Prior to reading this book, my knowledge of superstrings was limited to passing references in magazine articles and that time the Enterprise hit one in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Wondering if I needed to get  superstring coverage added to my auto-insurnance, I picked up this book.  Needless to say, this was the book for me.  Through insider knowledge and  well conceived analogies, the basic premise of superstrings comes through  clearly.  I finished the book knowing enough about superstrings to sound  smart at the comic book store while in reality my head painfully throbs at  the thought of a 11-D space-time continuim. Not a pretty picture. The  highlight of the book was the primer on old school quantum mechanics and  general relativity.  I wish Mr. Greene had written the textbooks for some  of my physics classes. He very deftly tells the story of 20th century  physics, setting up the reader for the stringy things to come. After  reading the book, I was left wondering if string theory is really the end  all/be all of physics or cold fusion's distant cousin, but at least I don't  have to change my car insurance.