Sternglass (1997)

“Before the Big Bang explains some of the most puzzling aspects of recent cosmological discoveries. It includes a discussion of the origins of the universe, and the author’s firsthand exchanges with Einstein, Feynman, Niels Bohr and other scientific greats.”

Physics for Poets

Author: Robert H. March (2002, 5th ed.)

“What does a physicist have to say to a poet? First and foremost, that scientists (or at least the best of them) practice their craft because they think it is fun.  And what makes it fun can be summarized in one word: wonder.”

Written for the curious non-scientist.