Here are 100 books that Vibrations in the Field fans have personally recommended if you like
Vibrations in the Field.
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I have a background in academia, in the finest liberal arts tradition. Although I am a retired professor in the field of Information technology, I have read extensively in military history, sociology, economics, Buddhist philosophy, mythology and all manner of fantasy fiction. This list of books reflects my favorites, in large part because of their solid writing - as an author, I can no longer tolerate mediocre prose. I am always eager to share my favorite fantasy fiction with other readers who love deeply complicated stories with unforgettable characters.
Is it historical fantasy, urban fantasy, magical realism, or queer romantasy? Once again, the answer is yes. When I try to explain this book to someone, I find myself stuck between what it is and what it is not.
It is simultaneously unrealistic, oddly relatable, and weird. Very, very weird. It is not predictable. That is why I love it.
It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.
The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…
I have a background in academia, in the finest liberal arts tradition. Although I am a retired professor in the field of Information technology, I have read extensively in military history, sociology, economics, Buddhist philosophy, mythology and all manner of fantasy fiction. This list of books reflects my favorites, in large part because of their solid writing - as an author, I can no longer tolerate mediocre prose. I am always eager to share my favorite fantasy fiction with other readers who love deeply complicated stories with unforgettable characters.
I find myself drawn to books that span multiple genres, and Dead Egyptians is one of my favorites.
Is it historical fiction, paranormal fantasy, magical realism, or homoerotic thriller? Yes, yes it is. Add in some (spoiler alert) really kinky sex between two gods, and boy, is this a book that defies easy categorization.
"Dead Egyptians takes the reader on a vast, rollicking ride through history, reincarnation, romance and more... " –Susan Martell Huebner, author She Thought the Door Was Locked
In Egypt, all things are possible. So discovers Albion Stanley, a recent Cambridge graduate and brilliant linguist, newly arrived in Cairo in 1902. Albion sees the unseen, including ghosts. It is a less than comfortable reality, which he tends to with copious amounts of whiskey and numerous other vices.
Also in Cairo is Aleister Crowley, the famed occultist. Aleister is a dangerous man, but not an unsympathetic one and never a dull one.…
I have a background in academia, in the finest liberal arts tradition. Although I am a retired professor in the field of Information technology, I have read extensively in military history, sociology, economics, Buddhist philosophy, mythology and all manner of fantasy fiction. This list of books reflects my favorites, in large part because of their solid writing - as an author, I can no longer tolerate mediocre prose. I am always eager to share my favorite fantasy fiction with other readers who love deeply complicated stories with unforgettable characters.
What I loved most about this book is its unusual approach to story structure.
The first chapter read like the script for an indie arthouse film, a monologue that was disconnected to the point of incoherence. Some readers gave up on the book at that point, but I’m so glad I didn’t.
By the end, the author sharpens the image, pulls together all the various subplots, and provides a deeply satisfying conclusion. I am ready to fall into the next book in the series.
A mythical deity. A hidden prophecy. Will fighting her destiny herald death for everyone she loves?
Elliah knows she shouldn't be alive. A youthful wood elf bereft of magic, she's spent her long-lived childhood drifting from town to town as her mother conceals her from those who believe she needs to be culled. Sick of feeling like an outcast, she's intrigued when she meets a young half-breed who encourages her to view her odd nature as a gift instead of a flaw.
When a misstep draws undue attention, Elliah and her mother quickly leave the village in the company of…
The Year Mrs. Cooper Got Out More
by
Meredith Marple,
The coastal tourist town of Great Wharf, Maine, boasts a crime rate so low you might suspect someone’s lying.
Nevertheless, jobless empty nester Mallory Cooper has become increasingly reclusive and fearful. Careful to keep the red wine handy and loath to leave the house, Mallory misses her happier self—and so…
I have a background in academia, in the finest liberal arts tradition. Although I am a retired professor in the field of Information technology, I have read extensively in military history, sociology, economics, Buddhist philosophy, mythology and all manner of fantasy fiction. This list of books reflects my favorites, in large part because of their solid writing - as an author, I can no longer tolerate mediocre prose. I am always eager to share my favorite fantasy fiction with other readers who love deeply complicated stories with unforgettable characters.
Again, not a fantasy, but I still think it fits the category because it defies easy categorization.
What separates this from the standard noir thriller are the wacky characters and whip-smart plot – part Dashiell Hammet, part Carl Hiassen.
What elevates it is the author’s willingness to explore how his protagonist can stop evil without compromising his basic human values in the process. Another deeply weird, deeply satisfying read.
