Knowing: The Nature of Physical Law.

Most of the major discoveries in the physical sciences have depended on corresponding advances in mathematics. However, Munowitz writes, the difficulty of mathematics often prevents the layperson from fully understanding these physical laws. A chemical physicist turned writer, the author attempts to alleviate this problem by explaining the fundamental laws of physics without confusing readers with an excess of equations. Instead, he uses diagrams and straightforward explanations to illustrate the principles of relativity, gravity, motion, electricity, and magnetism. Munowitz even extends this simplified approach to the advanced topics of dark matter, string theory, and supersymmetry. The result is an easily grasped overview of how the universe works. Oxford Univ. Press, 2005, 418 p., b&w illus., hardcover, $35.00.