Niels Bohr's Times,: In Physics, Philosophy, and Polity

Rating:
Summary: Captivating!
Review: Captivating biography! One of the best. In a class by itself!
Written before the popular Broadway play, "Copenhagen" by Michael Frayn, Pais' book covers the Heisenberg-Bohr meeting in 1941[the real one],--- and there is a lot more! We are fortunate that Pais has given us this, and several other wonderful biographies;-- the one about Albert Einstein stands out! It is especially fortunate that he has chosen to write for the general public. I can't think of anyone who did, or possibly could have done it better. His writing is captivating, and unique in its recreation of the times, and the social context of the scientific events. Pais further succeeds magnificently in bringing to life the many colorful personalities. This includes the young physicists born in Europe around 1900 who arrived in Copenhagen in the 1920ties to work with Bohr, some later to win the Nobel Prize,-- how he became a father figure to some of them,- Heisenberg, for example. And there are the other players,

Albert Einstein early on, and Pais himself later, in the drama of quantum physics of the Twentieth Century. Even if you might perhaps not be scientifically inclined, and if you choose to skip the physics sections, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Captivating!
Review: Captivating biography! One of the best. In a class by itself!
Written before the popular Broadway play, "Copenhagen" by Michael Frayn, Pais' book covers the Heisenberg-Bohr meeting in 1941[the real one],--- and there is a lot more! We are fortunate that Pais has given us this, and several other wonderful biographies;-- the one about Albert Einstein stands out! It is especially fortunate that he has chosen to write for the general public. I can't think of anyone who did, or possibly could have done it better. His writing is captivating, and unique in its recreation of the times, and the social context of the scientific events. Pais further succeeds magnificently in bringing to life the many colorful personalities. This includes the young physicists born in Europe around 1900 who arrived in Copenhagen in the 1920ties to work with Bohr, some later to win the Nobel Prize,-- how he became a father figure to some of them,- Heisenberg, for example. And there are the other players,

Albert Einstein early on, and Pais himself later, in the drama of quantum physics of the Twentieth Century. Even if you might perhaps not be scientifically inclined, and if you choose to skip the physics sections, I don't think you will be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: QM a la Bohr
Review: Historical description of the development of nuclear and quantum physics, especially from the viewpoint of Bohr and colleagues, many who Pais worked with. Provides a non-technical description of many of the principles of modern physics.

Rating:
Summary: Great - but for those with an interest in HARD physics
Review: I bought this book for my Dad and he loved it ..... BUT he's a retired scientist with an interest in and basic knowledge of quantum mechanics. He particularly enjoyed the explanations of this very weird branch of physics. As an example of the type of reader who may enjoy this - he's the only person I know who has read "A Brief History of Time" cover to cover.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, definitive
Review: I enjoyed this book. I think the book may even be the definitive account of Bohr's life. My big complaint about this book, though, is as follows: the book is not good for an everyday person who wants to know about Bohr. It goes very heavy (in my mind, too heavy) into physics developments of the twentieth century. Combined with the fact that Pais is not that great at explaining these concepts, you have to have a good background in science to enjoy this book. All told, though, I thought Pais did a good job at showing the reader a glimpse of Bohr's world. Highly recommended for science types.

Rating:
Summary: More Niels, less quantum physics, please.
Review: I really wanted to like this book. I really wanted to be able to give it five stars. But I can't. While there is much to be admired here, this is definitely not the definitive biography of Niels Bohr.

As a previous reviewer hinted, the problem with this book is that it contains far too much quantum physics and not enough Niels Bohr. I am a former high school Physics teacher, and even I had trouble keeping up.

To be sure, there are moments of keen insight. I especially enjoyed reading about Bohr's relationships with his family and with his colleagues. Unfortunately, every time Pais would get me interested in something like that, he would then quickly bring the book to a screeching hault by going back to detail the history of some finer concept of quantum physics.

If you want to read a history of quantum physics with an emphasis on the contributions made by Niels Bohr, then this is the book for you. If, however, you simply want to learn about Niels Bohr the man, you may want to keep shopping.