A captivating narrative: the history of the dispute among Stephen Hawking, Leonard Susskind, and Gerard 't Hooft regarding the true nature of black holes - with the stakes being our understanding of the entire Universe.

What happens when something falls into a black hole? Does it disappear? Three decades ago, a young English physicist named Stephen Hawking claimed that this is precisely what occurs. Most scientists did not grasp the implications of his claim, but American physicist Leonard Susskind and Dutch physicist Gerard 't Hooft realized that if Hawking was correct, then everything we know about the fundamental laws of the Universe would have to be discarded.

Everyone, from Einstein to Feynman, would have been completely wrong. It wasn't just the reputations of three of the world's greatest scientists at stake, but physics itself. The Black Hole War is the thrilling story of the ensuing events - a frantic struggle to determine the truth, which would ultimately conclude with the most shocking conclusion: that everything in our world (this book, your home, you yourself) is actually a hologram projected from the farthest reaches of space.

A brilliant book about modern theoretical physics, quantum paradoxes, and the nature of black holes. The Black Hole War is an enlightening and enjoyable read.