The Dancing Universe by Marcelo Gleiser **

Kepler "was known to have taken only one bath in his whole life." Newton, "as far as we know, died a virgin." In The Dancing Universe, Marcelo Gleiser unfolds the history of Physics and Creation, showing how beliefs about creation effected the evolution of physics, and how the evolution of physics effected beliefs about creation. These fundamental scientific questions (physics, cosmology) are ultimately intertwined with basic religious questions (creation).

The book mixes enough anecdotes and biographies maintain readability while presenting basic physics (gravity, electromagnetism, relativity, quantum mechanics, big bang). Physics was not one of my big successes in college - squeaking by with a C in the fourth (required) semester of Physics in college - but I found the book very readable (considering the material), except for the chapter on relativity.

I highly recommend the book to anyone with a passing interest in science history, especially an science teachers.