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THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

‘Neat, and extremely simple: only a deep thinker such as Sean Carroll could introduce the complexity of Einstein’s general relativity in such a luminous and straightforward manner.’

Carlo Rovelli, author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics

Immense, strange and infinite, the world of modern physics often feels impenetrable to the undiscerning eye – a jumble of muons, gluons and quarks, impossible to explain without several degrees and a research position at CERN.

But it doesn’t have to be this way!

Allow world-renowned theoretical physicist and bestselling author Sean Carroll to guide you through the biggest ideas in the universe. Elegant and simple, Carroll unravels a web of theory to get to the heart of the truths they represent about the world around us.

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In Quanta and Fields, the second in this landmark trilogy, Carroll delves into the baffling and beautiful world of quantum mechanics. From Schroedinger to Feynman, Carroll travels through the quantum revolution with the greatest minds of the twentieth century. Exploring how several decades of research overturned centuries of convention, Carroll provides a dazzling tour of the most exciting ideas in modern science.

Publisher Review

‘This modern, informative and engaging account of quantum physics ticks all the boxes. Carroll the Explainer at his very best.’ -Jim Al-Khalili, author of The Joy of Science ‘Sean Carroll has achieved something I thought impossible: a bridge between popular science and the mathematical universe of working physicists. Magnificent!’ -Brian Clegg, author of Ten Days in Physics that Shook the World ‘Neat, and extremely simple: only a deep thinker such as Sean Carroll could introduce the complexity of Einstein’s general relativity in such a luminous and straightforward manner.’ -Carlo Rovelli, author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics ‘Do popular books about physics leave you feeling that you’re just getting stories and not real science? If so, this is the book for you.’ -Philip Ball, author of Beyond Weird ‘An extraordinary achievement. The reader is treated to an honest and thorough treatment of all of the issues in our modern understanding of the basic laws of nature. The implications for the cosmos – and for our day to day lives – are clearly spelled out.’ -Michael Dine, author of This Way to the Universe ‘What happens when Sean Carroll, the world’s greatest living physics explainer, meets some of the hardest-to-explain material in physics? What happens is this book: probably the most lucid and honest popular account of quantum field theory yet written. I learned a lot from it and I hope you will too.’ -Scott Aaronson, director of the Quantum Information Center, University of Texas at Austin