Why Does The Word Exist? is more fun than a book this serious has any right to be. Holt has written a metaphysical page-turner and a triumph of intellectual liveliness. -- Rebecca Goldstein, author of 36 Arguments for the Existence of God
There is no more entertaining, sure-footed, and witty guide to the big questions that we must all ponder than Jim Holt. Join him * Daily Beast *
Praise for Stop Me If You've Heard This: 'Sweet, witty and intelligent ... I only wish that, unlike a good joke, it was longer. -- William Leith * Guardian *
If Jim Holt's deft and consuming "Why Does the World Exist?: An Existential Detective Story" has anything to tell us, it's that such a comment is less about literary riffing than deep philosophy. * LA Times *
Holt brings both complexity and clarity to his subject ... it does what real science writing should: It helps us feel the fullness of the problem. * Vulture *
There is no more entertaining, sure-footed, and witty guide to the big questions that we must all ponder than Jim Holt. Join him. * The Daily Beast *
It's philosophy of a high level, pursued in an unusual and personal manner, and it's a pleasure to follow along with the author as he tells a fascinating and thought-provoking story. -- Peter Woit, Department of Mathamatics, Columbia
Humorous yet deeply profound * New Scientist *
There's no denying the pleasures to be had from tagging along as Holt soars away into the heavens of our cosmic enigmas ... a wonderful book * Daily Express *
An elegant and witty writer...I can imagine few more enjoyable ways of thinking than to read this book -- Sarah Bakewell, author of How to Live
What is special about Why Does the World Exist? is that Holt and the experts he talks to apply humour, good sense and a dose of incredulity and wonder to the problem * Independent *
An eclectic mix of theology, cutting-edge science (of the cosmological and particle-physics variety) and extremely abstract philosophising, rendered (mostly) accessible by Mr Holt's facility with analogies and clear, witty language * Economist *
An excellent quest * New York Times *
A portrait gallery of leading modern philosophers -- Stephen Colbert