This have to be the most controversial book I have ever read.
First, this book is 1200 pages, with 300+ pages of notes.
But, removing all the fluff and personal ego, it should be less than 100 pages. Even if it include all the useful images, having more than 350 pages is an overkill.
I read the book in the library, skim though and only read the part I cared--The math and computer science part.
It is the most thought provoking book I have ever read. I learned so much insight in a couple of hours. It clears a lot of things I know already, but the new insight and connections between them fascinates me.
The text of pure egoism and repetition really wasted my time. The first few chapters are full of examples showing one idea--Simple program create complex results.
I suggest if you are like me who already convinced after the first 5 pages, read the first 2 chapters and skip to the 10th chapter... everything in between is just examples in many scientific areas. And, you don't want to read those 300 page notes.
In fact, since you only have to read a total of 5 chapters(that I think it's useful but still have a lot of fluff can skip though), buying the book would be quite a waste. If you can't get a copy of the book in the library(doubt it, it's a popular book), read it online.
Because of these, it's really hard to rate this book. But I still would rather read this book than a research paper, because after all, this book is for the mass population.
I'm going to delicate a blog post on what I did on 4/10/2008, and it will explain more about my feelings toward this book.