I’ve started getting the first reactions from readers of The Universe in Zero Words, mostly from friends of mine, so far. There’s a common theme to them, as in this e-mail that I received this morning:
My copy of The Universe in Zero Words just arrived. At a quick glance, I’m bowled over by how beautifully produced it is. (Makes me want to publish something with Princeton University Press.) I’m really looking forward to reading it. Congratulations!
I wanted to mention this because the design of the book and its lavish illustrations are not readily apparent either on my web page or on the book’s Amazon page. Unfortunately the image rights acquired by the co-publisher, Elwin Street Productions, do not extend to the author (me). Therefore, the PDF pages from inside the book that you can preview here are relatively plain; they do not have gorgeous four-color plates and illustrations. So you’ll have to take my word for it — or my friend’s word for it — that The Universe in Zero Words does not look the least bit like a typical math book! It’s quite a bit more spectacular than the PDF previews make it appear.
By the way, I personally had only a small amount of input into the design of the book. My main contribution was requesting (over and over again) that the equations I wrote about should be highlighted in calligraphy, an idea that the co-publisher eventually agreed with. Aside from that, I can’t really take any credit for the way the book looks. It was a delightful surprise to me, too!
Secondly, I’m pleased to announce that Princeton University Press has set up a Facebook page for The Universe in Zero Words. I plan to post news about the book there as well as here. Basically, I will use this page as a site for news about my writing activities in general, and I will use the Facebook page specifically for news about The Universe in Zero Words.
If you have a Facebook account, please become a fan of the book and spread the word to your friends!
