As an engaging introduction to an enthralling science, for people who've never studied physics, this book is fantastic. I appreciated the historical approach to the topic, learning one piece of the puzzle at a time in the order of those who made the discoveries; I feel like this really helped my understanding. I'm someone who has held a fear of math and physics for years, but Zukav writes in a clear and thorough fashion, stopping himself every once a while to ensure that the reader is with him. The average layperson could learn the basics of complicated physics from this book, easily.

Only when Zukav makes large leaps into philosophy, full of holes and assumptions and "logical" ruling-out of other possible explanations (despite a whole chapter praising Einstein for approaching physics with a beginner's mind not bothered with traditional conclusions of what is and is not possible), does he stumble. I knew going into it that he wrote this book with a particular readership in mind but to my surprise, I felt like I actually could have used MORE math, MORE in-depth explanation, and less sweeping extrapolation; this is no fault of the author's though, and I will have to credit him with encouraging me to study physics in greater depth.

In summary: a superb, well-written introduction to new physics, whose only flaw (to my tastes at least) is a penchant for applying the knowledge to big-picture philosophical levels-- which isn't really something that anyone as clearly fascinated by the discovery of these new physics as Zukav is can be faulted for :)