A chunk of the book covers relativity.
Quantum mechanics is presented with its incompatibilities.
With these formalities over with, string theory is discussed.

There are some difficulties here.
Profound conclusions are presented without much background.
The conflicting view points get tiresome.
There is not much of a climax at the end.
But these problems are inherent to the subject matter.

The digressions and historical bits are always interesting.
The endless analogies to everyday life are better than you would expect.
There is a joy about the audacity of the subject which comes through.

how could i resist? my education/degrees are in biophysics, so there's a lot i've missed out on. fascinating to read and learn and not over the top in levels of difficulty.
take a chance!

I am still basically an idiot on this subject, but now with a little enlightenment. I have been out of school for some30++ years and this
stuff is a bit out there for me. But, it is written clearly and I am
very happy with the read.

This is a very well written book, easy to read, flows very well from topic to topic, doesn't spend too much time on any single area and has excellent coverage.
This book is for you if:
-You are looking for a good overview of the challenges that String theory is trying to solve
-You are not interested in a book of Math formula's (there is no math) or a book that just reprints the theory
-You are interested in a balanced view including discussions of alternative theories (it mostly covers String theory but it does highlight how other theories deal with the problem) as opposed to bashing other theories
-You have read several other books but still don't see the big picture
-You are not interested in a history lesson on how great the author is and all of his friends and all the other guys are nuts
Hope this helps