A solid history sprinkled with a playful sense of humor, but at times waxes a bit technical for the layperson--and even for someone with a few university physics courses under their belt. ( )

Having heavily criticized the author's other book I must say this was surprisingly good. I understand superconductivity well now, and the book leaves no nagging questions about it's central themes, unlike 'Magnetism: A Very Short Introduction'. However, some tangential details like why do gases cool when expanded (when basic thermodynamics would lead you to guess the opposite was true) could have been explained as I don't really know that much of physics. 4 stars if such details were added. ( )