Final Theory; A Novel
Sigrid Estrada (Author photograph) New York: Simon & Schuster [A Touchstone Book], 2008. First Touchstone Hardcover Edition [Stated]. First printing [stated]. Hardcover. [8], 359, [1] pages. DJ has hologram and some edge wear, wrinkling. Signed by the author on the page facing the title page. Seamlessly weaving real science, history, and politics with an intriguing love story, the author expertly combines fact and fiction with nonstop heart-pounding action in a plot that will have you breathlessly turning the pages until its explosive end. Final Theory has everything one can love in a novel: heart-pounding tension, astonishing plot twists, and fascinating science. Mark Alpert manages to make physics more thrilling than one could ever imagine. Real characters, real science, a deliciously explosive premise and a breakneck plot combine to make this one of the finest science-based thrillers to appear in a long time. Alpert has a rare gift for combining cutting edge science with an unrelenting pace and edge-of-the-seat action. When his physicist mentor is brutally murdered for his possible knowledge about Einstein's Unified Theory, Columbia University professor David Swift and his Princeton scientist girlfriend are swept up by a violent race between the FBI and a ruthless mercenary for control of the information and its staggering potential. With his love for science reawakened, he wrote his first novel, Final Theory, about Albert Einstein and the historic quest for the holy grail of physics, the Theory of Everything. Final Theory was hailed as one of the best thrillers of the year by Booklist, Borders and the American Booksellers Association. Foreign rights to the novel were sold in more than twenty languages, and the movie rights were acquired by Radar Pictures. Mark Alpert, author of Final Theory, The Omega Theory, Extinction, The Furies and The Six, is a contributing editor at Scientific American. In his long journalism career he has specialized in explaining scientific ideas to readers, simplifying esoteric concepts such as extra dimensions and parallel universes. And now, in his novels, Alpert weaves cutting-edge science into high-energy thrillers that elucidate real theories and technologies. A lifelong science geek, Alpert majored in astrophysics at Princeton University and wrote his undergraduate thesis on the application of the theory of relativity to Flatland, a hypothetical universe with only two spatial dimensions. (The resulting paper was published in the Journal of General Relativity and Gravitation and has been cited in more than 100 scholarly articles.) After Princeton, Alpert entered the creative writing program at Columbia University, where he earned an M.F.A. in 1984. In 1987 he became a reporter for Fortune Magazine and over the next five years he wrote about the computer industry and emerging technologies. During the 1990s Alpert began to write fiction, selling his first short story ("My Life with Joanne Christiansen") to Playboy in 1991. In 1998 Alpert joined the board of editors at Scientific American, where he edited feature articles for the magazine and wrote a column on exotic high-tech gadgets. His second book, The Omega Theory is a gripping story about religious fanatics who try to trigger Doomsday by altering the laws of quantum physics. His next thriller, Extinction, focused on brain-computer interfaces and a collective intelligence that decides to exterminate the human race. His fourth novel, The Furies, told the story of an ancient clan who share a genetic mutation so shocking that its discovery could change the course of history. Derived from a Publishers Weekly article: Alpert’s exciting debut takes the premise that Albert Einstein succeeded in discovering a unified field theory, but hid the result, fearing it could lead to weapons far more powerful than the atom bomb. In the present day, several contenders—the U.S. government, a savage mercenary bent on revenge, various scientists—all scramble to uncover the theory. Theoretical physicist Hans Kleinman, once one of Einstein’s assistants, is tortured by an intruder who demands he divulge the theory. Columbia University professor David Swift is at Kleinman’s bedside when the old man makes a few cryptic statements, imparts a string of numbers and then dies. Soon David is off and running for his life, as all the theory seekers give chase. David stays one step ahead with the help of the beautiful Monique Reynolds, another physicist. Alpert, a Scientific American columnist, sticks to proper thriller structure while imparting interesting and accessible science. The relentless action, including one giant twist and plenty of smaller ones, builds to a pulse-pounding conclusion. Condition: Very good / Good.
Keywords: Unified Field Theories; Physics Teachers, Fiction, Einstein, Murder, Monique Reynolds, Physicists, Columbia University, Hans Kleinman, Mercenary, Revenge, Sigrid Estrada
ISBN: 9781416572879
[Book #82551]
Price: $65.00