A Hole in Texas: A Novel
by Herman Wouk
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Book Summary Information
Author: Herman WoukEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2005-06-06
ISBN: 0316010855
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Back Bay Books
Book Reviews of A Hole in Texas: A Novel
Book Review: (In italian) Wouk, e la necessita' della documentazione per l'autore
Summary: 5 Stars
Wouk e' un vecchio lupo di mare della narrativa, avendo anche un Premio Pulitzer nel palmares. Che io sappia non ha nessuna conoscenza scientifica specifica, e nessuno dei suoi molti romanzi precedenti e' di tema scientifico. Eppure, e' abbastanza evidente che per scrivere questo romanzo si e' documentato, ed e' davvero difficile coglierlo in castagna.
L'intero romanzo gira attorno alla vicenda (vera) dello SSC, il Superconducting SuperCollider che avrebbe dovuto essere il piu' potente acceleratore di particelle al mondo, e la cui costruzione fu sospesa nel 1993 dopo il 20% dei lavori. Il protagonista, un fisico di mezza eta' reduce da quella esperienza, si ritrova a dover spiegare a vari personaggi, in termini semplici, cosa siano il bosone di Higgs, i principi base di funzionamento dello SSC, e svariati altri dettagli di contorno come i raggi cosmici; e in tutto questo e' egregio. Spiega anche i motivi che hanno portato alla chiusura del progetto, e su quelli non so quasi nulla, ma quel poco che so combacia con cio' che lui racconta (anche se li' probabilmente si devia necessariamente dalla solidita' dei fatti per entrare nel campo delle impressioni, trattandosi piu' di politica della scienza che di scienza).
La storia e' ambientata ai giorni nostri, e parte da una sconvolgente pubblicazione cinese sulla scoperta, in Cina, del bosone di Higgs. E ogni volta che il lettore informato ghigna tra se' e se' dicendosi "ma questo non e' possibile", volta pagina e legge uno dei personaggi che se la ghigna pensando "ma questo non e' possibile", per farsi poi rispondere qualche paragrafo o capitolo dopo con una spiegazione piu' o meno plausibile.
La descrizione della psicosi anti-cinese dei vertici della societa' americana e' piuttosto godibile e verosimile, come anche l'ossessione dei politici per sapere se il bosone di Higgs puo' avere applicazioni belliche (non tanto per sapere se poterne fare uso, ma per capire se ne puo' fare uso l'infida Cina).
Summary of A Hole in Texas: A Novel
With this rollicking novel-hailed equally for its satiric bite, its lightly borne scientific savvy, and its tender compassion for foible-prone humanity-one of America's preeminent storytellers returns to fiction. Guy Carpenter is a regular guy, a family man, an obscure NASA scientist, when he is jolted out of his quiet life and summoned to the corridors of power in Washington, D.C. Through a turn of events as unlikely as it is inevitable, Guy finds himself compromised by scandal and romance, hounded by Hollywood, and agonizingly alone at the white-hot center of a firestorm ignited as three potent forces of American culture--politics, big science, and the media--spectacularly collide.Humor Books
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