It's no secret what drew me to this book: the subtitle is A Math-Free Exploration of the Science That Made Our World. Math-free? That's for me. Sadly, as Kakalios admits in his introduction, it's not really math-free, merely math-simple (as defined by a physicist). Still and all, it's an enjoyable read. Kakalios is a self-admitted nerd and geek, and he draws his examples and illustrations from comic books. He's got a very accessible, conversational style, and he's not above a bad pun or two. Do I understand quantum mechanics now? No. Am I closer to understanding quantum mechanics? Definitely. ( )

Kaklios has written a pretty good book for the non-scientist explaining the basics of quantum mechanics. It is, as promised, math-free, but at times does get a little deeper than one would imagine in such a book. Especially enjoyable were the different ties to golden age comics and pulp fiction that he used to both illustrate concepts and show how prescient some of those authors truly were. At times, it seemed that the scientists were trying to keep up with the science fictionists. The book is definitely too basic for those already with a solid knowledge of the subject, but just the right amount of challenging for those without such knowledge. ( )

My son, who is very keen on physics, keeps asking me questions about quantum mechanics that I can't answer. Before I get to the stage where I can't even understand the questions, I thought I'd give this backgrounder on quantum mechanics a try.

I enjoyed the early chapters, but found the later chapters on the applications of quantum mechanics in technology less interesting - I would have preferred more on the fundamental scientific and philosophical issues raised by quantum mechanics. But that wasn't this book's brief, and it did what it does do very well. ( )

I had a lot of trouble understanding many concepts in this book, but I'm sure to someone who has more of a desire to understand them, it would not be as challenging.

Quantum mechanics is, of course, a very complicated subject, and this book attempts to explain the concepts of it in the most approachable way possible. If it doesn't help you understand (as was the case with me), it will at least show you that you can be content not knowing it. ( )

How the basic results of quantum theory underlie aspects of modern physics, especially solid-state physics and its derivative technologies used in so many of today's everyday devices. Plenty of references to science fiction and superhero fiction, presumably to help the far-from-expert reader get through it all. I'm afraid it wasn't enough to demolish my life-long mental block against adequately understanding solid-state physics.