Though published in 1979, and written by a fairly intelligent non-physicist, I'm assuming it is still a good layman's introduction to the tectonic shift in physics that the 20th century witnessed through the great minds of Plank, Bohr, Einstein, and Heisenberg. I'm not qualified to weigh in on whether such a book remains a good introduction to the then 'new physics' in 2016, but I can certainly say I enjoyed it and appreciate the care taken to explain the headiness of the theories of special and general relativity, quantum uncertainty, and Bell's theorem.

Having said that, Zukav could have done away with the unnecessary parentheticals every time he (un)intentionally puns (please!), or makes use of his initially dimwitted debate partner 'Jim de Wit', who inexplicably becomes better versed in the new physics throughout the book. And at some points the repetition in his explanations could have benefited from a simple mutatis mutandis.

If the reader had wished for a better balance with the assumed thesis (though explicitly denied by Zukav early on), that the new physics just is what Buddhists and Taoists have known all along, you will be disappointed. Though he does occasionally drop such 'truths' that there really is a link between the 'Eastern religions' and the increasingly mystifying discoveries and theorizations within the new physics, he does not offer enough textual support from the Eastern religions to maintain such a thesis - which, again, despite the odd reference to koans here and there, is not Zukav's aim in this book.

So, take it with a grain of salt - written by a mostly spiritual author, inspired on a trip to the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California (Google it - you'll get the picture), The Dancing Wu Li Masters is itself a trip in sobered-up post-hippism that finds the "far out, man" in the truly far out, and far in, of quantum mechanics and particle physics.

In two words: Hippy Physics. Zukav published this manuscript in the 1970s and it really shows. Quantum theory was just coming into it's own and American exploration with mysticism and the philosophies of the East may have seemed like a perfect pair at the time. Some aspects of the comparison are compellingly coincidental I'd say, and there are times where Zukav tries to hard. In particular, I think the Taoist, and to a lesser extent, the Buddhist comparisons are the richest.

But this is by no means the focus of the book. Religion seems to play an anecdotal role in this general outline of the state of physics in the 1970s. Zukav does an admirable job visualizing things that defy visualization and does a very good job at explaining complex physical experiments and quantum behavior with rich historical references scattered throughout. An overarching theme of the book is how reality defies symbolic expression, especially at the higher levels of physics to which we seem to be progressing. It seemed in the 70s that we'd eventually hit a wall where language fails us. On the surface, this seems true as most of the modern work in physics seems to have abandoned the conventions of English and elevated to the realm of pure mathematics. But there are a host of modern popular physics authors who have defied this convention quite nicely, most notably Brian Greene and Michio Kaku.

A good book for students of physics and of logic in general, when taken with the proper dose of historical context.

No words just wonder.

For such a mystical sounding title, Zukav really doesn't spend that much time discussing Eastern philosophy except to point out the obvious: that both physics and Eastern philosophy suggest that 'we are all connected'.

The bulk of the book is really more a primer on quantum mechanics from a non-mathematical perspective. Zukav did an excellent job (in my humble layman's opinion), of covering the history and evolution of thought in physics AND relating the basics of quantum mechanics in a very logical, relatable, manner.

I should be clear though, this isn't a book for scientists. It's a book for the fans-- for people who wonder in awe at the nature of the universe and want to know more about all this cool weird shit going in at the subatomic level while still keeping our day jobs. If you want to debate the utility of the S-Matrix, this book is not for you. Put it down and go read something else. [Responding to some 2* reviews, here]

But if you think physics is super cool and you want to get a good historical overview of how quantum theory came to be.... you'll be pretty happy with this one.

One last thing- don't be put off by the publication date (1979). The scope of the book will still do well to give you a solid basis on which to go read about the standard model or string theory later if you want.

Scope: Newton, the Great Machine, Copenhagen Interpretation of Quantum Mechanics, Planck's Constant, Einstien, photoelectric effect, double-slit experiment, wave-particle duality, wave function, probability function, Theory of Measurement, Many Worlds Interpretation, Schroedinger's Cat, quantum model of the atom, Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, S-Matrix, Special Theory of Relativity, Galilean relativity, Michelson-Morley experiment, Lorentz transformations, General Theory of Relativity, space-time, mass-energy, gravity and acceleration, black holes, particle physics, quantum numbers, angular momentum, anti-particles, Feynman diagrams, strong/weak forces, S-Matrix, Bell's Theorem, polarization of light, superpositions, quantum topology, superdeterminism, quantum logic, philosophy of quantum mechanics.

Recommendations I found for follow-up reading:
The Elegant Universe -- Brian Greene
Six Easy Pieces -- Richard Feynman
QED -- Richard Feynman
Some people said they really liked reading this with Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

IF you do not know about quantum mechanics, this book might be interesting. If you know some about quantum mechanics (The Elegant Universe or the Fabric of the Universe.) then this book is simplistic and the explanations are not helpful. In addition, some of the comparisons he makes to other fields (ie- psychology, philosophy, etc) are incorrect or misleading. Read Brian Greene or watch the PBS specials for a better knowledge base.

Rats ... I should have read this 30 years ago!

"Prove that a uniform body with three mutually perpendicular axes of symmetry cannot rotate stably about the axis of intermediate length"

I remember it like it was yesterday. This was a question I faced on a second year classical mechanics exam. I got the question right, by the way. As a matter of fact, I scored a perfect 100% on the entire exam but it bothered me immensely that I should be able to prove something mathematically without having the foggiest inkling as to "why" it should be so at a much more fundamental level.

In fact, it troubled me so deeply that after I received my undergraduate degree in Physics, I declined to pursue any further education in the field and went on to a career in business and finance.

In The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Gary Zukav has written a superb explanation as to why my lack of understanding was so normal and why I should have embraced that lack of understanding as opposed to running away from it. In very clear prose, completely devoid of the baffling language of mathematical equations, he has written a story for those of us interested in exploring the mind-expanding (nay, mind-blowing) discoveries of modern advanced physics and cosmology -quantum mechanics; black holes; time travel; entanglement; action at a distance; special and general relativity; the nuclear particle zoo; and much, much more.

I reveled in the discovery that even Einstein struggled with the notion that he would never be able to compare his mathematical models with the "real" mechanism. Indeed, he couldn't even imagine the meaning of such a comparison.

A magnificent blend of philosophy, eastern mysticism and modern physics, Zukav's The Dancing Wu Li Masters is perhaps best summarized by a single sentence from a New York Times Book Review:

"Stripped of mathematics, physics becomes pure enchantment ... "

While this isn't a book that would likely be accessible to someone without a foot already inside physics' door, it is a breathtaking, joyous revelation to people like myself who have that basic grounding and are looking to increase their knowledge.

What the heck, if I had read this in the 1970s instead of waiting until now ... who knows, my entire life and career path might have been changed.

Highly recommended.

Paul Weiss

This book is great if you want to learn about advanced physics without getting bogged down in any mathematical/scientific terminology. Through discussions about general and special theories of relativity, quantum mechanics, and other theories about the universe, the author challenges us to look at the world differently and encourages us to be more open to different possibilities.

This took me a while to get through, but I learned so much. It explains quantum principles in layman's terms, insofar as such is possible. It also makes the connections between Quantum and Eastern (e.g. Buddhist, Taoist) explanations of reality. Really fascinating stuff. Not a light read. But whether you're interested in Eastern philosophy, Quantum principles, or metaphysics, it's really worth sifting through.