El Buscador has long been legendary for revealing, to select visitors, New York's secrets. Now he confronts his greatest challenge: the real estate mogul Timothy Terrance Tolland has been erecting skyscrapers at an alarming rate. Tolland's mysterious construction at Canal Street threatens to tear the city's fabric. Aided by a group of investigative reporters, El Buscador looks to bring Tolland down before his building forever transforms the skyline.
But the battle also goes on below the street as Tolland has initiated a campaign of dyeing the city's rats blue so that the vermin become as much of his brand as…
I am a professor of humanities at Johns Hopkins and have spent my career thinking, teaching, and writing about the relations between literature, philosophy, and science. Many years ago I started out thinking I would be a scientist, but then got pulled into literature and philosophy. Still, that original passion never left me. As I studied and read the great authors and thinkers from Classical Antiquity through the Middle Ages to the modern era, the big, fundamental questions of our place in the universe and the ultimate nature of reality seemed as pertinent to poets and philosophers as it is to physicists and cosmologists.
Sean Carroll has a special knack for explaining complicated stuff, and there a few things more complicated than comparing and contrasting the various competing interpretations of quantum mechanics.
Carroll has a horse in this race—the many worlds interpretation—and he’s not shy about making his case, which is in part why the book is so entertaining. A spirited polemicist, Carroll knows his chosen theory has many detractors, but he’s more than ready to debate. As a bonus his writing is as personable and witty as his explanations are clear.
'An authoritative and beautifully written account of the quest to understand quantum theory and the origin of space and time.' Professor Brian Cox
Quantum physics is not mystifying. The implications are mind-bending, and not yet fully understood, but this revolutionary theory is truly illuminating. It stands as the best explanation of the fundamental nature of our world.
Spanning the history of quantum discoveries, from Einstein and Bohr to the present day, Something Deeply Hidden is the essential guide to the most intriguing subject in science. Acclaimed physicist and writer Sean Carroll debunks the…
Since my first college course in quantum physics, I have been fascinated with this enigmatic, infinitely interesting theory. It's our most fundamental description of the universe, it's been found to be unerringly accurate, yet it's quite subtle to interpret. Even more intriguingly, "nobody really understands quantum physics" (as Richard Feynman put it). For example, the theory's central concept, the wave function, is interpreted radically differently by different physicists. I have always yearned to grasp, at least to my own satisfaction, a comprehensive understanding of this theory. Since retirement 23 years ago, I have pursued this passion nearly full-time and found some answers, leading to several technical papers and a popular book.
This is a competent, charming account of the various mind-boggling quantum phenomena. It includes the uncertainty principle, the quantum atom, how quanta interact, the quantum vacuum, and the Standard Model. The book also ventures into the discussion of the transistor (the device behind the digital revolution) and the death of stars. Uniquely, we learn whyall these results follow the basic principles of quantum physics. The authors explain these phenomena in terms of a qualitative version of Feynman's path-analysis approach to quantum physics. I hasten to emphasize that this analysis is understandable by non-scientists, and shines a nice light on why the quantum world has the unexpected properties that it does have. Cox's popular writings are widely read in the UK. Both authors are physics professors at Manchester University.
In The Quantum Universe , Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw approach the world of quantum mechanics in the same way they did in Why Does E=mc2? and make fundamental scientific principles accessible,and fascinating,to everyone. The subatomic realm has a reputation for weirdness, spawning any number of profound misunderstandings, journeys into Eastern mysticism, and woolly pronouncements on the interconnectedness of all things. Cox and Forshaw's contention? There is no need for quantum mechanics to be viewed this way. There is a lot of mileage in the weirdness" of the quantum world, and it often leads to confusion and, frankly, bad science.…
Don’t mess with the hothead—or he might just mess with you. Slater Ibáñez is only interested in two kinds of guys: the ones he wants to punch, and the ones he sleeps with. Things get interesting when they start to overlap. A freelance investigator, Slater trolls the dark side of…
Since my first college course in quantum physics, I have been fascinated with this enigmatic, infinitely interesting theory. It's our most fundamental description of the universe, it's been found to be unerringly accurate, yet it's quite subtle to interpret. Even more intriguingly, "nobody really understands quantum physics" (as Richard Feynman put it). For example, the theory's central concept, the wave function, is interpreted radically differently by different physicists. I have always yearned to grasp, at least to my own satisfaction, a comprehensive understanding of this theory. Since retirement 23 years ago, I have pursued this passion nearly full-time and found some answers, leading to several technical papers and a popular book.
