Susskind, Leonard. The Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design.(Brief Article)(Book Review)

Susskind, Leonard. The Cosmic Landscape: String Theory and the Illusion of Intelligent Design. Little, Brown. 2005. 384p. illus. ISBN 0-316-15579-9. $24.95. SCI

Susskind (theoretical physics, Stanford Univ.) is widely regarded as the father of string theory. He applies the "diverse valleys" of that theory to our understanding of the universe but puts forth the "megaverse," of which our universe is only one small pocket. Susskind reviews a great deal of physics for the reader, from Feynman's diagrams to Einstein's theories of gravity and the cosmological constant to the Standard Model of Physics. While acknowledging the "uniqueness" and "elegance" of much of …