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cutcamera's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed the style of this book. Perfect for a biologist looking to better understand the microscopic world, the author takes us on an adventurous journey through various scenes that help visualize what’s happening at the atomic scale. He offers fun and educational scenarios like comparing amplitude, frequency and wavelength to gulls bobbing up and down on the oceans waves. I listened to an audiobook and wish I had read this one.
msousa_13's review against another edition
5.0
Such a creative way to describe the world of particle physics. Captivating, fascinating, and unique.
rachelbohlen's review against another edition
1.0
First: this is not a book for beginners. Second: the entire premise the author uses to try to make this material accessible fails miserably. It does not make sense. This is not a good choice for people who want an entry-level read on particle physics.
tsharris's review against another edition
3.0
I was looking for a good book to explain to a layman the state of quantum physics post-Higgs and this look promising. Pretty disappointing, however. The central metaphor - particle physics as a map to explore - ended up becoming even more confusing than the explanation of the physics itself, which also struggled to put things into terms that a layman could understand. There are moments of lucidity, which is why I was able to power through to finish, but I would not recommend this to a reader looking for a primer on particle physics.
belgaer's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.0
Very fun! The journey allegory gets a bit tiresome when it’s trotted out chapter after chapter, but the book as a whole is very informative and light hearted. It gets much deeper into high energy physics than I expected. Very impressed by how intuitive the explanations of the W and Z bosons, and the Higgs are. Particularly impressed by how it manages to finish in a fun, if predictable way. Even the tired exploration metaphor is a little bit more fun when calling modified gravity theorists “salty sea dogs.”
ruthieem's review against another edition
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Having read several other books on particle physics, Atom Land explained several subjects in ways I haven’t previously come across. Butterworth’s explanation of the weak force was especially helpful for my understanding; I’ve found that most authors tend to brush past it. But I do think this book would be most enjoyable to readers with at least some knowledge of particle physics, as Butterworth’s explanations are not the most thorough, and a good portion of the narrative is dedicated to imagining the world of Atom Land.
skyclad's review against another edition
2.0
It was not a great book for me. maybe I needed more background info on physics to enjoy it more
poirotketchup's review against another edition
3.0
I feel less like an uneducated layperson on quantum physics and more like a kind-of-educated layperson. This book gives a good overview of the standard model, and doesn't get much into the wild theorizing that dominates most popular writings I've seen on the subject. It does get rather hard to follow near the end, but that's to be expected.