Popular science books usually praise the wonderful achievements of science in applied mathematics, theoretical physics, chemistry, space exploration, and, more broadly, scientific understanding of the world. Benjamin Labatut chooses a completely different perspective. His groundbreaking "work of art based on real events" (although it would be better called a non-fiction novel, since most characters, including Fritz Haber, Niels Bohr, Werner Heisenberg, Alexander Grothendieck, Erwin Schrödinger, and others, are historical figures, and a significant part of the narrative is based on historical facts) rather celebrates the feeling of anxiety accompanying great scientific discoveries and turns to the dark side of rationality. The novel, translated into twenty-two languages, was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2021 and became a notable literary event.