Author Guide · Physics & Philosophy
Books Written by
Carlo Rovelli was born in Verona in 1956, took his PhD at the University of Padua in 1986, and has spent most of his working life on one of the hardest open problems in physics: how to bring quantum theory and gravity together. He taught at the University of Pittsburgh through the 1990s and joined the Centre de Physique Théorique in Marseille in 2000. In 2014 he published a book of seven short lessons in Italian; in English it became Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, and it made a research physicist into a widely read author. He writes in Italian, and his books reach English readers in translation. This guide covers his 12 key books, in order, and where to begin.
By Lisanne Swart · 12 key books · 2004–2026 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Carlo Rovelli’s best-known book is Seven Brief Lessons on Physics (Italian 2014, English 2015). His other widely read titles are Reality Is Not What It Seems (2014), The Order of Time (2017), Helgoland (2020) and White Holes (2023). Start with Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, which runs to under 100 pages; the sections below separate his books for general readers from his technical ones, and explain where Nagarjuna comes in.
Where to Start with Carlo Rovelli
If you want the short way in
→ Seven Brief Lessons on Physics (2014) — seven lessons in under 100 pages.
If you want his book about time
→ The Order of Time (2017).
If you want quantum physics and Nagarjuna
→ Helgoland (2020) — the relational view of the quantum world.
If you want his newest ideas
→ On the Equality of All Things (2025) — physics and philosophy, matter and mind.
12 Carlo Rovelli Books, in Order
Quantum Gravity
A technical book on quantum gravity, the problem of reconciling quantum theory with Einstein’s theory of gravity, which is Rovelli’s own research field. It is written for physicists and assumes the mathematics.
The First Scientist
A book about the Greek thinker Anaximander of Miletus and what he contributed to the way science thinks. It first appeared in French in 2009 as Anaximandre de Milet; the English edition, translated by Marion Lignana Rosenberg, followed in 2011, and the Italian, Che cos’è la scienza. La rivoluzione di Anassimandro, in 2012. It was reissued in English in 2023 as Anaximander: And the Birth of Science.
Covariant Loop Quantum Gravity
A technical book on loop quantum gravity, written with the physicist Francesca Vidotto. Like Quantum Gravity, it is written for students and researchers rather than general readers.
Reality Is Not What It Seems
His account, for general readers, of the road to quantum gravity, the subject of his research. It was published in Italian in 2014 as La realtà non è come ci appare and in English in 2016.
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
Seven short lessons on modern physics for readers with no background in it; the English hardback runs to 96 pages. It was published in Italian in 2014 as Sette brevi lezioni di fisica and in English in 2015, and it is the book that made Rovelli widely known outside physics.
The Order of Time
A book about what physics says time is, published in Italian in 2017 as L’ordine del tempo and in English in 2018. The Sunday Times called it “a dazzling book” and introduced Rovelli to its readers as “the new Stephen Hawking”.
Helgoland
Rovelli’s account of quantum mechanics and of his relational reading of it, in which the properties of things exist only in relation to other things. One chapter turns to the Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna, whose central thesis, Rovelli writes, is “that there is nothing that exists in itself”. Published by Adelphi in 2020; the English translation by Erica Segre and Simon Carnell followed in 2021.
There Are Places in the World Where Rules Are Less Important Than Kindness
A collection of shorter pieces on science, thinkers and the wider world, published in Italian as Ci sono luoghi al mondo dove più che le regole è importante la gentilezza and in English in the same year, 2020.
General Relativity
A concise technical introduction to Einstein’s theory of gravity, the other half of the problem Rovelli works on. It is written for students of physics and uses the mathematics.
White Holes
A short book that follows a path into a black hole and out again as a white hole, drawing on Rovelli’s research with the Bard College physicist Hal Haggard. Translated by Simon Carnell, it was published in the US on 31 October 2023 and reviewed by The Guardian, NPR and the Evening Standard; The Guardian called it “a miniature book for anyone who likes to think”.
