This is a book about people. About the people involved in one of the greatest scientific challenges of recent times - the search for the Higgs Boson. What it doesn't do is spend much time explaining the science behind the Higgs. Instead it gives good insight into how science proceeds, the people involved and how it isn't always a smooth road.
While it is mostly well written book but there was one flaw. The paperback edition I read was an updated version of the original, updated to include the story of the Higgs discovery. The original version of the book was obviously written in anticipation of the Higgs expected discovery soon after the LHC was turned on. Unfortunately the LHC had early problems and so did not discover the Higgs as soon as expected. Like many books which have an extra chapter added to update them, it sadly feels obvious that this was done.
Despite this it is a good tale, taking in many steps in the journey. From the early theoretical work, to the political manoeuvring over the construction of a new accelerator (the SSC) in the USA, and the intense behind the scenes work as researchers at CERN frantically tried to finish their work before the announcement of the discovery. It's a good tale although I did have one reservation. In the eye's of the public, the LHC has been all about discovering the Higgs. There is a considerable amount of other interesting work to be done by the LHC (and at other accelerators) but this barely gets mentioned in the book. While this is understandable for a book about the hunt for the Higgs, it is something the particle physics community would do well to address.
For anyone with an interest in science and the people involved this book is well worth a read.
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