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master_wanderer's review against another edition
1.0
This is the most irrelevant book I've ever read.
bhurlbut's review against another edition
3.0
"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy." This sums it up for me. Philosophy seems incapable of explaining anything and will more likely leave you baffled by the workings of the human mind.
booksong's review against another edition
4.0
Every once in a while, I like to add something a little more cerebral to my reading list, just to exercise a different part of my brain and get a little nonfiction into my fantasy-overloaded brain. Boy oh boy, was this one a mindbender.
The question 'Why does the world exist?' or alternately, 'Why is there something rather than nothing?' is not a small or simple question. It's enough to give most people an existential headache, and is not the kind of thing most people ponder on a daily basis. But I've always enjoyed the occasional mental gymnastics, thought experiments, and dose of philosophy, and this book delivers that very well. Jim Holt travels to meet with various philosophers, writers, theologists and thinkers, posing the titular question to them and expanding on their responses and theories regarding how and why the universe (and everything in it) exists. Interlude chapters detail small, relevant snippets of his own life as well as sidenotes on historical philosophy and additional existential theories.
The author's style is very readable, despite the complex ideas he's delving into, and the fact that he never lingers too long on one theory or idea keeps the book from getting mired down. You probably won't agree with all of the ideas proposed (I certainly didn't), but the mental workout you get from trying to imagine how various theories could be possible is very satisfying and interesting if you enjoy that kind of abstract musing. Maybe you'll even find yourself agreeing with (or at least being intrigued by) one or two of the ideas. At the very least, it's one of the most encompassing and daring nonfiction books I've read in a while, and gave me a lot to think about.
The question 'Why does the world exist?' or alternately, 'Why is there something rather than nothing?' is not a small or simple question. It's enough to give most people an existential headache, and is not the kind of thing most people ponder on a daily basis. But I've always enjoyed the occasional mental gymnastics, thought experiments, and dose of philosophy, and this book delivers that very well. Jim Holt travels to meet with various philosophers, writers, theologists and thinkers, posing the titular question to them and expanding on their responses and theories regarding how and why the universe (and everything in it) exists. Interlude chapters detail small, relevant snippets of his own life as well as sidenotes on historical philosophy and additional existential theories.
The author's style is very readable, despite the complex ideas he's delving into, and the fact that he never lingers too long on one theory or idea keeps the book from getting mired down. You probably won't agree with all of the ideas proposed (I certainly didn't), but the mental workout you get from trying to imagine how various theories could be possible is very satisfying and interesting if you enjoy that kind of abstract musing. Maybe you'll even find yourself agreeing with (or at least being intrigued by) one or two of the ideas. At the very least, it's one of the most encompassing and daring nonfiction books I've read in a while, and gave me a lot to think about.
rbreade's review
Philosophy, quantum foam, and more. Difficult to put down, easy to return to.
pitosalas's review against another edition
5.0
A fascinating book. I understood a lot of it while I was reading it but I have to read it again...
tsharris's review against another edition
4.0
Excellent tour de horizon of scientific, philosophical, theological, and literary cosmological thought through a series of interactive encounters with the leading minds thinking about why the universe exists. Some of the interviews are better than others - and if the book taught me anything it's that I have little patience for logic games regarding the universe. Definitely preferred the more scientific sections. But I also found the final chapters, on the human self and consciousness, and on death, incredibly moving and easily the best in the book. His chapter on death will stay with me for a long time.
gjmaupin's review against another edition
3.0
Wanted to like more, & really quite good, but the author spent much time toggling from This Is important to This Is Meaningless and we were frequently on the other side of the switch from one another. Read for work.
kipahni's review against another edition
3.0
Heavy subject told in understandable terms. In the end one is left with more questions then answers.
rumbledethumps's review against another edition
1.0
Filled with facile analogies, stoner arguments, and philosophical word games, this was definitely not a book for me.
But if the title strikes you as a question worth pondering outside the confines of a college dorm room, then perhaps you’ll like it better than I did.
But if the title strikes you as a question worth pondering outside the confines of a college dorm room, then perhaps you’ll like it better than I did.
almartin's review against another edition
2.0
not a great ratio of throat clearing : meaningful thoughts.