The Cambridge Companion to Einstein

by Michel Janssen (Editor), Christoph Lehner (Editor)

This volume is the first systematic presentation of the work of Albert Einstein, comprised of fourteen essays by leading historians and philosophers of science that introduce readers to his work. Following an introduction that places Einstein's work in the context of his life and times, the book opens with essays on the papers of Einstein's “miracle year,” 1905, covering Brownian motion, light quanta, and special relativity, as well as his contributions to early quantum theory and the opposition to his light quantum hypothesis. Further essays relate Einstein's path to the general theory of relativity (1915) and the beginnings of two fields it spawned, relativistic cosmology and gravitational waves. Essays on Einstein's later years examine his unified field theory program and his critique of quantum mechanics. The closing essays explore the relation between Einstein's work and twentieth-century philosophy, as well as his political writings.

Genres: Science, Physics, Philosophy

575 pages, Paperback

First published April 30, 2014

Reviews

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drop dead gorgeous. A must for the Einstein scholar (and although I am cited in this volume, no I was not paid to write this). Michel Janssen's essay "No success like failure..." about general relativity (my main interest) is a delight.

[Mills College Library]

530.092 C1782 2014