UNIVERSE ON A T-SHIRT: The Quest for the Theory of Everything

This volume begins with a quote from physicist Leon Lederman: "My ambition is to live to see all of physics reduced to a formula so elegant and simple that it will fit easily on the front of a T-shirt." Such a "Theory of Everything" is the holy grail of contemporary physics, and Falk, a widely published science writer and broadcaster, spends most of his book recounting the various stabs in that direction made by scientists over the past millennia. Beginning with Aristotelian physics, Falk races through the scientific revolution, general relativity and quantum mechanics, winding up with an exploration of the current best hope for unification, string theory. Falk's prose is familiar and clear, and the book hangs together well, with the exception of an unexpected detour into the philosophy of science in the last chapter. In particular, the author has a knack for popularizing modern physics—though the narrative reaches back to the ancient Greeks, it's strongest once Falk attains the 20th century. The book as a whole offers an accessible, if cursory, overview of the history of physics (it's the kind of book that refers to atoms as "nature's Lego® set" and has an occasional topical one-panel comic embedded in the text) and is a reasonable introduction to physics past and present for readers with little science background. B&w illus. (Jan.)