Einstein: His Life and Universe
by Walter Isaacson
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Book Reviews of Einstein: His Life and Universe
Book Review: An excellent biography of the man even if the sections about the science are a little difficult to get through
Summary: 4 Stars
Walter Isaacson's in-depth bio of Einstein was a fascinating read--at least for someone like me who did not know a lot about the man going in. This is not an easy book to plow through.
Isaacson does not do the best job of making Einstein's scientific accomplishments and efforts accessible to the layman. But the balance of the book--and the vast majority is non-scientific gives real insight into the way the mind of one of the most brilliant people in history operated.
Isaacson paints Einstein as an interesting dichotomy. While he created a warm, humorous and accessible public persona, he was distant with his own family. His choppy relationships with his first wife, is uneven relationship with his older son, Hans Edward, his often-unsubtle extra-marital affairs stand in stark contrast to his public demonstrations of gentle humor, concern for equality for all people and involvement in civil rights and Zionism efforts.
It is an endlessly interesting tale of an interesting man. I recommend it strongly.
Book Review: Excellent Biography, not a stand alone physics text
Summary: 4 Stars
I am writing as someone who has taken classical/modern physics courses (though now years ago). This Einstein biography is comprehensive in terms of his personal life and interactions with other physicists of the time (good sections on the various conferences). It is also very thorough on Einstein's politics, which does significantly contribute to the overall picture of his life, as he was involved in many causes. I would disagree with some reviewers, I felt like the overall flow of the book is consistent. Probably the weakest point is its discussion of the physics itself. This is the difficulty of a biography of someone like Einstein - include enough physics to make the biography complete, without turning into a physics text for PhDs. I feel like the author undershot the mark on this a little bit and could have included a few more pages on discussion. I found myself doing a lot of cross-referencing with physics books. Nonetheless, it's a highly readable book and probably will be the life of Einstein book for years to come.Book Review: Einstein: His Life and Universe
Summary: 5 Stars
In this monumental work, I not only learned a vast amount of complex and fascinating information about Einstein, but was most fascinated this genius experienced the same trials and tribulations in his lifetime that each and every one one of us experiences, and continues to experience, each & every day. It made me realize that if you do what you you Love with passion, success is guaranteed. I highly recommend this fabulous book that just may turn your perceptive on Life around - and, no doubt, for the better!
No wonder there was a picture of Mr. Einstein in all of my science classes! I hope you read this book and are rewarded with the the benefits I did.
Thank you for allowing me to share my personal feelings.
Sincerely,
OriginL
Book Review: A life of science and faith -- in the comprehensibility of the universe
Summary: 5 Stars
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 achievement by being both highly readable and accessible, and providing scientifically sound explanations 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.)Book Review: Not light reading, but worth the time...
Summary: 5 Stars
Isaacson assembles a biography with enough details to make a high school English student puke, but it creates a complete picture of one of the world's most famous scientists. Einstein's charisma is clearly illustrated in this text, from personal relationships to his obsessive pursuit to explain the universe. It took me 6 weeks to read partly because I'm a slow reader, partly because the book is heavy, but mostly because I enjoyed the ride. I'm no physics major but managed to comprehend many of Isaacson's presentations of Einstein's theories and thought experiments, most of which I've forgotten by now. By and far, it was most satisfying to look inside his personal life, how he married his cousin (you read that right), never wore socks, was truly absent-minded, and was still working on his theories on his deathbed.