Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli review – quantum theory made charming

A brief attempt to engage readers in the biggest questions of physics dwells on beauty and wonder

In the early 1960s, famed physicist Richard Feynman developed a new lecture course for new undergraduates at the California Institute of Technology. Feynman aimed to turn the standard physics curriculum on its head, introducing young students to some of the most exciting questions in the field right away, rather than slogging through the usual staid topics en route to the research frontier.

By most accounts (including Feynman's own), the classroom experiment was a flop. Even in the hands of such an acclaimed teacher, the leap was just too far for most incoming students to handle. Yet all was not lost. The Feynman Lectures on Physics, first published in 1964, have become some of the most admired - even, cherished - lectures in modern science. Sales of the English-language edition have topped 1.5m copies, and counting. An abridged version, consisting of the more elementary material, was published under the title Six Easy Pieces.