Customer Reviews

Physics for future Presidents, Fall 2007 edition

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A former student, both a physics and political science major, recommended this text to me. It is a great way to present physics to non-science students. In fact, the content is such that U Cal Berkeley allows physics majors to take the course for credit. It is not something they learn in normal physics courses. But they should know this stuff.

Since I have been given the task to teach an introductory non-science major course, I will borrow heavily from this text. The course will be quite different from what is normally taught, but it is worth it. Students should remember this, as it is relevant to their lives. My only complaint is that the book I received had numerous garbled text entries in the footnotes.

While cleverly titled as a book for future presidents, "Physics for Future Presidents: The Science Behind the Headlines" is an excellent resource for all, particularly for those who have been confused and/or dismayed by conflicting opinions and data on important science-based global issues of the day - terrorism, energy, nukes, space, and global warming. Physics Professor (UC Berkeley), "MacArthur Fellowship" winner, and now author, Richard Muller, does an excellent job in setting the record straight for a global public victimized by "experts" and politicians who have been distorting, exaggerating, and cherry-picking the evidence to advance personal agendas as well as by the fourth estate, the mainstream media, who has been complicit with news bias and an intellectual laziness in ferreting out the facts.

This very well written and easy to read book has been written for the lay audience. Those who take the time to read "Physics for Future Presidents" will be well informed and well prepared to discuss these issues from a position of knowledge rather than opinion drawn from the lay press. You will learn about the difference between uranium and plutonium bombs, the difficulty of enriching uranium (Iran), the most probable future terrorist attacks, the truth about solar power and all other alternative energy sources, the realities of human space travel, the science behind low to high orbit satellites, the probability of cancer resulting from radiation exposure, the future of oil, the real cost of energy, and the importance of energy conservation.

"Physics for Future Presidents" covers the most essential facts and ideas enabling readers to understand the science behind the headlines, to discern distortions and personal agendas, and to participate fully in any discussion with friends, families, and associates. I have found this, despite my technical and science background, to be one of the most useful books I have read over the past four years. Muller does an excellent job in entertaining while laying out scientific principles critical to understanding today's world simply.