*Starred Review* In February 2016, astrophysicists around the world erupted in shouts of triumph at the announcement that colleagues using massive detectors in Washington State and Louisiana had heard a faint chirp attributable to gravitational waves of the sort postulated by Einstein a century ago. Herself an accomplished physicist, Levin guides general readers through the daring thinking of the theorists who first dreamed of developing observational equipment capable of detecting the faint gravitational waves generated when distant black holes collide, so distorting space-time. Such visionaries including Rai Weiss, Kip Thorne, and Ron Drever believed that detecting such waves would enable humankind to finally listen to the universe's deepest cosmic sound track. But readers soon learn of the daunting difficulties inherent in designing and building the necessary observational equipment, difficulties so immense that they repeatedly frustrate brilliant minds and shipwreck promising careers. But dauntless pioneers pushed through the difficulties, so making February 2016's breakthrough possible by constructing the prodigiously costly two-site Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO). Though readers will marvel at the intellectual genius of those responsible for this feat, Levin delivers them as complete and complex personalities, sometimes congenial, sometimes prickly, sometimes just odd! An engrossing chronicle of scientific discovery, certain to attract a wide readership.--Christensen, Bryce Copyright 2017 Booklist

On the 100th anniversary of Einstein's prediction that gravitational waves distort space-time, an acclaimed astrophysicist provides a thrilling insider's look at the extraordinary scientific team that devised and built the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, which conducted the first experiment to ever observe gravitational waves. In Einstein's 1916 paper describing the general theory of relativity, he predicted that gravitational wavessuch as those created when two black holes collidewould warp the fabric of space-time in predictable patterns. A century later, scientists at LIGO empirically verified his claim by detecting waves that have been "ringing" through space since the moment of collision over 1 billion years ago. Levin's (Physics and Astronomy/Barnard Coll.; A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines, 2006, etc.) authoritative account of the brilliant physicists and engineers who envisioned such a remarkable experiment places readers right in the middle of the action, tracing LIGO's evolution from an inspired idea in the 1970s to the most expensive project in the history of the National Science Foundation. She perfectly captures the fast-paced, forward-thinking, bureaucracy-averse atmosphere of a large-scale scientific experiment, but she also lays bare the decades of interpersonal strife that, at times, threatened to undermine the experiment's success. The author's portrait of these pioneers is especially engaging for her ability to contextualize humanness not just within the scope of the physical experiment, but in the face of such dizzying stakessurely a Nobel is on the line and has been since the beginning. Levin herself is also wondrously present in this narrative, nimbly guiding readers through scientific jargon and reminding us of the enormous profundity of modern physics. "A vestige of the noise of the [black hole] crash," she writes, "has been on its way to us since early multicelled organisms fossilized in supercontinents on a still dynamic Earth." A superb alignment of author and subject: Levin is among the best contemporary science writers, and LIGO is arguably the most compelling experiment on the planet. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In this engaging narrative, Levin (physics & astronomy, Barnard Coll.; A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines) briefly summarizes the 100-year search for gravitational waves. Since Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity predicted in 1916 that the collision of black holes could be detected by the energy produced, scientists have experimented with ways to capture energy that can only be heard. Levin tells the story of the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), the largest endeavor ever undertaken by the National Science Foundation, founded in the 1980s to detect and study gravitational waves. Interviews with students and colleagues reveal the decades of accomplishments and setbacks of an international cast of scientists and researchers. VERDICT This timely book enlarges the much-covered story of the proof of gravitational waves uncovered by LIGO in 2015. Levin relates a complicated subject conversationally in a way that will appeal to those interested in current events and scientific discovery.-Catherine Lantz, Univ. of Illinois at Chicago Lib. © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

