Did Newton "unweave the rainbow" by reducing it to its prismatic colors, as Keats contended? Did he, in other words, diminish beauty? Far from it, says acclaimed scientist Richard Dawkins; Newton's unweaving is the key to much of modern astronomy and to the breathtaking poetry of modern cosmology.

Mysteries don't lose their poetry because they are solved: the solution often is more beautiful than the puzzle, uncovering deeper mysteries. With the wit, insight, and spellbinding prose that have made him a best-selling author, Dawkins takes up the most important and compelling topics in modern science, from astronomy and genetics to language and virtual reality, combining them in a landmark statement of the human appetite for wonder.

This is the book Richard Dawkins was meant to write: a brilliant assessment of what science is (and isn't), a tribute to science not because it is useful but because it is uplifting.

In Search of Schrödinger's Cat tells the complete story of quantum mechanics, a truth far stranger than any fiction.

Quantum theory is so shocking that even Einstein could not bring himself to accept it. It is critically important, providing the fundamental underpinning of all modern sciences. Without it, we'd have no nuclear power, no lasers, no TV, and no computers. The science of molecular biology, understanding of DNA, and genetic engineering would be nonexistent.

John Gribbin takes us step-by-step into an ever more bizarre and fascinating place, requiring only an open mind. He introduces the scientists who developed quantum theory and investigates the atom, radiation, time travel, the birth of the universe, superconductors, and life itself.

In a world full of its own delights, mysteries, and surprises, he searches for Schrödinger's Cat—a search for quantum reality—as he brings every reader to a clear understanding of the most important area of scientific study today: quantum physics.