A Hole In Texas is a novel by Herman Wouk. Published in 2004, the book describes the adventures of a high-energy physicist following the surprise announcement that a Chinese physicist (with whom he had a long-ago romance) had discovered the long-sought Higgs boson.

A Hole in Texas
First edition
AuthorHerman Wouk
LanguageEnglish
PublisherLittle, Brown and Company
Publication date
April 14, 2004
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (hardcover)
Pages288 pages
ISBN0-316-52590-1
OCLC53019565
813/.54 22
LC ClassPS3545.O98 H65 2004

Parts of the plot are based on the aborted Superconducting Super Collider project.

Published by Little, Brown and Company, ISBN 0-316-52590-1.

Literary significance and reception

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Kirkus Reviews said that A Hole In Texas was "Ingenious. Absolutely ingenious."[1] Publishers Weekly called it "Occasionally corny but also playful, thoughtful and passionate".[2] The journal Science said that Wouk "accurately depicts science as an often interactive and collegial enterprise", and that the novel offers a "refreshing contrast with the treatments of mad scientists that are so abundant in literature and popular culture."[3] The review in Nature had some criticism, saying that the "scientific explanations are pat and usually come in the form of long e-mails that bog down the plot", that the discussions of the Chinese people "verge on racism", and that the book's ending "falls flat".[4]

Notes

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  1. ^ "A HOLE IN TEXAS (Book)". Kirkus Reviews. 72 (4): 154. February 15, 2004. ISSN 0042-6598.
  2. ^ "A HOLE IN TEXAS (Book)". Publishers Weekly. 251 (12): 60. March 22, 2004. ISSN 0000-0019.
  3. ^ Pasachoff, Jay M (October 22, 2004). "Of Politics and Particle Physics". Science. 306 (5696): 615. doi:10.1126/science.1106083. ISSN 0036-8075. S2CID 118083077.
  4. ^ Brumfiel, Geoff (June 24, 2004). "Requiem for a supercollider". Nature. 429 (6994): 808–809. Bibcode:2004Natur.429..808B. doi:10.1038/429808a. ISSN 0028-0836.