How the Hippies Saved Physics: Science, Counterculture, and the Quantum Revival
“Starred Review. An enthusiastic account of a coterie of physicists who, during the 1970s, embraced New Age fads and sometimes went on to make dramatic discoveries…Readers will enjoy this entertaining chronicle of colorful young scientists whose sweeping curiosity turned up no hard evidence for psychic phenomena but led to new ways of looking into the equally bizarre quantum world.” (Kirkus Reviews)“Starred Review. Science has never been more unpredictable—or more entertaining!” (Booklist)“It is hard to write a book about quantum mechanics that is at once intellectually serious and a page-turner. But David Kaiser succeeds in his account of a neglected but important group of physicists who brought together quantum mechanics, Eastern religion, parapsychology and the hallucinogen LSD. … Illuminating.” (Hugh Gusterson - Nature)“Exhaustively and carefully researched. [Kaiser] has uncovered a wealth of revealing detail about the physicists involved, making for a very lively tale. … Fascinating.” (American Scientist)“This entertaining, worthwhile read is as much about the nature of society at the dawn of the New Age as it is about quantum physics.” (Choice)“Kaiser’s style is engaging, which makes this history of the time when physics left the short-sleeved white shirts, skinny ties and plastic pocket protectors behind one of the best science books of the year.” (Sacramento News & Review)“Meticulously researched and unapologetically romantic,How the Hippies Saved Physicsmakes the history of science fun again.” (Matthew Wisnioski - Science)“How the Hippies Saved Physicstakes readers on a mind-bending trip to the far horizons of science—a place where the counterculture’s search for a New Age of consciousness opened the door to a new era in physics. Who knew that the discipline that brought us the atom bomb had also glimpsed Utopia? Amazing.” (Fred Turner, author of From Counterculture to Cyberculture)