GRACE IN ALL SIMPLICITY

Two renowned scientists survey the incredible discoveries that have redefined our understanding of the laws of nature and our place within the cosmos.

From the Higgs boson to dark energy, the history of scientific exploration is rife with mind-bending breakthroughs—and illuminating failures—that have revealed the complexity and beauty of our surroundings. In this insightful and accessible book, Quigg, a scientist emeritus at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and Cahn, a scientist emeritus at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, celebrate the people behind these discoveries, following their paths around the globe to explore the extraordinary experiments that probe the fundamental properties of the universe. Readers will find many of these characters familiar—Rutherford, Fermi, Curie, Perlmutter—but the authors also highlight a range of fascinating characters who may not be household names but whose contributions are invaluable to fields including particle physics, cosmology, and astronomy. In each chapter, the authors excel at making connections among scientific advances that have occurred across history. The breakthroughs that define the laws of physics aren’t discrete, the authors argue, but a series of accumulated truths that build in a continual refining of knowledge. “Particle physics is a planetary undertaking….Professional and personal lives are enriched by teachers and students, colleagues and friends, from many countries and cultures,” they write. “Together, we elevate experimental test over attachment to received truths. We welcome uncertainty not as motivation to be cynical, but as incentive to open our minds and investigate. As individuals and as teams, we compete and collaborate.” Moreover, this woven patchwork of revelation is more than just science; it’s also storytelling. The vast collective of minds that collaborate in this building, across space and time, is an astonishing feat itself—one driven by the most essential curiosity: that of our existence.

A captivating book that reveals the interconnectedness of science’s most profound advances.