Hilton,
I am loving your book. It is a work of art, no matter whether one agrees with everything in it or not. And in me you find a willing reader, perhaps because my current work is heretical as well. As a former Capetonian and Old Rhodian, it is great to find your gem of a book.
Cheers,

Gerrit Verschuur

*Dr Gerrit Verschuur is professor of astrophysics at the University of Memphis, and is the author of the highly acclaimed book "Interstellar Matters".
 

The Virtue of Heresy by a South African physicist, mathematician, and astronomer - Hilton Ratcliffe - will hopefully mark the beginning of the end for the irrational myths and dogmas that have plagued the physical sciences since the end of World War II. 'The Virtue of Heresy' demystifies science - from the far reaches of the heavens to the subatomic particles in the nucleus. This book is an inexpensive, spirited, and pleasant way to experience the excitement of astronomy, physics, chemistry, space and nuclear science without wading through all the post-WWII nonsense that has driven student interest in physical sciences to an all-time low. I give this book my highest recommendation. Thank you, Hilton, for having the courage and the literary talents to bring the scientific community the possibility of a return to sanity.

Oliver K. Manuel
Emeritus Professor
Nuclear Chemistry
University of Missouri
www.omatumr.com

*Dr Geoff Stapleton published the following review on Climate Sceptics forum:

The Virtue of Heresy is nothing less than a rip-snorter. It's rather fat for a paper back - more than 400 pages - and I found I could hardly put it down once started. What makes it so enthralling is the sort of progressive narrative style with the occasional disruptive hiccup where the thread changes to something else and the author leaves you to stew for a while. All the time he guilelessly feeds you stuff that runs counter to the science we've long learned as fact. It also illustrates the extremes to which establishment figures will go in defense of the indefensible.

*I contacted Dr Stapleton to thank him for the review and asked if he had any questions. His reply:

Dear Professor Ratcliffe
Thank you for getting in touch with me. As you can imagine my mind is reeling from reading your book. I never dreamt that so many of the accepted theories were founded on such shaky ground. I think what I shall do is to re-read your book and make notes as I go along so that I can provide a list of subjects that aren't too clear and avoid wasting too much of your time. Thanks again for writing such a thrilling account of your work.

Yours

Geoff Stapleton

*Dr Stapleton is a physicist well known for his studies of climate and global warming.

High School English teacher Margie Jameson posted the following review on Amazon.com:

Throughout history (particularly in the religious arena) heresies have been punished by immolation, excommunication or at least banishment. Rather extreme when one considers that heresy simply means holding an `opinion contrary to accepted doctrine' (OED) and comes from the Greek meaning `choice'. Theoretical physics and religion may have something in common in that both seem to expect one to believe that which cannot be seen. Expounding their Big Bang, String and Membrane theories using complex mathematics, physicists would appear to stop just short of volunteering: 'Well - maybe God did it with a magic wand.'

Astrophysicist Hilton Ratcliffe takes us on a journey through the annals of physics examining these theories and how they were formulated. He proceeds to dissect them and offer alternatives in his quest for `Reality Physics'. He says: 'Start with what you can see and go forward from there.' The Virtue of Heresy is a fascinating read. The intricate discourse of the physicist is elegantly interspersed with some wonderfully descriptive passages, a few personal anecdotes and a conversation or two with the intriguing Mr Haquar. I am no rocket scientist and I found it to be very readable and intellectually stimulating.