Given the radically distinct and often incongruent views of what quantum physics means, it is wise to glean a balanced sense of many views by studying the topic's history. Kumar's telling of the great, decades-long debate between two of the field's leading practitioners is authoritative and excitingly told. The book centers on the founding of quantum physics during the 1920s, the famous 1927 Solvay Conference on photons and electrons, and the thoughtful debate between Bohr and Einstein concerning the nature of reality. The author is a physicist, philosopher, and science writer.
'This is about gob-smacking science at the far end of reason ... Take it nice and easy and savour the experience of your mind being blown without recourse to hallucinogens' Nicholas Lezard, Guardian
For most people, quantum theory is a byword for mysterious, impenetrable science. And yet for many years it was equally baffling for scientists themselves.
In this magisterial book, Manjit Kumar gives a dramatic and superbly-written history of this fundamental scientific revolution, and the divisive debate at its core. Quantum theory looks at the very building blocks of our world, the particles and processes without which it could…
I am totally fascinated by the quest of how Nature does it. In particular, I love the fact that humans managed to enters the strange world of atoms and photons by just using their brute intellectual force and imagination. This world obeys precise rules, but very different ones from those we get used to since childhood. For example, the laws that govern the microscopic world allow for indeterminacy and randomness. Moreover, some random events may manifest themselves at several locations at once, leading to the phenomenon of quantum non-locality. I am very fortunate that I could spend all my professional time on such fascinating conceptual questions, combined with highly timely new technologies.
This little book introduces quantum physics at the level of high-school students. It starts with semi-transparent mirrors and interferometers. With figures, but no equations, the reader becomes familiar with wave-particle duality. Next, quantum cryptography, some experiments, and even quantum teleportation are presented in a truly pedestrian way. I much enjoyed reading this book.
Quantum physics is often perceived as a weird and abstract theory, which physicists must use in order to make correct predictions. But many recent experiments have shown that the weirdness of the theory simply mirrors the weirdness of phenomena: it is Nature itself, and not only our description of it, that behaves in an astonishing way. This book selects those, among these typical quantum phenomena, whose rigorous description requires neither the formalism, nor an important background in physics.
The first part of the book deals with the phenomenon of single-particle interference, covering the historical questions of wave-particle duality, objective randomness…
I have always been fascinated by how the world works. What gives gravity so much power? Why is it easier to lift things with levers and pulleys? Why do we have electricity inside of our own bodies?! The world is amazing. My job editing nonfiction books for kids puts me on the front lines of some of the smartest science writing out there. While I had no hand in the making of the following five picture books about physics, they are still some of my favorites because of the way they peel back the mysterious layers of the world to show us the science hidden in our daily lives.
Fun and super clear graphics combined with straightforward discussions of complex topics make this book a hit. The writing is more expository than narrative, which will appeal to kids who love fact books and encyclopedias. Another one that both adults and kids can learn a ton from!
Everything around us – trees, buildings, food, light, water, air and even ourselves – is composed of minute particles, smaller than a nanometer (a billionth of a meter). Quantum physics is the science of these particles and without it none of our electronic devices, from smartphones to computers and microwave ovens, would exist.
But quantum physics also pushes us to the very boundaries of what we know about science, reality and the structure of the universe. The world of quantum physics is an amazing place, where quantum particles can do weird and wonderful things, acting totally unlike the objects we…
I am a professor of quantum physics—the most notoriously complicated science humans have ever invented. While the likes of Albert Einstein commented on how difficult quantum physics is to understand, I disagree! Ever since my mum asked me—back while I was a university student—to explain to her what I was studying, I’ve been on a mission to make quantum physics as widely accessible as possible. Science belongs to us all and we should all have an opportunity to appreciate it!
Are you still here? Good. Because by now you are probably reading to tackle some university-level courses in quantum physics, right? Well, with your background in pop quantum physics all you need to get there is a little more abstraction. So, if you have the stomach for a bit of mathematics, Quantum Mechanics: The Theoretical Minimum by Leonard Susskind is your ticket to the big show! (Don’t say I didn’t warn you about the math, though.)
First he taught you classical mechanics. Now, physicist Leonard Susskind has teamed up with data engineer Art Friedman to present the theory and associated mathematics of the strange world of quantum mechanics.In this follow-up to the New York Times best-selling The Theoretical Minimum , Susskind and Friedman provide a lively introduction to this famously difficult field, which attempts to understand the behaviour of sub-atomic objects through mathematical abstractions. Unlike other popularizations that shy away from quantum mechanics' weirdness, Quantum Mechanics embraces the utter strangeness of quantum logic. The authors offer crystal-clear explanations of the principles of quantum states, uncertainty and…
