The Beauty of Falling - by Claudia de Rham

Book Synopsis

A world-renowned physicist seeks gravity's true nature and finds wisdom in embracing its force in her life

Claudia de Rham has been playing with gravity her entire life. As a diver, experimenting with her body's buoyancy in the Indian Ocean. As a pilot, soaring over Canadian waterfalls on dark mornings before beginning her daily scientific research. As an astronaut candidate, dreaming of the experience of flying free from Earth's pull. And as a physicist, discovering new sides to gravity's irresistible personality by exploring the limits of Einstein's general theory of relativity. In The Beauty of Falling, de Rham shares captivating stories about her quest to gain intimacy with gravity, to understand both its feeling and fundamental nature. Her life's pursuit led her from a twist of fate that snatched away her dream of becoming an astronaut to an exhilarating breakthrough at the very frontiers of gravitational physics.

While many of us presume to know gravity quite well, the brightest scientists in history have yet to fully answer the simple question: what exactly is gravity? De Rham reveals how great minds--from Newton and Einstein to Stephen Hawking, Andrea Ghez, and Roger Penrose--led her to the edge of knowledge about this fundamental force. She found hints of a hidden side to gravity at the particle level where Einstein's theory breaks down, leading her to develop a new theory of "massive gravity." De Rham shares how her life's path turned from a precipitous fall to an exquisite flight toward the discovery of something entirely new about our surprising, gravity-driven universe.

Review Quotes

"The Beauty of Falling is a great book for young women in STEM to check out not only for interesting perspectives on gravity, but also to connect with de Rham through her story of being a woman in science."---Hailey Dickinson, Yahoo!

"The Beauty of Falling is an enjoyable and relatively quick read: a first-hand and personal glimpse into the life of a theoretical physicist and the process of discovery."---Kurt Hinterbichler, Cern Courier

"'What exactly is gravity?' is the question that drives Claudia de Rham's explorations of the puzzling, irresistible force that governs our universe. This part-memoir, part-textbook begins with a crash course in gravity's fundamental nature, from Newton and Galileo to black holes and dark energy. . . . The best moments, though, are when de Rham recounts her own interfaces with gravity--as a scuba diver, pilot, aspiring astronaut and theoretical physicist--giving this force an alluring personality."---Lucy Tu, Scientific American

"[de Rham] provides an entertaining and insightful history and explanation of gravity infused with personal reminiscences and anecdotes."-- "Choice"

"[De Rham's] sense of wonderment is infectious. . . . de Rham's writing sometimes floats beyond gravity when considering concepts of curiosity, rules, uncertainty, perseverance, and most notably, failure. She decides that the benefit of falling is the opportunity to successfully get back up."---Tony Miksanek, Booklist

"[The book] describes physics in a way that is honest, clear and decidedly real. . . . An interesting story told by a warm, eager narrator."---Amy Arthur, BBC Sky at Night

"An excellent primer."---Dylan Neri, The Spectator

"Highlighting the main theories of gravity from Newton and Einstein to Hawking and Roger Penrose, [De Rham] produces a comprehensive overview of her scientific obsession."---Hannah Beckerman, The Observer

"Those who enjoy the work of James Gleick and Brian Greene will find [The Beauty of Falling] an intriguing read. At the leading edge of science, this book combines innovative research with a personal story."-- "Kirkus Reviews"

About the Author

Claudia de Rham is professor and director of the Abdus Salam Centre for Theoretical Physics at Imperial College London and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The recipient of numerous prizes and awards, she is ranked among the most influential researchers in fundamental physics of the past decade.