The search for gravitational waves began in the 1960s with large aluminum bar detectors designed by Joseph Weber. However, better sensitivity was needed, so large interferometer detectors were designed and improved by others over several decades. The first realistic claim for the detection of gravitational waves was reported in February 2016 by the Advanced LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) collaboration headed by Caltech and MIT, whose two separate interferometer detectors on September 14, 2015, simultaneously sensed the merger of two massive black holes with signals lasting only a few tenths of a second. Here, Levin (Barnard College) presents the arduous history of LIGO, reporting on many of the personal, financial, and managerial problems experienced over 30 years, including struggles to obtain separate, continuous funding as well as find strong leadership for an extremely difficult project involving more than a thousand people worldwide over the decades. The principal driving forces were two disparate but brilliant experimental physicists, Ron Drever and Rai Weiss, and the theoretical physicist Kip Thorne, and this is their story. Extremely well written for general readers; for researchers, a useful index but few references except to some oral interviews in the Caltech archives. Summing Up: Recommended. All library collections. --Franklin Potter, University of California, Irvine

BLACK HOLE BLUES: And Other Songs From Outer Space, byJanna Levin. (Anchor, $16.) Levin tells the story of gravitational waves - "ripples" in the fabric of space-time first theorized by Einstein - and the scientists who built a machine to detect them nearly 100 years later. The collision of two black holes in 2015 allowed researchers to record the first sounds from space, concluding a 50-year experiment. MY STRUGGLE, BOOK 5: Some Rain Must Fall, by Karl Ove Knausgaard. Translated by Don Bartlett. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux, $18.) In my struggle 14 years that this volume karl ove spans, the one constant is Knausgaard's drive for literary success; the book, the penultimate installment of his autobiographical work, follows him from age 19 through the end of his first marriage, and sees him enter a prestigious writing program and secure a book deal. IN PRAISE OF FORGETTING: Historical Memory and Its Ironies, by David Rieff. (Yale University, $16.) Rieff, who as a journalist witnessed firsthand the atrocities of the Bosnian war, outlines a humane case against memorializing tragedies. Rather than helping people to heal, he argues, collective memories can often stoke generational hatred; common defenses of public memorials, such as the hope of preventing future atrocities, are naive. RAZOR GIRL, by Carl Hiaasen. (Vintage Crime/ Black Lizard, $15.95.) A cast of comic, only-in-Florida characters carry out this novel's elaborate farce: Lane, a Hollywood agent kidnapped in error after a fender-bender; his client, the star of a lowbrow reality show; and the woman of the title, who takes Lane hostage. Hiaasen's prose helps to keep "everything at the right temperature," our reviewer, Terrence Rafferty, wrote. "In Florida, you have to know how to stay cool." DIMESTORE: A Writer's Life, by Lee Smith. (Algonquin, $15.95.) This collection of autobiographical essays sketches out the Appalachian coal-mining town in Virginia where Smith grew up - before Walmart arrived, her father's store was demolished or country became cool. One thing about the South that will never change? "We Southerners love a story," Smith writes, "and we will tell you anything." HOMEGOING, by Yaa Gyasi. (Vintage, $16.) Starting in 18th-century Ghana, the lineages of two half sisters - one married to a white man and living in comfort, the other sold into slavery - unfold in Africa and the United States. Our reviewer, Isabel Wilkerson, said the novel offers what "enslavement denied its descendants: the possibility of imagining the connection between the broken threads of their origins."

Following the detection of gravitational waves 100 years after Einstein predicted their existence, Levin, a professor of physics and astronomy at Barnard College, goes behind the scenes for a chatty insider's look at the brilliant, eccentric people who continued the search for the elusive phenomenon. Much of the book is told through conversations with the major players involved with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), particularly Kip Thorne and Rainer Weiss, along with an earlier researcher's taped interview with Ron Drever. The scientists' personalities are evident in their stories, which are interlaced with clear explanations of the science of black holes. As is often the case in cutting-edge science, clashes were inevitable. There was professional jealousy; there was selfless collaboration. And all the while, there was the possibility that it was a fool's dream. Levin delves into the backgrounds of numerous researchers, painting a sad picture of Joe Weber, a pioneer in the field who erred in his calculations and was left behind. Few of the interviewees mince words, offering unvarnished perspectives on the conflicts and obstacles as well as the camaraderie of those involved. Levin tells the story of this grand quest with the immediacy of a thriller and makes the fixations and foibles of its participants understandable. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.