The perfect graduation gift "Meet the new Stephen Hawking . . . The Order of Time is a dazzling book." --The Sunday Times From the bestselling author of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, a concise, elegant exploration of time. Why do we remember the past and not the future? What does it mean for time to "flow"? Do we exist in time or does time exist in us? In lyric, accessible prose, Carlo Rovelli invites us to consider questions about the nature of time that continue to puzzle physicists and philosophers alike. For most readers this is unfamiliar terrain. We all experience time, but the more scientists learn about it, the more mysterious it remains. We think of it as uniform and universal, moving steadily from past to future, measured by clocks. Rovelli tears down these assumptions one by one, revealing a strange universe where at the most fundamental level time disappears. He explains how the theory of quantum gravity attempts to understand and give meaning to the resulting extreme landscape of this timeless world. Weaving together ideas from philosophy, science and literature, he suggests that our perception of the flow of time depends on our perspective, better understood starting from the structure of our brain and emotions than from the physical universe. Already a bestseller in Italy, and written with the poetic vitality that made Seven Brief Lessons on Physics so appealing, The Order of Time offers a profoundly intelligent, culturally rich, novel appreciation of the mysteries of time.
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Praise for The Order of Time: "Highly original. . . . Chapter by chapter, Rovelli shows how modern physics has annihilated common understandings of time. . . . the many other excellent explanations of science, the heart and humanity of the book, its poetry and its gentle tone raise it to the level and style of such great scientist-writers as Lewis Thomas and Rachel Carson." --Alan Lightman, New York Times Book Review " An elegant grapple with one of physics' deepest mysteries. . . .A masterly writer. . . . In this little gem of a book, Mr. Rovelli first demolishes our common-sense notion of time. . . .an ambitious book that illuminates a thorny question, that succeeds in being a pleasurable read." --Wall Street Journal "No one writes about the cosmos like theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli. . . Rovelli's new story of time is elegant and lucidly told, whether he is revealing facts or indulging in romantic-philosophic speculation about the nature of time." -- The Washington Post
"The Order of Time is a little wonder of a book. It provides surprising insights into an increasingly mysterious world, offers warmly humane reflections on our existential condition, and sustains a virtual conversation that will continue long after the reading has ceased." -- PopMatters "A dizzying, poetic work" --The Guardian
"A compact and elegant book" -- Nature "Rovelli, a physicist and one of the founders of loop quantum gravity theory, uses literary, poetical and historical devices to unravel the properties of time, what it means to exist without time and, at the end, how time began." -- Scientific American "Physics' literary superstar makes us rethink time . . . The Order of Time will surely establish Rovelli among the pantheon of great scientist-communicators . . . More of this please" -- New Scientist "Where other writers struggle to get their complex ideas across, Rovelli introduces profound notions with ease, using simple but evocative language . . . He also has a knack for mixing his serious enterprise with a sense of humor." -- Science Magazine "In this fascinating new book, Carlo Rovelli weaves together physics, philosophy, and art to explore the enduring mystery of time itself." -- Bustle "An elegantly concise primer makes theoretical physics intelligible . . . it would be to do a disservice to Rovelli and this stunningly written book, to say that brevity is its main virtue." -- The Times (UK) "The hours readers spend with Rovelli will forever transform their understanding of time. . . . Rovelli ushers astonished readers into the quantum wonderland. . . . A profound intellectual inquiry." -- Booklist (starred review) "Astute and rewarding. . . . As much a work of philosophy as of physics." -- Kirkus Reviews
