Dance for Two - by Alan Lightman (Paperback)

About the Book

The author of Einstein's Dreams now presents a collection of essays, written over the past 20 years, that displays his genius for bringing literary and scientific concerns into ringing harmony. Sometimes provocative, sometimes fanciful, always elegantly conceived and written, these meditations offer readers a fascinating look into the creative compulsions shared by the scientist and the artist.

Book Synopsis

For the last twenty years, Alan Lightman has been writing essays that display his genius for bringing literary and scientific concerns into harmony. Dance for Two gathers the best of Lightman's work.

Here are pieces that touch on both the ethereal and the corporeal; the dependence of a ballerina on the laws of physics, the choice of every scientist makes between tinkering and theorizing, the unscientific nature of discovery, the impulse behind an unprompted smile. Dance for Two is an intimate and fascinating look into the creative compulsions shared by the artist and the scientist.

Review Quotes

"Alan Lightman is one of our most consistently fascinating writers."
--Annie Dillard

"Lightman has an uncanny way of presenting complex concepts with familiar examples and analogies--so that readers will both deepen their appreciation of science and their love of fine literature."
--Stephen Jay Gould

"Novelist, essayist, physicist, and master of prose style, Alan Lightman continues his extraordinary voyage into unexplored regions of life, time, and the imagination. Dance for Two is a compelling book of flawless prose from a unique mind."
--Richard Preston

About the Author

ALAN LIGHTMAN is the author of seven novels, including the international best seller Einstein's Dreams and The Diagnosis, a finalist for the National Book Award. He has taught at Harvard and at MIT, where he was the first person to receive a dual faculty appointment in science and the humanities. He is the host of the public television series Searching: Our Quest for Meaning in the Age of Science. He is a professor of the practice of the humanities at MIT.