I got this book a couple of months back and have completed it today. The early chapters explain in layman terms where Physics has got to in the last 30 years. This an interesting read for me, the various unification attempts, quantum mechanics, gravity, fundamtental particles, and string theory.
The books main message is that research has followed a narrow path for too long, and it's difficult to bring new ideas to a field which do not fit with the majority view. The author is particularly dismissive of string theory because of this.
The final chapters lay out what would make the situation better. It feels like research science careers are built on backing the current research areas and there is very little room for anything else. The author makes an interesting comparison to venture capital who expect 90% of new businesses to fail, and anything less then they are not taking enough risk. He argues it would be worth having this view on research to try and stimulate new areas where current theory has stagnated.
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