Einstein: His Life and Universe (alkuperäinen julkaisuvuosi 2007; vuoden 2007 painos)

Enjoyable. Some parts were a slog for me, esp. some of the early years and the early years of marriage. But, it generally gained steam as it went along. Provided some good insights into the man and his work. ( )

I registered this book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12549035

Interesting story about Einstein and about his theories as well as his life. The book is abridged and I could hear where it was cut from time to time, and wished it were not abridged. But still worth hearing.

We get to know a little about Einstein as a boy (no, he did not fail math) and the significant influences in his life. Throughout the book we are reminded how important those influences were: were he not prone to flouting authority, questioning assumptions, taking chances, it is likely he would never have entered into thinking about physics the way that he did.

In his early life he was lucky to go to a school that emphasized "thought experiments". "What if...." Einstein was a theoretical rather than a practical physicist, one who relied on others to test his theories. His mind wandered freely, and it's true that he was "absent-minded" in regular life yet totally focused when working.

In school he met a young woman who was also pursuing the sciences, who was especially good at math. She was small and not beautiful and prickly at times, but he fell for her. Einstein's parents did not want him to marry her, and this led to a life of clandestine love for a time. A time during which she became pregnant and, while living in Serbia she gave birth. Einstein was still in Switzerland at the time and never saw his daughter. Nothing is known for certain of what became of her.

After the two finally married Marij gave birth to two sons. By all accounts, their father took an interest in them both, yet was not well able to cope when he found that his younger son had severe mental difficulties.

Einstein wanted love and a family but his life revolved around physics. He became increasingly distant from his wife and children, although later tried to mend at least his relationship with his sons.

The book discusses the development of each of Einstein's major theories by providing a lay person's explanation of the theory and a summary of the world's response to it. The physics really provide the core of the book. Yet we see the family man and the political man as well, especially in response to World War II. Einstein renounced his German citizenship to avoid joining the military there, and while he became a pacifist early on, later supported military might to rid the world of Hitler.

The book provides a good basic understanding of the man and his work. I came away from it distressed by his lack of public acceptance of his daughter and his lack of full involvement in family life. Yet I do believe that we can't have it all. If he had been a better family man would he have been as good a physicist? Unlikely. And that is where his head and heart both took him. ( )

A wonderful biography of a unique, fascinating and enthralling person. The author brings freshness to this much-written subject by drawing on voluminous personal correspondence that remained sealed for 50 years following Einstein's death. The book is a remarkable achivement by being both highly readable and accessible, and providing scientifically sound explantaions for the lay person of complex concepts of physics. As a history of science, of the early 20th century, and as a perspective on one of the most engaging and innovative personalities ever, this book is total education and refreshment. Especially moving is the fundamental thread of Einstein's personality as a lifelong quest for unifying principles, married to unsentimental devotion to reason, logic and a faith in the comprehensibility of the universe. (Good luck with that one.) ( )

Just an excellent overview of Einstein and his contribution to science and humanity. This book really brings across the person that Einstein was and you get a solid feeling of what it would have been like to meet him. I highly recommend this book to anyone. ( )

This is an incredibly well researched, detailed account of all aspects of Einstein's life, personal, scientific and political that I can highly recommend to anybody interested. I learned heaps I didn't know and had the record set straight on a number of points, mainly regarding Einstein's political views, how they changed over time and his level of support for setting up the Manhattan Project.

I read the book with a specific research agenda, which was to independently form an opinion as to whether Einstein was autistic, an idea not first suggested by me and not on the author's mind either. Conclusion: Yep, autisticker than an autistic person with autism.

Towards the end there is an account of how Einstein was affected by and responded to McCarthyism. He was opposed, seeing in it the oppression of free speech and free thought characteristic of both Fascism and Communism. The author takes the view that McCarthyism was a passing fad, doomed to fail in the long term because of the greatness of the American Constitution. I found this level of complacency offensive to all the victims of McCarthy, all the people who spoke up in defense of freedoms and all the people who defended the constitution legally.

On it's own the constitution is nothing; without those people willing to risk reputation, career, even liberty, would McCarthyism have been a "passing fad"? Given the current political situation, we need such people more than ever. You disappoint me in this, Isaacson. Einstein, who used his world famous name to stand up for moderation, tolerance and freedom of thought and speech, does not.

Still, overall an excellent book. ( )