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I find that most reviewers have skimmed the book or talked to a mathematician who has skimmed the book. Such reviews that result are superficial. It is not necessary to buy the book in order to read it. Most libraries are capable of getting a copy if they don't already have it on their shelves.

I know you know who he is, but in case some Lurkers don't recognize the name:

Stephen Wolfram

Stephen Wolfram is a well-known scientist and the creator of Mathematica. He is widely regarded as one of the world's most original scientists, as well as an important innovator in computing and software technology.

Born in London in 1959, Wolfram was educated at Eton, Oxford, and Caltech. He published his first scientific paper at the age of 15, and had received his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Caltech by the age of 20. Wolfram's early scientific work was mainly in high-energy physics, quantum field theory, and cosmology, and included several now-classic results. Having started to use computers in 1973, Wolfram rapidly became a leader in the emerging field of scientific computing, and in 1979 he began the construction of SMP--the first modern computer algebra system--which he released commercially in 1981.

I've been hoping for a scientist who thinks "outside the box" - I don't know if Wolfram is the guy, but I'd like to find out!

FYI: I have been studying chaos and computer programming for twenty years. Only a miniscule portion of this huge book is new and important, the rest is either old news or trivial. I was either laughing or yawning at every turn of the page.

He has amassed a huge amount of data. The book is worthwhile. He has not said anything I can identify as false. But "his" science is not what he is suggesting it is. There will be no "major intellectual revolution." He is filthy rich and can publish anything he wants.

Scientist have long known that simple "programs" can pruduce complex behavior. Wolfram wrote software that allowed him to mine interesting "programs" from the myriad of unintersting ones. He is the first person to be able to do it. We have to give him credit for that.

If you want to be impressed by how complex and lifelike the results of a simple "program" can be, check out "The Algorithmic Beauty of Plants", by Przemyslaw Prusinkiewicz and Aristid Lindenmayer. (Only 200 pages!) Something (a "program") as simple as "n=7, d=20, X, X>F[+X]F[-X]+X, F>FF" can define a shape that looks for all the world like a living plant.

Wolfram is a self promoting egomanic. He is also very entertaining.