The Black Hole War by Leonard Susskind

"The Black Hole War" is a captivating exploration of the fierce scientific debate between Stephen Hawking and Leonard Susskind over the nature of black holes and the fate of information that falls into them. The book delves into the principles of quantum mechanics and general relativity, which seemed to be at odds in the context of black holes. Susskind argues against Hawking's initial claim that information swallowed by black holes is forever lost to the universe, proposing instead that this would violate the fundamental laws of quantum mechanics. The narrative chronicles Susskind’s journey to defend the conservation of information, leading to a profound shift in our understanding of black holes, culminating in the acceptance of the holographic principle which reconciles the theories in question.

The 9393rd greatest book of all time

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Total Points: 60

Since this book was first published in 2008, there is a penalty of 54.4%. The age adjusted score is 27.36.

This is to prevent newer books from reaching super high on the ranked list of the greatest books of all time. The greatest books should also stand the test of time.