On the Equality of All Things
Published by Adelphi on 16 October 2025 as Sull’eguaglianza di tutte le cose. Lezioni americane, and in English, translated by Simon Carnell, on 15 September 2026. Rovelli argues that electrons, minds, stones, laws and galaxies are not different in nature but illuminate one another, and uses Zhuangzi’s dream of the butterfly to describe knowledge that is coherent but uncertain.
85 Seconds to Midnight
A warning about rearmament and the risk of nuclear war, published in English in June 2026. It traces the history of nuclear weapons, from the building of the atomic bomb and why Germany did not build one, through the near-misses of the Cold War, to the decisions of today’s leaders.
In What Order to Read Carlo Rovelli
Rovelli’s books fall into two groups. Quantum Gravity, Covariant Loop Quantum Gravity and General Relativity: The Essentials are working physics for students and researchers. Everything else, from Seven Brief Lessons on Physics onward, is written for general readers and assumes no mathematics.
For the second group, publication order works well, with one change: read the short Seven Brief Lessons on Physics before the longer Reality Is Not What It Seems, which came out in Italian the same year. The Order of Time and Helgoland each take one subject further — time, and the quantum world — and On the Equality of All Things draws the physics and the philosophy together.
A reading path
1. Seven Brief Lessons on Physics (2014)
2. The Order of Time (2017)
3. Helgoland (2020)
4. White Holes (2023)
5. On the Equality of All Things (2025)
Everything Else Carlo Rovelli Published
Beyond the 12 key books: 3 more, grouped by kind.
Open a group with the + to see every book in it.
Early books, interviews and reissues
3
3 books · 1977–2023
- 1977Fatti nostria co-written book on the student movement in Bologna in 1977, for which Rovelli was charged and later released
- 2004Che cos’è il tempo? Che cos’è lo spazio?a book-length interview, published in English in 2006 as What Is Time? What Is Space?
- 2023Anaximander: And the Birth of Sciencethe new English edition of The First Scientist
The years · 1956–2024
Quick facts about Carlo Rovelli
- Known for
- Carlo Rovelli is known for his research in quantum gravity and for short, widely translated books that explain modern physics, and its philosophical questions, to general readers.
- 1956
- Born in Verona, Italy
- 1986
- PhD, University of Padua
- 2000
- Joins the Centre de Physique Théorique, Marseille
- 2024
- Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing About Science
- Born
- 3 May 1956, Verona, Italy
- Education
- University of Bologna (physics, 1981); PhD, University of Padua (1986)
- Worked
- University of Pittsburgh, 1990–2000; Centre de Physique Théorique, Aix-Marseille University, from 2000 (now emeritus)
- Also
- Distinguished Visiting Research Chair, Perimeter Institute; Rotman Institute of Philosophy, Western University
- Field
- Quantum gravity
- Honours
- Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing About Science (2024); Foreign Policy’s 100 global thinkers (2019)
- Writes in
- Italian; his books are translated into English, often by Simon Carnell and Erica Segre
The red mark is 2014: the Italian publication of Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, the book that made him widely read outside physics.
How Carlo Rovelli Writes: Physics as a Way of Seeing
Rovelli writes in two registers. His technical books, from Quantum Gravity (2004) to General Relativity: The Essentials (2021), are textbooks with the mathematics in place. His books for general readers drop the equations and keep the questions, and they are short: Seven Brief Lessons on Physics runs to 96 pages in hardback, and The Guardian called White Holes “a miniature book”.
He moves easily between physics and the history of ideas. His first book for a wider public was about Anaximander of Miletus, and his later books draw on philosophers and poets as readily as on physicists. In On the Equality of All Things he borrows Zhuangzi’s dream of the butterfly, and argues that minds and stones, electrons and galaxies are not different in nature.
The clearest link to non-duality is in Helgoland. Rovelli reads quantum mechanics relationally: nothing has properties on its own, only in relation to something else. He finds the same idea in the Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna, whose emptiness he describes as the absence of independent existence, while noting that Nagarjuna “knew nothing, and could not have imagined anything, about quanta”. He presents this as a useful way of thinking, not a religious position, and calls himself “a physicist: a simple mechanic”.
Watch
Carlo Rovelli and Brian Greene on Black Holes and White Holes
Brian Greene talks with Rovelli at the World Science Festival in March 2024 about black holes, white holes and the ideas behind his book White Holes.
