[134] Hirosi Ooguri, interview with author, October 8, 2008.

[135] Strominger, quoted in Taubes, “Black Holes and Beyond.”

[136] Xi Yin (Harvard University), interview with author, October 14, 2008.

[137] Ibid.

[138] Xi Yin, interview with author, October 22, 2008.

[139] Frederik Denef (Harvard University), interview with author, August 26, 2008.

[140] Xi Yin, interview with author, October 14, 2008.

[141] Aaron Simons, interview with author, February 9, 2007.

[142] Ibid.

[143] J. M. Maldacena, A. Strominger, and E. Witten, “Black Hole Entropy in M-Theory” Journal of High Energy Physics9712 (1997), http://arxiv.org/PS_cache/hepth/pdf/9711/9711053vl.pdf.

[144] Juan Maldacena (IAS), interview with author, September 4, 2008.

[145] Hirosi Ooguri, Andrew Strominger, and Cumrun Vafa, “Black Hole Attractors and the Topological String,” Physical Review D70 (2004).

[146] Cumrun Vafa (Harvard University), interviewwith author, September 26, 2008.

[147] James Sparks (Harvard University), interview with author, February 6, 2007.

[148] Amanda Gefter, “The Elephant and the Event Horizon,” New Scientist(October 26,2006): 36–39.

[149] John Preskill, “On Hawking’s Concession,” July 24, 2004, http://www.theory.caltech.edu/~preskill/jp_24jul04.html.

[150] Andrew Strominger (Harvard University), interview with author, February 7, 2007.

[151] Juan Maldacena, “The Illusion of Gravity,” Scientific American, November 2005, pp. 57–58, 61.

[152] Davide Castelvecchi, “Shadow World,” Science News172 (November 17,2007).

[153] Taubes, “Black Holes and Beyond.”

[154] L. Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz(Whitefish, Mont.: Kessinger, 2004), p. 111.

[155] Volker Braun (Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), interview with author, November 4, 2008.

[156] Philip Candelas (Oxford University), interview with author, December 1, 2008.

[157] Ibid.

[158] Andrew Strominger (Harvard University), interview with author, February 7, 2007.

[159] Cumrun Vafa, “The Geometry of Grand Unified Theories,” lecture, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass., August 29, 2008.

[160] Chris Beasley (Stony Brook University), interview with author, November 13, 2008.

[161] Burt Оvrut (University of Pennsylvania), interview with author, July 20, 2008.

[162] Ovrut, interview with author, February 2, 2007.

[163] Ron Donagi (University of Pennsylvania), interview with author, November 14, 2008.

[164] Donagi, interview with author, November 19, 2008.

[165] Candelas, interview with author, December 1, 2008.

[166] Donagi, interview with author, May 3, 2008

[167] Ovrut, interview with author, November 20, 2008.

[168] Donagi, interview with author, November 20, 2008.

[169] Ovrut, interview with author, November 20, 2008.

[170] Shamit Kachru (Stanford University), interview with author, November 4, 2008.

[171] Michael Douglas (Stony Brook University), interview with author, August 20, 2008.

[172] Candelas, interview with author, December 1, 2008.

[173] Simon Donaldson (Imperial College), interview with author, November 29, 2008.

[174] Ovrut, interview with author, November 19, 2008.

[175] Candelas, interview with author, December 1, 2008.

[176] Strominger, interview with author, February 7, 2007.

[177] Adrian Cho, “String Theory Gets Real – Sort Of,” Science306 (November 26, 2004): 1,461.

[178] Candelas, interview with author, December 1, 2008.

[179] Allan Adams (MIT), interview with author, November 15, 2008.

[180] Gary Shiu, quoted in Adrian Cho, “String Theory Gets Real – Sort Of” Science306 (November 26, 2004): 1,461.

[181] Shamit Kachru (Stanford University), e-mail letter to author, December 6, 2008.

[182] Shamit Kachru, Renata Kallosh, Andrei Linde, and Sandip Trivedi, “De Sitter Vacua in String Theory,” Physical Review D68 (2003).

[183] Raman Sundrum (Johns Hopkins University), interview with author, February 22, 2007.

[184] Liam McAllister (Cornell University), interview with author, November 12, 2008.