Well-written and engaging. Clarifies and explains concepts and events in 20th-century physics in ways that enable the scientific imbecile to better comprehend what the big deal is and why it's (still) such a big deal. Also works to arm said scientific imbecile with ways to humiliate people in the humanities who just love to bullshit about stuff they understand even less than someone who read a pop-science history does.

Oh, and there's fun stuff in here about the personal lives of major figures in 20th-century physics. But that stuff is nowhere near as compelling as the overall drama at the heart of this account.