This is a book review of Converstations on Quantum Gravity, edited by Jácome Armas, (Cambridge University Press, 2021). Pp. 717, 25 × 18 cm. Price £39.99/$49.99 (hardbound; ISBN 978 1 107 16887 9).
The book is a labour of love consisting of well edited interviews of varying length with thirty-seven physicists who work(ed), in one way or another, on the topic of quantum gravity. Some of those interviewed will be familiar because they are (also) astronomers/astrophysicists/cosmologists or generally famous or both Amazingly, the technical level and the general style are very uniform; were it not for the disagreements, one could have the impression that all was said by the same person. The first and last questions are almost always the same: "What are the main puzzles in theoretical physics at the moment" and "What is the role of the theoretical physicist in modern society". Of course, one cannot even attempt to summarize such a massive tome in a short review. There are few typos and the book has a uniform feel, despite having been written by thirty-eight people. The book is neither an introduction to nor a review of quantum gravity, and not at all a textbook.