This is an extraordinary book! Its aim is to explain quantum physics to the lay person and it does so with the most wonderful storytelling.

We learn about the people behind the theories and they are introduced with humour, insight and delightful personal details. The philosophy, the calculations, the tables and equations are touched upon but there are also references to literature, nature and a sense of wonder throughout.

This book is packed with information but you feel that you're reading a letter from a wise and kindly relative, or a generous and enthusiastic tutor. It's so simply, warmly and tenderly written.

Rovelli tells us how he made the decision to study physics (the course had the shortest queue when he was signing up at university) and how he immersed himself in reading matter to get up to speed on the subject ("I bought Dirac's book...it smelled good. I always sniff books before buying them: the smell of a book is decisive.")

"Every time that something solid is put into doubt or dismantled," he writes, "something else opens up and allows us to see further than we could before. Watching what appeared to be as solid as rock melt into air makes lighter, it seems to me, the transitory and bittersweet flowing of our lives." And, "We discover new maps for thinking about reality that describe the world to us a little more accurately. This is quantum theory."

He concludes the slim volume with Prospero's words from 'The Tempest'.

Reviewing this book for the 'Financial Times', Julian Baggini writes: 'A triumph...we are left in a world that is not disenchanted by science, but even more magical'. I agree completely. I felt that I was reading this book with a smile on my face, and unable to stop turning the pages. It's just stunning. I loved it!