A transfixing deep dive into the origins of our world, How to Make an Apple Pie from Scratch examines not just the makeup of our universe, but the awe-inspiring, improbable fact that it exists at all.
In How to Make an Apple Pie from Scratch, Harry Cliff—a University of Cambridge particle physicist and researcher on the Large Hadron Collider—sets out in pursuit of answers. He ventures to the largest underground research facility in the world, deep beneath Italy's Gran Sasso mountains, where scientists gaze into the heart of the Sun using the most elusive of particles, the ghostly neutrino. He visits CERN in Switzerland to explore the "Antimatter Factory," where the stuff of science fiction is manufactured daily (and we're close to knowing whether it falls up). And he reveals what the latest data from the Large Hadron Collider may be telling us about the fundamental nature of matter.
Along the way, Cliff illuminates the history of physics, chemistry, and astronomy that brought us to our present understanding—and misunderstandings—of the world, while offering readers a front-row seat to one of the most dramatic intellectual journeys human beings have ever embarked on.
"Cliff draws readers into the bizarre and beautiful world inside the atom....[An] outstanding book, sometimes as funny as The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.... The book for anyone who wants to understand some of the world’s most important scientific questions." — Kirkus (starred review)
“Fascinating…Cliff is an expert writer who artfully takes on a complex subject in a comprehensible, entertaining, and humorous manner.” — Library Journal (starred review)
"An enthusiastic tour of the universe and modern physics....Enlightening....Cliff describes complex ideas vividly and accessibly, and he’s got a knack for making theory exciting. This enlightening and entertaining outing is worth savoring." — Publishers Weekly(starred review)
