This book is a collection of articles that blend an excellent level of content of both physics and philosophy.. Very thought-provoking and enjoyable. I was really engaged throughout.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a review copy.

Carlo Rovelli is an Italian born author and theoretical physicist. In his book, the beautifully titled There Are Places in the World Where Rules Are Less Important Than Kindness, Rovelli presents a collection of essays and articles, their subjects ranging from science through literature to politics. The essays are truly bite sized - there’s more than 40 on less than 260 pages. I found them to be the perfect length: the topics are very interesting but often also pretty difficult, and the shortness of the articles helped me stay focused. I was impressed how many topics Rovelli covers in this book - an essay about black holes is right next to a one about Mein Kampf and nazism - and he does it in a way that really pulled me in. The pieces are thought-provoking and made me excited to learn something new. This book is definitely a great choice for anyone who loves popular science and/or wants to refresh their array of interesting dinner party conversation starters. Although I didn’t love every single essay (I wasn’t a fan of the one about Africa and the article about the Covid-19 pandemic, published in April 2020, felt surprisingly outdated), I adored how Rovelli writes about the world with the type of enthusiasm and awe that is simply contagious.

TLDR: There Are Places in the World Where Rules Are Less Important Than Kindness is a short book that contains a myriad of topics: it takes the reader on a captivating journey across time, space, and the Universe itself.

In the last few years, I've become acquainted with the brilliant writings of Carlo Rovelli. I have read The Order of Time and Seven Brief Lessons on Physics. This collection of essays is just as brilliant, easy to understand, and full of deep insights. In many of these essays, Signor Rovelli explores other topics outside of science, including literature, philosophy, religions, culture, and also politics. They are fascinating to read.