A Brilliant Darkness

The Extraordinary Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Ettore Majorana, the Troubled Genius of the Nuclear Age
by Joao Magueijo
$40.00

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On the night of March 26, 1938, nuclear physicist Ettore Majorana boarded a ship, cash and passport in hand. He was never seen again. In A Brilliant Darkness, theoretical physicist Joao Magueijo tells the story of Majorana and his research group, "the Via Panisperna Boys," who discovered atomic fission in...
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Published By Basic Books

Format Hardback

Number Of Pages 304

Publication Date 11/24/2009

ISBN 9780465009039

Dimensions 6.25 inches x 9.25 inches


Publishers Weekly
“Part mystery, part biography and part nuclear physics primer…. Magueijo's examination of Majorana…reveals a troubled, confounding man whose disappearance has inspired as many conspiracy theories as the Roswell incident.”

Library Journal
“[Magueijo] could have easily fallen into the jargon of his profession to describe the work of a fellow scientist, but he does not. His clear explanation of Majorana's insight into nuclear physics, often accompanied with drawings and illustrations, will appeal to a wide audience.”

SEEDMagazine.com
A Brilliant Darkness excavates Majorana's troubled life, explaining his contributions to physics and uncovering new clues about his peculiar disappearance more than 70 years ago.”

Booklist (starred review)
“Magueijo explains [Majorana's] scientific theories in mercifully simple terms. But what simple terms can illuminate a tortured and unstable personality, vulnerable to bouts of depression and prone to antisocial reclusiveness? The complexities of that personality resist assimilation into any of the standard explanations – suicide, kidnapping, flight, monastic retreat – for Majorana's disappearance. But astounded readers will thank Magueijo for his daring venture into the science and the psyche of a perplexing figure.”

 
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