Joao Magueijo is a theoretical physicist. Faster than the Speed of Light is his account of the time he spent working on his varying speed of light theory. His theory that light may have traveled faster when the universe first began calls Einstein's theory of relativity into question. The book begins with an explanation of the special theory of relativity and a few of the implications of the theory, such as making long distance space travel difficult. Magueijo also writes about how Einstein came up with relativity. Magueijo then goes on to write about general relativity and some of the problems Einstein personally had with the theory, such as the prediction of an expanding universe. After the background information about the theory he is almost directly challenging has been given, Magueijo begins to explain some of the reasons why a constant speed of light may not be the answer. He recounts first time he thought of the possibility that the speed of light may not be a constant and the subsequent stages of forming a solid theory. Primarily he gives an account of life as a professional scientist both the highs and the lows. He explains the process of writing a paper and trying to get a scientific journal to publish it, specifically the difficulties he experienced trying to get paper published as it was about such a controversial issue.
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Magueijo's more personal reflections on being a professional scientist are interspersed throughout the book.
The review of this Book prepared by A. Bentley
