I can't recall anything about this one, now, many years later, but I can see how the title would have appealed to me. ( )

An adventure into the heart of Nothing by bestselling author K. C. Cole. Once again, acclaimed science writer K. C. Cole brings the arcane and acad- emic down to the level of armchair scientists in The Hole in the Universe, an entertaining and edifying search for nothing at all. Open the newspaper on any given day and you will read of a newly discovered planet, star, and so on. Yet scientists and mathematicians have spent generations searching the far reaches of the universe for that one elusive state-nothingness. Although this may sound like a simple task, every time the absolute void appears within reach, something new is discovered in its place: a black hole, an undulating string, an additional dimension of space or time-even another universe. A fascinating and literary tour de force, The Hole in the Universe is a virtual romp into the unknown that you never knew wasn't there.

I found the short sections and attempts at wit fairly distracting. This was mainly a problem in areas with familiar topics, where I just wanted to move along at a good clip but found the writing too choppy. In sections where I wasn't as familiar with the details and was reading a bit more slowly it didn't bother me as much, but her style just wasn't satisfying for me. ( )

The Hole in the Universe is what Nancy Pearl calls a book about nothing and author K.C. Cole supports that with her subtitle, "How Scientists Peered over the Edge of Emptiness and Found Everything." Cole combines physics, science fiction, literature, mathematics, and humor to make her case. Who knew a book about nothing could be so entertaining? Cole has the ability to take scientific fact and not-so-exact speculation and make nothing about something. ( )

Ramifications of the concept of nothingness for cutting-edge physical science. An easily readable treat.