The Beauty of Falling

“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”[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”[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 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“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!”[de Rham] provides an entertaining and insightful history and explanation of gravity infused with personal reminiscences and anecdotes.” * Choice *“‘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“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 *

Claudia de Rham is professor of 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.