Superstring Theory is the hot topic in Physics these days and this book is written by a physicist heavily involved in research on the topic.  The book starts with a quick introduction to special relativity, general relativity, and then quantum mechanics.  It is a lot of information to digest in three quick chapters so at least some familiarity with the topics will be useful.  Think of this more as a refresher than a tutorial.  The author then explains why current theories have a huge hole and how string theory might be able to close that hole.<br>The author does a very good job of explaining string theory to the point where a layman can actually make some sense of it all.  He uses examples, metaphors, and analogies that simplify the concepts so that although we may not have the deep understanding that a physicist would have we can at least get a glimpse of what ten dimensional space is like and why it is important to string theory.  Although the author is a proponent of the theory this does not prevent him from allowing the critics of the theory to have their say.<br>I will admit that the book does bog down in places and not all his explanations are crystal clear.  I did feel lost in places and never got a real feel for ten dimensional space although I did at least get an idea of why it is important.  The Nova series based on the book covers the same territory but the book goes into more detail so if the Nova series intrigued you then this book is well worth reading.