Mental workout

Do yourself a favour for 1996. Ignore the awkward size of From Quarks to the Cosmos ($l9.95, ISBN 0 7167 6012 6), buy it and start on an enjoyable explanation of the physics of the Universe, from the unimaginably small to the unimaginably large. This Scientific American Library book, by Leon M. Lederman and David N. Schramm, shows how the two themes are interacting to attack the most fundamental mysteries of nature with ingenuity and elegance. The photographs and diagrams are exemplary. The book is truly exhilarating.