Book an insightful look at key scientists

THE AGE OF ENTANGLEMENT. By Louisa Gilder. Knopf. 445 pages. $27.50.

This is an astonishing effort for a first book. The courage and even audacity of a nonscientist to investigate the evolution of ideas about the most esoteric aspects of quantum physics are truly remarkable.

On the other hand, it had to be a nonscientist to create such a book because its strength lies in Louisa Gilder's portrayals of the psyches, personalities and insights of that small cadre of nuclear physicists who established the milestones of quantum mechanics. This is not the textbook one would pick up in order to learn quantum mechanics, but it is the book one should read before that first textbook on the subject.

The concepts are far from easy. As Niels Bohr, one of the giants of this arena, said, "Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory, cannot possibly have understood it."

Gilder's theme is that conversations were the key to the development of the theory, and the explorations of thousands of those conversations and letters are what give this book such a distinctive perspective. Many of the key players, such as Albert Einstein, were German, and many key breakthroughs occurred in the 1930s and '40s, so this story is not without its international drama.

Gilder is a phenomenal writer. One looks forward to her next effort with the hope it won't take the nine years of detailed research that this one did.