Strange Beauty: Murray Gell-Mann and the Revolution in Twentieth-Century Physics

a wonderful book. george johnson not only builds a convincing portrait of murray gell-mann himself, who is fascinating if a little repulsive, but makes particle physics comprehensible to a math dunce like me. The writing is clear and vivid and intelligent, and his characterization of gell-mann himself subtle and complex and convincing.

George Johnson's bio of Murray Gell-Mann is an excellent read for anyone intersted in what has been transpiring in post WWII Particle Physics. While providing a long overdue biography of one of the most important physicists of the century, it also has very lucid explanations of the complex theories that Gell-Mann and his cohorts have devised. The only caveat for the potential reader is to be aware that these concepts, while very well explained, are not easy going without some degree of patience and some high school level (or better) physics. The reader can choose to ignore this material and stick with the biographical portion, but it is well worth the effort to understand the clear discussion. In short, an excellent read for anyone intersted in contemporary physics and its practioners.

Strange Beauty is a consummate piece of popular science writing that captivates the reader with tales of a fascinating 20th century particle physicist, but without letting the human narrative occlude the science itself. This is no easy accomplishment; often popular accounts of science veer too far into the cult of personality, making their heroes appear to be larger than life and their science to be some kind of high melodrama. George Johnson's storytelling helps us to know the flawed genius of Murray Gell-Mann and to care about him as a lead character. We also care about the knowledge that he and his colleagues are uncovering about the ephemeral wisps of particle reality that give rise to the material world. Gell-Mann comes off in this book as a devoted theorist and a passionate thinker, but also as a real human being. Johnson's portrayal is a more even-handed and fair treatment of Gell-Mann than he has received in other popular writings. The search for new particles reads like a detective story, but not in an affected style. The reader may not fully grasp each stage of the particle trail--a rarefied world that is difficult even for experts to feel at home in. But the particle search that Johnson unfolds makes it clear how mathematical constructs give rise to funny sounding names like "quarks," which then lead researchers on a hunt to find them. Twentieth-century particle physics is strikingly close to Platonic philosophy, which suggests that the foundations of reality can never be known, but only surmised from shadows. Yet, even as Strange Beauty is eliciting all of these insights from the reader, it does so while still managing to to be a ripping good story.

Several years ago I was having lunch with Murray Gell-Mann. He lamented that one day a biography of him would appear and no doubt it would be written by a fool who would get it all wrong. This month the biography of Murray Gell-Mann, arguably the most influential physicist of the latter part of the twentieth century appeared, but it was neither written by a fool nor was it all wrong.A few years back, I read James Gleick's celebrated biography of Richard Feynman (Genius), the other great physicist of the latter part of the twentieth century, and Gell-Mann's closest rival and colleague. I felt that it suffered greatly from a problem that faces many biographers, that is, writing about someone you have never met. Gleick never met Feynman, much less knew him, and therefore it provided a distorted picture of the man. I never felt that Feynman's personality and thought process came through. Many of Feynman's closest intimates and family felt the same way and were more than disappointed by the biography.In contrast, when I read George Johnson's recent biography of Murray Gell-Mann (Strange Beauty), I couldn't help thinking, "That's Murray!" "Yes, that's Murray!" (Recently I spoke with some close friends of Gell-Mann who felt the same way.) Author Johnson did have the opportunity to spend a considerable amount of time with Gell-Mann and that certainly comes through. To a large degree you will get a strong sense of what Gell-Mann's personality is like. He can be extremely formidable, sarcastic with distinguished rivals as well as fools (he does not suffer fools gladly) and arrogant (adapting a phrase from Issac Newton, he once said, the reason I can see further than others is because I am surrounded by dwarfs). Yet, as Johnson points out, Gell-Mann is also a man who is also continually tormented by his own insecurities. Here is a man who has every reason to boast, and should not be insecure about his achievements. His contributions to theoretical physics during the second part of the twentieth century are legendary and perhaps unrivaled. Feynman paid Gell-Mann the ultimate complement after Gell-Mann was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1969, "Our knowledge of fundamental physics contains not one fruitful idea that does not carry the name of Murray Gell-Mann."The complex relationship between these two intellectual giants of physics, Gell-Mann and Feynman, warrants discussion. The two were close colleagues at the California Institute of Technology for almost thirty years. They started as close friends and then drifted apart. In this one area, I felt that Johnson did not fully understand the complex relationship and dynamic between the two men, both of whom I got the chance to know fairly well. One does get some brief glimpses of Gell-Mann's frustrations of their relationship, but one does not have any insight into Feynman's position. The author permits a treatment of Feynman that comes across a bit harsh and unsympathetic.