Praise for The Quantum Labyrinth:

 

Readers soon see that Feynman achieved his breakthroughs in physics by collaborating with his mentor, John Wheeler…With the same clarity that has attracted readers to Einstein’s Dice and Schrödinger’s Cat and his other books of popular science, Halpern retraces the way this unlikely pair smashed traditional understandings of time…A compelling reminder that even the most triumphant science comes from vulnerable humans.

―Booklist (starred review)

Richard Feynman and John Wheeler, both consummate theoretical physicists, approached their subject in different ways. Feynman was a doer, Wheeler a dreamer. So Paul Halpern aptly describes them in The Quantum Labyrinth, his book about their lives, work and friendship, and the virtues of their complementary styles

―Nature

 

[Halpern] paints an evocative picture of the tension between cooperation and competition felt by researchers at the cutting edge.

―Library Journal

 

Go to any physics meeting and ask each person there for their list of the top ten most influential physicists of the 20th century. Lots of different names will appear, but everybody will name Einstein (of course!). Nearly all will mention Feynman and Wheeler, too. After reading Halpern’s thought-provoking book, you’ll understand why.

— Paul J. Nahin, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering at University of New Hampshire and author of In Praise of Simple Physics

 

In this exciting new book, Paul Halpern explores the strange counter-balance between two remarkable scientists. Everyone knows of Richard Feynman as a showman, but Halpern brings out Feynman’s true depth as a careful researcher of meticulous integrity and the perfect artisan to carry out John Wheeler’s revolutionary ideas. The result is a fascinating story.

— Frank Close, author of Half-Life and The Infinity Puzzle

 

The Quantum Labyrinth is the thoughtful and moving story of two great physicists and their entangled lives. Feynman and Wheeler’s exuberant creativity allowed them to explore the extremes of reality, finding the cracks and fissures of contemporary physics. Yet at the same time, they were instrumental in setting the foundations of our modern understanding of physical law.