Description

The instant Sunday Times bestseller — a beautiful story of rebellion and science

‘A triumph. . . We are left in a world that is not disenchanted by science, but even more magical’ Financial Times

In June 1925, twenty-three-year-old Werner Heisenberg, suffering from hay fever, had retreated to the treeless, wind-battered island of Helgoland in the North Sea in order to think. Walking all night, by dawn he had wrestled with an idea that would transform the whole of science and our very conception of the world.

In Helgoland Carlo Rovelli tells the story of the birth of quantum physics and its bright young founders who were to become some of the most famous Nobel winners in science. It is a celebration of youthful rebellion and intellectual revolution. An invitation to a magical place.

Here Rovelli illuminates competing interpretations of this science and offers his own original view, describing the world we touch as a fabric woven by relations. Where we, as every other thing around us, exist in our interactions with one another, in a never-ending game of mirrors.

A dazzling work from a celebrated scientist and master storyteller, Helgoland transports us to dizzying heights, reminding us of the many pleasures of the life of the mind.

Translated by Erica Segre and Simon Carnell

Chosen as a Book of the Year by The Times, Financial Times, Sunday Times, Guardian and Prospect

Shortlisted for the Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize

Publisher Review

Popular science has rarely been so good * Prospect * The greatest populariser of physics today. . . We are left in a world that is not disenchanted by science, but even more magical. A triumph -- Julian Baggini * Financial Times * Theoretical physics often feels rather mystical. This mind-bending, lively book by the bestselling physicist Carlo Rovelli reinforces that other-wordly feeling. . . unforgettable * The Times * Rovelli is often called the poet of physics. He writes elegant, wondering, enlarging books on time and quantum theory, much in the spirit of a priest bringing the word of God to his congregation, and I've found it good for my soul to be confronted with how little I understand the world and everything in it -- Sarah Perry * Guardian * One of the warmest, most elegant and most lucid interpreters of the dazzling enigmas of his discipline. . . A momentous book -- John Banville * Wall Street Journal * His most beautiful book yet. . . leaves an unforgettable impression of its author as a man struggling at the furthest limits of human comprehension -- James Marriot * The Times * A deep-thinking, restlessly inquiring spirit. . . His books continue a tradition of popular scientific writing from Galileo to Darwin that disappeared in the academic specialisations of the past century -- Ian Thomson * Observer * Another brilliant book by Rovelli. . . You'll have fun -- Clive Cookson * Financial Times * If anyone can make sense of the topsy-turvy, counterintuitive world of quantum physics, it is Carlo Rovelli, the most poetically minded of today's science communicators * The Times * A remarkably wide-ranging new meditation on quantum theory. . . With the light touch of a skilled storyteller. . . Rovelli is not afraid to mix quantum physics and eastern philosophy -- Manjit Kumar * Guardian * A great tonic for long-isolated minds . . . a thrilling story, written with Rovelli's accustomed wit and panache. After reading him, you'll look at the grains of beach sand between your toes with an entirely new eye * Irish Independent * Inspiring. . . Without mathematics or experiment, by page 81 your thoughts are at the frontier of quantum theory -- Alexander Masters * Spectator * A delight . . . it is a pleasure to travel in Rovelli's company * New Statesman * Travelogue meets biography meets a masterful explanation of quantum theory in this warm and fascinating account * Guardian * Explained with uncanny insight and lyrical grace * Time * A new vision, one with a remarkable power in delivering new answers to old quantum riddles. . . original and graceful -- Jenann T. Ismael * TLS * Bracing and refreshing. . . Rovelli is offering a new way to understand not just the world but our place in it, too * NPR * Carlo Rovelli is a genius and an amazing communicator. . . What I love about his writing is that it always comes back to people -- people interacting with other people, who are interacting with their world. This is the place where science comes to life -- Neil Gaiman When life feels strange, Rovelli's books remind me that there is beauty in the strangeness -- Johny Pitts Rovelli is a brilliant and lucid teacher who uses his understanding of theoretical physics and the quantum world to talk about the complexity of our everyday reality -- Russell Brand Carlo Rovelli's imaginative rigour, his lively humour and his beautiful writing are inspiring -- Erica Wagner Rovelli opens windows onto the imagination for all of us -- Antony Gormley I always find with Carlo Rovelli's books that there are moments when you get a real hit of understanding -- a jigsaw in your mind that just falls into place -- Robin Ince Helgoland is a wonderful guide to the most extraordinary story in physics. It will reset your view of the universe -- Marcus du Sautoy Hooked me so hard I read the entire book in one sitting. And then twice more -- Lisa Feldman Barrett * Chronicle of Higher Education * The old, solid world, if you believed in it at all, breaks into a glorious shimmer of limitless potential -- Brian Morton * Tablet * Rovelli has an uncanny knack for instilling wonder and explaining complex theories in plain, entertaining ways * Irish Times * I'm keen for everyone to read Helgoland: a wonderfully lucid and poetic account of the foundations of quantum physics. It combines a compelling history with Rovelli's own intriguing - and for me very appealing - views about the basis of all things -- Anil Seth, author of Being You