Frequently asked questions about Carlo Rovelli’s books
How many books has Carlo Rovelli written?
More than a dozen. This page lists 12 key books, from Quantum Gravity (2004) to 85 Seconds to Midnight (2026), and 3 more early books, interviews and reissues. Three of the 12 are technical books for physicists; the rest are written for general readers.
What are Carlo Rovelli’s books in order?
Quantum Gravity (2004), The First Scientist (2009), Covariant Loop Quantum Gravity (2014), Reality Is Not What It Seems (2014), Seven Brief Lessons on Physics (2014), The Order of Time (2017), Helgoland (2020), There Are Places in the World Where Rules Are Less Important Than Kindness (2020), General Relativity: The Essentials (2021), White Holes (2023), On the Equality of All Things (2025) and 85 Seconds to Midnight (2026). Years are those of first publication; most appeared in Italian first and in English a year or so later.
Where should I start with Carlo Rovelli?
With Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, published in Italian in 2014 and in English in 2015. It is under 100 pages and needs no background in physics. Then read The Order of Time or Helgoland, depending on whether time or the quantum world interests you more.
What is Carlo Rovelli’s most famous book?
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics (2014), the book that made him widely known outside physics. The Order of Time (2017) is the other title most often associated with him.
What does Helgoland say about Nagarjuna?
In one chapter of Helgoland (2020), Rovelli turns to the Buddhist philosopher Nagarjuna, whose central thesis he sums up as “that there is nothing that exists in itself”. He finds in Nagarjuna’s idea of emptiness — things have no autonomous existence — a “formidable conceptual tool” for thinking about the relational nature of quanta, while stressing that Nagarjuna knew nothing about quantum physics.
What is On the Equality of All Things about?
It is a book of physics and philosophy, published in Italian in October 2025 with the subtitle Lezioni americane, and in English in September 2026. Rovelli argues that electrons, minds, stones, laws and galaxies are not fundamentally different in nature, that our knowledge is coherent but uncertain, and that because we are made of the same stuff as everything else, we are at home in the world.
Why was Carlo Rovelli’s Frankfurt Book Fair invitation withdrawn?
At the Labour Day concert in Rome in May 2023, Rovelli criticised Italy’s defence minister, Guido Crosetto, over alleged ties to the arms industry. The speech caused a major controversy, and his invitation to represent Italy at the 2024 Frankfurt Book Fair was withdrawn. The decision was criticised and later reversed, and Italy’s commissioner for the fair resigned. Rovelli has long campaigned for lower military spending, a theme of 85 Seconds to Midnight (2026).
Has Carlo Rovelli won any prizes for his writing?
Yes. He received the Lewis Thomas Prize for Writing About Science in 2024, along with several Italian literary prizes in 2014 and 2015. Foreign Policy named him one of its 100 most influential global thinkers in 2019, and Prospect one of the world’s top 50 thinkers in 2021.
What language does Carlo Rovelli write in?
Mainly Italian; his books reach English readers in translation. Helgoland was translated by Erica Segre and Simon Carnell, and White Holes and On the Equality of All Things by Simon Carnell. The First Scientist first appeared in French.
Is Carlo Rovelli still alive?
Yes. Born in Verona on 3 May 1956, he is emeritus professor at the Centre de Physique Théorique in Marseille and holds a visiting research chair at the Perimeter Institute in Canada.
Footnotes
- Carlo Rovelli — Wikipedia
- On the Equality of All Things — Penguin
- 85 Seconds to Midnight — Penguin Australia
- Carlo Rovelli torna con “Sull’eguaglianza di tutte le cose” — Libreriamo
- Exploring ‘emptiness’: Carlo Rovelli and Nagarjuna — Contemplative Inquiry
- Carlo Rovelli and Brian Greene on Black Holes and White Holes — World Science Festival
Bibliography last verified 9 October 2026. Where sources give different first-publication years, this page uses the year in library catalogues or the publisher’s own record.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the books are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
“Quantum mechanics is very strange, and not known to the majority of people.”
— Carlo Rovelli, interviewed for the Goethe-Institut (2022)
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