by Giuliano Preparata, World Scientific. IBSN 9812381767 £16 ($24).
In this small book, Giuliano Preparata claims that all the conceptual difficulties of quantum mechanics are eliminated if one takes the broader framework of quantum field theory. I am not sure I agree with him completely. I belong to those who, following John Bell, sometimes feel uneasy about quantum mechanics but realize that absolutely no substitute works, in spite of the courageous efforts of people like S M Roy and others. I am not like Roland Omnès, who thinks that if one asks the right kind of question there is no problem. However, I agree completely with Preparata when he says that going to field theory eliminates a lot of problems and constitutes a considerable improvement. For instance, the transition between states with a fixed number of particles and coherent states is much clearer, and the structure of the vacuum easier to elucidate.
I find this book, published two years after Preparata’s death, constitutes a beautiful demonstration of the deep knowledge of quantum physics that Giuliano had. Sometimes during his life he took rather extreme positions against the main stream of particle theorists. There is hardly any trace of that in this book, just a demonstration of his immense culture and broadness of view. I am grateful to him for leaving us this document and can only recommend reading it.
