 Softcover edition | |
| Author | Leonard Susskind |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | Black hole,string theory |
| Genre | Popular science |
| Publisher | Little, Brown and Company |
Publication date | July 7, 2008 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print, e-book, audiobook |
| Pages | 480 pp. |
| ISBN | 978-0316016407 |
| Preceded by | The Cosmic Landscape |
| Followed by | The Theoretical Minimum |
Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics is a 2008popular science book by Americantheoretical physicistLeonard Susskind. The book covers theblack hole information paradox, and the related scientific dispute betweenStephen Hawking and Susskind.[1] Susskind is known for his work onstring theory and wrote a previous popular science book,The Cosmic Landscape, in 2005.[2]
Hawking proposed that information is lost in black holes, and not preserved inHawking radiation.[2] Susskind disagreed, arguing that Hawking's conclusions violated one of the most basic scientific laws of the universe, the conservation of information. As Susskind depicts in his book,The Black Hole War was a "genuine scientific controversy" between scientists favoring an emphasis on the principles ofrelativity against those in favor ofquantum mechanics.[1] The debate led to theholographic principle, proposed byGerard 't Hooft and refined by Susskind, which suggested that the information is in fact preserved, stored on the boundary of a system.[3]
Sean M. Carroll in theWall Street Journal praised the book for successfully explaining the topic in a way that lay readers could understand, despite the difficulty of the subject. Carroll writes that the book contains a "wealth of anecdotes", and that Susskind's "wit and storytelling abilities ... are pleasantly on display in" the book.[4] George Johnson ofThe New York Times was critical of the beginning of the book, writing that the introduction on the basic concepts of relativity and quantum mechanics was excessive, especially for readers who have already read other popular science books on theoretical physics.[5]Time Magazine'sLev Grossman gave the book a B+, saying that "you could dismiss it all as nerd-on-nerd violence, but then you'd miss out on Susskind explaining why the universe is actually a hologram."[6] Jesse Cohen of theLos Angeles Times criticized the book for its "tendency to meander" with personal anecdotes, although the book "glows with the warmth of conversation."[7] TheNew Scientist included the book on its 2008 editor's picks list[8] and theWashington Post listed it as one of the best books of 2008 in their annual holiday shopping guide.[9]