Heisenberg Biography

As the reviews in at the backcover stated, the writer deals thoroughly and fairly with the controversies surrounding this great scientist. This book gives a good overview of the man himself, his science, and the times he lived through. It is one of those works of enormous scope, that will probably not be topped. Just like the Making of the Atomic bomb or other alike tour the force works, it makes me wonder how many letters, sources, and interviews must have been worked through to make the picture come alive. This is the definitive work on Heisenberg, and it gives also the best explanation of how the quantum Copenhagen interpretation as well as the uncertainty principle work! So it is recommended for historians, for scientists, or people who have an interest in both. Very highly recommended!

"Uncertainty" is an outstanding piece of biographical and history of science writing. The only shortcomings of the book, in my view, are: 1) the short shrift it gives to WH's life and career post-WWII; and 2) its sometimes overly abstruse exposition of WH's science. Concerning this last point, Cassidy is clearly writing for an expert (or at least highly sophisticated lay) audience. Though I got the gist of much of the specialist detail in "Uncertainty", I would have appreciated and greatly profited from some more general discussion along the way. That said, Cassidy paints the science in sufficiently broad strokes that even the non-specialist can grasp (with some effort!) something of the beauty and complexity of quantum physics. I have always been fascinated with quantum physics. Having just finished "Uncertainty" I am all the more intent on brushing up my math and doing some serious study of the discipline. Books like "Uncertainty" inspire the quest for knowledge. Cassidy is to be commended.

A must for everyone. I would like to express my gratitude to his wife Janet for her many years of encourangement. If it was not for her would this great book have been created? Thank you Janet for the awesome book ( and i almost forgot to the author David Cassidy)

Cassidy has performed a biographical tour de force. He beautifully explicates Heisenberg's physics and all its ramifications, provides insightful portraits of Heisenberg's contemporaries and their roles in his life and work and at the same time unsentimentally analyzes Heisenberg the man. Cassidy gives us Heisenberg the genius and Heisenberg the Nazi collaborator. Yet his understanding of German culture and history is such that one comes away feeling entirely reeducated with respect to these cataclysmic events. His writing is lucid and vivid. My only criticisms are the lack of mathematical formulations- sometimes only the math can convey the principle- and his occasional failure to define more abstruse mathematical terms. Overall this is a magnificent work. Since this book was published, a publication of Bohr's diary revealed the content of their famous meeting. Heisenberg was looking for atomic secrets after all. Cassidy could not know this, of course. His demi-hero was just a bit more tarnished than his biographer had hoped.

Cassidy's book is simply superb. Few other biographies of scientific figures can rival this book's account of the 'figure' or the 'science'. This work is outstanding at every level. Read it and reap!