Claudia de Rham has been playing with gravity her entire life. As a diver, experimenting with her body’s buoyancy in the Indian Ocean. As a pilot, soaring over Canadian waterfalls on dark mornings before beginning her daily scientific research. As an astronaut candidate, dreaming of the experience of flying free from Earth’s pull. And as a physicist, discovering new sides to gravity’s irresistible personality by exploring the limits of Einstein’s general theory of relativity. In The Beauty of Falling, de Rham shares captivating stories about her quest to gain intimacy with gravity, to understand both its feeling and fundamental nature. Her life’s pursuit led her from a twist of fate that snatched away her dream of becoming an astronaut to an exhilarating breakthrough at the very frontiers of gravitational physics.
While many of us presume to know gravity quite well, the brightest scientists in history have yet to fully answer the simple question: what exactly is gravity? de Rham reveals how great minds—from Newton and Einstein to Stephen Hawking, Andrea Ghez, and Roger Penrose—led her to the edge of knowledge about this fundamental force. She found hints of a hidden side to gravity at the particle level where Einstein’s theory breaks down, leading her to develop a new theory of “massive gravity.” de Rham shares how her life’s path turned from a precipitous fall to an exquisite flight toward the discovery of something entirely new about our surprising, gravity-driven universe.
Awards and Recognition
- A New Scientist Non-Fiction and Popular Science Books to Look Forward To
Claudia de Rham is professor of theoretical physics at Imperial College London and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The recipient of numerous prizes and awards, she is ranked among the most impactful researchers in fundamental physics of the past decade. Juliet Stevenson is perhaps best known for her theatrical work, earning six Olivier nominations and winning for her role as Paulina in Death and the Maiden. She has starred in a host of iconic films such as Truly, Madly, Deeply and Bend It Like Beckham. In 2022, she was inducted as a Golden Voice, AudioFile’s lifetime achievement honor for audiobook narrators.
“A wonderfully clear, right up-to-date account of gravity and what we have learned about it and from it.”—Jocelyn Bell Burnell, visiting professor, University of Oxford
“In this engaging firsthand account, de Rham brings the story of gravity to life, sharing her deep insights into its fundamental nature. From her highly expert vantage point, she elegantly intersperses the fascinating science with her own life story and her quest to make sense of gravity’s mysteries.”—Jo Dunkley, author of Our Universe
“The Beauty of Falling takes us on an insightful exploration of gravity, from historical beginnings to the cutting-edge present. Guided by the perspective of a modern theorist, the book is a valuable read for the curious minds seeking a unique look into the heart of gravity’s mysteries.”—Sara Seager, author of The Smallest Lights in the Universe: A Memoir
“I knew Claudia de Rham is a world-class physicist, and now I know she’s a marvelous writer as well. You will learn about gravity, from an astronaut’s flight to Einstein’s universe, but also beyond what we know, to the forefront of modern research. The true excitement of science shines through brilliantly.”—Sean Carroll, author of The Biggest Ideas in the Universe: Space, Time, and Motion
“Uncommonly interesting and beautifully written.”—Dan Hooper, author of At the Edge of Time
“A fascinating and personal deep dive into a cutting-edge field of modern physics. de Rham’s lyrical style, with which she conveys her life story—from her peripatetic childhood and adulthood to nearly becoming an astronaut to what it means to be a woman in physics—makes for captivating reading.”—Pedro G. Ferreira, author of The Perfect Theory
