Customer Reviews
It's not you, it's the book! - By: Malcolm Black, 25 Aug 2008 
I obtained a good degree in physics twenty years ago, & I hoped to get a reasonable understanding of the main interpretations of quantum mechanics from this book. Some hope. I, especiallly, found the account of the Copenhagen interpretation disjointed & unclear. On the plus side, there are clear accounts of the "Many World's" interpretation, & the early history of Quantum Mechanics. But this doesn't gain it more than a star. The last few chapters certainly lose stars through trying to explain too many areas of quantum exotica in too few pages. These chapters lost me, but at least I had enough knowledge to know it was the book's fault & not mine! I pity the lay reader confronted with these chapters, & his (non-)explanation of the Copenhagen interpretation. If you're looking for a simple, clear, unbiased account of the interpretations of quantum mechanics, keep looking.
A great basic text - By: S. Grainger, 05 Aug 2008 
By its very nature physics is a a complex subject & I am always a little dubious of any review that claims to take the uninitiated from ignorance to a full understanding of the universe in less than 300 pages.
In this respect I dont think John Gribbin entirely succeeds either but In search of Scrodingers cat certainly takes a good stab at it. I defy anyone to read even half the book & not come away with a very different view of how the world or indeed worlds work. I would certainly recomend this book to any student about to embark on a Physics degree - Much lighter reading than the standard texts but at the same time provides powerful (and more importantly memorable) illustrations of alll the basic principles.
Tough going - By: Gaston Dorren, 24 Jul 2008 
Yes, this is probably a good buy when you want to discover what quantum physics is about (though I've heard that Taking the Quantum Leap: The New Physics for Non-Scientists by Fred Alan Wolf is a strong competitor). Even so, as Gribbin took me further & further into the quantum thicket, I'm afraid I did lose track.
Maybe it's me. Or maybe the book's not quite what it's cracked up to be. Still, I feel it was worth the try. And I must grant the author this: at every step, he's very clear about what he's doing & where's he's leading you.
Popular physics at its very best - By: Robert Zbodak, 30 May 2008 To put it simply - I have already read many popular science books about physics by many authors, but this is by far the best one I have ever read. John Gribbin has a gift to write about science in a very interesting way - I can't think of any other author with quite the same gift.
A gripping introduction to quantum mechanics - By: N. J. E. Taylor, 16 May 2007 Quantum mechanics is a tricky subject to come to terms with, but it's implications are diverse & far-reaching. It's also a fascinating subject to read about, because the quantum world is so counter-intuitive.
John Gribbin writes clearly & concisely, elaborating just enough for you to understand, but concisely enough that you find yourself still asking questions (no bad thing).
The history of quantum mechanics was interesting, but i'm unlikely to re-read, but the implications & explanations of the experiments were enthrallling. Gribbin devotes special attention to particularly important experiments (like the double slit experiment) & then goes from there.
When he does depart from fact into speculation (his preference for the many worlds view) he makes this clear, showing it's pros & cons without being biased, just opinionated.
There's hardly any maths, so the layman need not fear, only the basic principles. Indeed, I don't think it's the maths behind quantum mechanics which is so confusing & controversial, it's the plain English implications of non-locality/non-causality which most people find baffling. Especiallly the Copanhagen interpretation.
Nevertheless, if you're looking for a good introduction to quantum mechanics that will give you a solid framework to ask some deep questions, this is an excellent starting point.
