James Gleick (born August 1, 1954) is an American author, journalist, and biographer, whose books explore the cultural ramifications of science and technology. Players show up in one chapter, abruptly disappear in the next, and sometimes reappear years (chapters) later. To be honest I'd say it's not for the faint-hearted but if you're "into" this kind of thing then you'll most likely enjoy "Chaos". Uncover one of the most exciting frontiers of modern physics in this fascinating, insightful and accessible overview of Chaos theory.

Chaos theory is considered as the third revolution in 20th-century science that uses traditional mathematical ways of understanding and explaining complex natural systems. Too heavy on human interest, too light on maths, and Gleick has read more Kuhn than is good for him.

The greatest discoveries of the 20th Century physics include Relativity Theory, Quantum Theory and Chaos Theory.

I was never put off by the 'technical' words, thoroughly absorbed the diagrams and as for the coloured designs. So I got exactly what I was looking for and now I can talk about chaos theory Jurassic Park style, which is all I wanted. Gleick very effectively conveys the science, the excitement the early scientists working on it felt, and the challenges that faced them. The book could have benefited from a lecture style presentation, with clear chapter introductions and summaries, so that I could see how it all fit together, not to mention what year he was currently talking about.This is one of the first books that was ever written on the chaos theory, and has also been nominated for various book prizes. This strange results were of great interest to mathematicians, especially topologists, who study shapes.

Whilst I confess to not getting very far with it, actually from the pages I read, I found some very interesting ideas about science and maths. The most interesting chapters were the final two, about the possible application to physiology and then a summary of the concept. Because of this, I found the book frustrating - both too complex to really grasp, and too superficial to really provide useful insight into the concept. At the same time, it was received with suspicion, after all it lacked a solid link with the natural world, and some thought of it as some kind of geometrical shapes obtained by someone playing with a computer.Chaos: Making a New Science, was a finalist for both the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize in 1987, and was shortlisted for the Science Book Prize in 1989. It portrays the efforts of dozens of scientists whose separate work contributed to the developing field. Gleick's way of telling the stories makes the reader share in the wonder and incredulity of each pioneer as he stumbled upon this hitherto unguessed truth of nature. Various concepts such as the butterfly effect, universal constants, and strange attractors are discussed at a length in the book.