"The universe is far from uniform and not at all harmonious," admits chemistry professor Keith Laidler in this survey of scientific progress. "But when we look at it more deeply, we find that the principles by which it has been formed are indeed uniform and harmonious. As we explore the laws of nature more carefully, we find that these principles are universal and absolute, applying everywhere in space and time."
Laidler's claim is arguable, and this text is by no means a deep or careful examination of nature, but it does offer a concise history of scientific thought from Newton, Franklin, and Faraday to Planck, Einstein, Heisenberg and the chaos and string theorists of the present day. Written in layman's prose and complemented with apt analogies and insightful explanations, Laidler's overview is an excellent choice for the general reader seeking a point of entry into the universe of current science.