The new cult book... likely to become this year's stocking-filler sensation Evening Standard A suprise bestseller Daily Telegraph, Best 100 books for Christmas Sparse, elegant and most of all readable... at the end of it you feel more clever. Rovelli has achieved something unheard of in books about theoretical physics: most of the people who have started his book have also probably finished it -- Tom Whipple The Times Wonderfully clear and vivid. Carlo Rovelli manages to convey the mystery of very large things and very small things with brilliant effect -- Philip Pullman, author of His Dark Materials If you want to understand what gets physicists out of bed in the morning, there is no better guide than Rovelli... Seven Brief Lessons on Physics is an absorbing, lovely book... This is physics as romantic poetry and, by God, it's beguiling -- Michael Brooks New Statesman A startling and illustrative distillation of centuries of science... Mr Rovelli moves elegantly between illustrative metaphors, without ever mixing or belabouring any of them... The book's triumph lies not only in presenting some of the headiest stuff science has produced in so few pages, but also in giving real insight into how science treats those ideas Economist The slim volume is stereotypically the province of poetry, but this beautifully designed little book shows that science, with its curiosity, its intense engagement with what there really is, its readiness to jettison received ways of seeing, is a kind of poetry too Financial Times Will find its way into Christmas stockings this year -- Jim Naughtie Today Programme, BBC Radio 4 Rovelli has a rare knack for conveying the top line of scientific theories in clear and compelling terms without succumbing to the lure of elaborate footnotes... a breath of fresh air -- Nicola Davis Observer Utterly blown away by the concise beauty of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli. Science as poetry. Awe inspiring -- Michael Bhaskar, author of The Content Machine No one should hold office unless they have read Carlo Rovelli's Seven Brief Lessons on Physics -- Nick Harkaway, author of The Gone-Away World and Angelmaker Brilliant... In a mere 78 pages, he paints a magnificent fresco, depicting with sweeping brushstrokes the great ideas and discoveries that revolutionised physics and our understanding of the world in the 20th century... Rovelli writes with clarity and verve, vividly bringing to life concepts that can often appear incomprehensible, and inviting readers to see the world anew. Few writers, let alone physicists, capture the beauty of nature and the excitement of its discovery in such clear, rich prose... It's hard to imagine a more coherent, inspiring introduction to modern physics. It really is an enchanting little volume New Scientist Delightful... The metaphors are vivid, the visions dramatic Nature Carlo Rovelli explains what makes us who we are, how the universe spins around us (or rather, how it doesn't) and most importantly how to put your physicist friends on the back foot by casually dropping an equation into polite conversation Big Issue Carlo Rovelli has never been afraid to challenge the status quo -- Morgan Freeman Science Channel Plain words can be utterly beautiful when they tell a thrilling story. Carlo Rovelli's words take us on a great adventure as the human mind reaches out to understand the universe. The book is a joy -- Alan Alda Intense and extremely beautiful Corriere della Sera Scientists are poets and their theories appear to capture the meaning of everything La Stampa

Carlo Rovelli is a theoretical physicist who has made significant contributions to the physics of space and time. He has worked in Italy and the US, and is currently directing the quantum gravity research group of the Centre de Physique Theorique in Marseille, France. Seven Brief Lessons on Physics was an instant number one bestseller in Italy and has been translated into 24 languages.