Customer Reviews

Strings, Conformal Fields, and M-Theory (Graduate Texts in Contemporary Physics)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

A pedagogical, single volume, introduction to String Theory and M-theory which includes recent developments in the fields. Kaku makes it a point to present the important ideas in the beginning of each chapter and summarize them in the end, at times being overly repetitive. The organization is clear and self-consistent -- a combination of a historical and a well-conceived hierarchical approach. While more readable than Polchinski and more up-to-date compared to Green, Shwartz and Witten, Kaku's book seems to lack the elegance and clout of these standard texts. Includes useful appendix and index.

Like all books of Michio Kaku, the book is written nicely and the topics included are indeed modern and up to date. In order to understand it, it is recommended that one has done a course on superstring theory, preferably on infinite-dimensional Lie algebras and supersymmetry too, and that one has read some material on conformal field theory (good books are by di Francesco et al. and Ketov). Kaku goes very quickly through the more fundamental subjects before going into more difficult matter, such as string field theory, phenomenology and M-theory.
The book progresses fast beyond what might be known from basic graduate courses on superstring theory, but does not become too specific or detailed. It serves as a bridge to more advanced literature by providing somewhat more sophisticated knowledge than the average textbook (such as Polchinski).
The book is not completely self-contained, but a list of references is given at the end of each chapter, so one can find its way through the bits and pieces that are necessary to understand before proceeding.

So, in order to understand it, you need to read other books (e.g. first Zwiebach and then Polchinski or Green, Schwarz & Witten for more advanced topics and superstring theory). But in order to understand the literature, this book can be of assistance.

I really enjoyed the presentation of this book. My impression is that it would not be the best book for a first exposure to the topic. That being said, its excellent once you've encountered the concepts elsewhere so that's why I'm giving it 5 stars. Dr. Kaku has a gift for clear presentation that I haven't seen in other texts, plus he adds additional physical insight. The only item to note is he assumes a certain level of sophistication has been attained by the reader. So you should read Zweibach or Becker first, then add this one to your reading list.

This book covers alot of material but its a waste if you don't buy other books to instruct you on formula use.

For example: When proposing teleportation as an idea, he presents the quantum entanglement lab experiments that prove information between atoms can be transferred outside space-time faster than light speed. Then he proposes to use worm holes, which are warped space-time, instead of quantum entanglement. Sloppy. For consistency, he could have theorized the transfer of information through other dimensions.