"In Losing the Nobel Prize, Brian Keating shares a view from the jagged frontiers of scientific exploration, offering fresh insights into the passions, ambitions, and competition that drive many researchers today. A fascinating journey."
"I loved this well-told tale of science, passion, and the pursuit—literally to the ends of the earth—of life’s purest questions. Brian Keating weaves together a must-read drama of big dreams, awe-inspiring technology, and a belief in the power of science to solve any puzzle. He is thoroughly modern and forward facing, questioning the veneration of the Nobel Prize, and making the case with his heartfelt story that the real prize is in the science itself."
"According to Brian Keating, the Oscar and Nobel science prizes have a lot in common. In Losing the Nobel Prize, he weaves together the Nobel Prize institution, his personal life, and his own involvement in modern cosmology into a multi-facetted and highly readable story. Providing a vivid picture of the adventurous and competitive world of cosmological research, he also suggests radical reforms to the venerable but perhaps outdated Stockholm institution."
"Our most august institutions—government, billion-dollar corporations, and even staid academia—are rife with human politicking and raw ambition. In Losing the Nobel Prize, Brian Keating describes just some of that jockeying and maneuvering among the smartest people in the world, studying the most abstruse and fundamental knowledge, while chasing humanity's greatest honor. Along the way, Keating provides understandable explanations of the more mind-bending aspects of modern cosmology, and just what we know about our universe."
"An extraordinary work of intellectual honesty. Astrophysicist Brian Keating explores the fascinating history and mixed effects of the Nobel Prize, especially on the field of physics. For a few years, Keating felt these effects, as people chattered about his own possible candidacy, before the chances and mischances of science changed course. That experience informs Losing the Nobel. An amazing journey."
"A riveting account of the rise and fall of the seeming confirmation of the cosmological theory of inflation... Keating offers vivid profiles of the personalities involved in shaping our modern view of the universe."
"A deeply personal journey that illuminates both the ultimate questions that cosmologists seek to answer, and the problems that we, as human beings, generate in the pursuit of those answers... Whether you're familiar with these ideas behind the evolution of our universe or have never heard the word 'inflation' before, Keating's narrative ensures you'll have the background you need to understand why this result was so sought-after."
"Three fascinating tales entwine between these covers; a young man growing to scientific maturity, an elusive baby picture of our universe, and the prize he hoped that picture would garner. The story, enthralling as it is, remains unfinished."
"Brian Keating is a wonderful storyteller with a very good story to tell. His tale is provocative and evocative as he takes us on a highly personal journey to the heart of the scientific exploration of the universe."
"Losing the Nobel Prize dissects the error-prone humanity of science, but cuts the ugly details with beauty... Charming and clever, Losing the Nobel Prize bounces between clear explanations of nitty-gritty science, accounts of personal relationships and historical lessons."
"Brian Keating describes the thrilling highs and dramatic lows that accompany the relentless pursuit of science’s top accolade. This is a personal, cautionary tale to which we should all listen."
"A fascinating blend of personal history and an honest behind-the-scenes look at high-stakes science. Brian Keating was at the origin of what appeared to be one of the most exciting discoveries in modern cosmology. His vivid storytelling brings humanity’s search for the origin of the Universe to life."
"A compelling personal memoir, a fascinating history of cosmology, and an interesting firsthand account of a dramatic scientific adventure."
"Brian Keating’s Losing the Nobel Prize tells an exciting story of breakthrough discoveries in modern cosmology, his personal hunt for signals from the Big Bang, and the pros and cons of Nobel dreams. The book is a page-turner. Keating’s misgivings about the role of the Nobel Prize as a driver of scientists to rush to discovery make for thought-provoking reading."
"Cosmologists had thought that they had glimpsed a distant image of the first moments of the universe. Instead, this image turned out to be ‘smudge on the window’: galactic dust once again bedeviling cosmologists. Keating conveys this exciting search through a personal tale of the ups and downs of cutting edge science."
"Brian Keating's compulsively readable book shows us the human side of science: the passion, the competition, the jealousies, the mistakes, the triumphs, the heartbreaks. A first-hand account of how science happens at the very highest levels."
"Part adventure story, part cautionary tale, Brian Keating’s Losing the Nobel Prize is that rare thing among popular science books—a page-turner."
"A riveting account of the rise and fall of the seeming confirmation of the cosmological theory of inflation... Keating offers vivid profiles of the personalities involved in shaping our modern view of the universe."
"[Keating] is a deft writer, interweaving the science with personal musings."
2018-02-06
An astrophysicist provides "an insider's glimpse into the power of the [Nobel] prize to refract reality, as it did for me, an astronomer who was once seemingly about to read the very prologue of the cosmos."In his first book, Keating (Physics/Univ. of California, San Diego) delivers a sometimes-confusing but always entertaining mixture of autobiography, denunciation of the Nobel Prize, and account of a complex experiment designed to discover evidence of cosmic inflation, an event predicted to follow the beginning of our universe, the Big Bang. In many ways, the Nobel Prize proceedings resemble the World Series. It certainly takes talent to get there, but winning requires many other factors, especially luck. In the case of the Nobel, it usually includes the necessities of being alive, male, skilled at public relations, not young, and—in the sciences—a member of a brilliant team. Keating concludes with suggestions for making the prize more equitable, which the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, having already changed Alfred Nobel's original rules, could accept if it chose. The author also delivers an intriguing account of a major ongoing research project. As a postdoctoral researcher, Keating conceived of a telescope to detect polarization of microwaves in the cosmic microwave background, which, if found, would provide the first evidence of cosmic inflation. He alternates between an explanation of the science with the technical and political problems that plagued the experiment. Worldwide headlines followed the announcement of success in 2014, but Keating was barely mentioned because he had been squeezed out. That the announcement was soon retracted does not assuage his resentment, and he blames his exclusion partly on cutthroat competition for a Nobel Prize.Although diagrams abound, cosmic microwave polarization is a difficult subject, and readers who have forgotten their college physics may struggle. Still, most will enjoy this behind-the-scenes view of the dog-eat-dog world of big science and agree that the Nobel Prize needs fixing.
"A fascinating autobiographical account, full of intriguing detail, of the passions and inspirations that underlie the scientific quest to comprehend the nature and origins of our universe.… A highly thoughtful and informative book."
"In this riveting personal account, Brian Keating writes frankly of his challenges, frustrations, and motivations during the years spent building and operating the instruments used to tackle one of the most fundamental problems in science: how our universe began."
"Visionary Brian Keating takes us along on a refreshing and honest journey to see how great discoveries are made and unmade. This is one of the greatest stories told in cosmology. I couldn’t put it down!"
"By losing the Nobel Prize, Keating… has led us to an even greater victory: the recognition that there are more important things in this Universe… than the fleeting glory of an earthly award."
"[Keating] is a deft writer, interweaving the science with personal musings."
"An engaging examination of challenges that scientists, especially cosmologists, face today."
"Brian Keating's riveting new book tells the inside story of the search for cosmic origins, emphasizing the influence of Nobel dreams and laying bare the question of whether the lure of grand prizes is ultimately a good thing for science."
