Einstein: His Life and Universe in Science and Inquiry

Nov 18, 2013 Charlene rated it it was amazing

Shelves: physics, general-science, favorites, biography

I wanted to the book to go on forever. Highly recommend.

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Sep 15, 2009 Brian rated it it was amazing

Great book.

On the physics side, I think the author gave a nice take on the final few decades of his life as he took on Neils Bohr and quantum theory as few if any others have. Einstein is often looked at with pity over that time as a man out of touch and clinging to old ways. However, as revealed in many letters he wrote to his friends and peers, he felt that he was in the unique position to take on Bohr, since doing so would cast a lessser theorist (and even Einstein) as one of the 'old guard' ...more

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Mar 23, 2012 Libyrinths rated it it was amazing

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Isaacson did a very nice job of combining his personal life with his intellectual life, and of explaining as clearly as possible his major ideas.

Several aspects of this book I particularly appreciated. The first is that Isaacson did indeed follow his intellectual life, and tried to show how Einstein's mind worked throughout the book. This meant one got a perspective on what made him different, if he was that, and why he was the one to come up with relativity. But I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Isaacson did a very nice job of combining his personal life with his intellectual life, and of explaining as clearly as possible his major ideas.

Several aspects of this book I particularly appreciated. The first is that Isaacson did indeed follow his intellectual life, and tried to show how Einstein's mind worked throughout the book. This meant one got a perspective on what made him different, if he was that, and why he was the one to come up with relativity. But additionally, following Einstein's intellectual life meant that Isaacson gave us a good idea of what he was actually working on after his general relativity paper. So much of what I've read before has tended to sum that up in one sentence without giving much meaning to it. This thread also meant the reader got a coherent feeling for Einstein's philosophy of science. So, I really appreciate Isaacson's focus here, as it's something fresh, in my opinion, and clarifies many disparate things one reads about Einstein.

Another aspect of the book I appreciated was how so many people in his life became real people on the pages, especially his first wife, Mileva Maric, but not only her. I don't think I'd ever had such a good picture of their relationship before. There were tidbits of well-known stories involving others -- be they scientists or friends -- which were new to me and gave things a fresh slant.

I liked that Isaacson made a few dedicated chapters to discuss some of the more important science concepts, rather than stopping in the middle of a chapter on his life and trying to do that. This not only made the science clearer, but meant one could read most of the book at a comfortable pace, slowing down for only a few chapters.

The book was interesting, lively, compelling. In his endnotes, Isaacson occasionally takes the time to show other biographers' viewpoints on a particular issue, which I appreciated a lot. And he lists sources for further, or deeper, reading on a number of topics related to Einstein's life and thinking.

Despite its length, it reads far faster than one would think. If you plan to read one biography of Einstein, I heartily recommend this one.

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