Reviews
"Isaacson's treatment of Einstein's scientific work is excellent: accurate, complete, and just the right level of detail for the general reader. Taking advantage of the wealth of recently uncovered historical material, he has produced the most readable biography of Einstein yet."-- A. Douglas Stone, Professor of Physics at Yale, "Once again Walter Isaacson has produced a most valuable biography of a great man about whom much has already been written. It helps that he has had access to important new material. He met the challenge of dealing with his subject as a human being and describing profound ideas in physics. His biography is a pleasure to read and makes the great physicist come alive." -- Murray Gell-Mann, winner of the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physics and author of The Quark and the Jaguar, "Isaacson's treatment of Einstein's scientific work is excellent: accurate, complete, and just the right level of detail for the general reader. Taking advantage of the wealth of recently uncovered historical material, he has produced the most readable biography of Einstein yet." -- A. Douglas Stone, Professor of Physics at Yale, "Once again Walter Isaacson has produced a most valuable biography of a great man about whom much has already been written. It helps that he has had access to important new material. He met the challenge of dealing with his subject as a human being and describing profound ideas in physics. His biography is a pleasure to read and makes the great physicist come alive."-- Murray Gell-Mann, winner of the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physics and author of "The Quark and the Jaguar", This is a biography that happens to be treatise on creativity. I was about to say scientific creativity, but I think I mean creativity itself. It shows us the creative exuberance of a man with an extraordinary visual imagination, able to recast certain problems in surprising ways., "Isaacson has admirably succeeded in weaving together the complex threads of Einstein's personal and scientific life to paint a superb portrait." -- Arthur I. Miller, author of Einstein, Picasso, "This is a brilliant intellectual tapestry -- and a great read. Skillfully weaving Einstein's revolutionary scientific achievements, his prolific political initiatives, his complex personal life, and his fascinating personality, Isaacson has transformed the transformer of the twentieth century into a beacon for the twenty-first century."-- Martin J. Sherwin, coauthor ofAmerican Prometheus:The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for biography, "Isaacson has written a crisp, engaging, and refreshing biography, one that beautifully masters the historical literature and offers many new insights into Einstein's work and life." -- Diana Kormos Buchwald, General Editor of the Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, "This book will be widely and deservedly admired. It is excellently readable and combines the personal and the scientific aspects of Einstein's life in a graceful way." -- Gerald Holton, Professor of Physics at Harvard and author of Einstein, History, and Other Passions, "This is a brilliant intellectual tapestry -- and a great read. Skillfully weaving Einstein's revolutionary scientific achievements, his prolific political initiatives, his complex personal life, and his fascinating personality, Isaacson has transformed the transformer of the twentieth century into a beacon for the twenty-first century."-- Martin J. Sherwin, coauthor of "American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer," winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for biography, "Walter Isaacson has captured the complete Einstein. With an effortless style that belies a sharp attention to detail and scientific accuracy, Isaacson takes us on a soaring journey through the life, mind, and science of the man who changed our view of the universe."-- Brian Greene, Professor of Physics at Columbia and author ofThe Fabric of the Cosmos, "Isaacson has written a crisp, engaging, and refreshing biography, one that beautifully masters the historical literature and offers many new insights into Einstein's work and life."-- Diana Kormos Buchwald, General Editor of the Collected Papers of Albert Einstein, "This is a brilliant intellectual tapestry -- and a great read. Skillfully weaving Einstein's revolutionary scientific achievements, his prolific political initiatives, his complex personal life, and his fascinating personality, Isaacson has transformed the transformer of the twentieth century into a beacon for the twenty-first century." -- Martin J. Sherwin, coauthor of American Prometheus:The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer , winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for biography, "This book will be widely and deservedly admired. It is excellently readable and combines the personal and the scientific aspects of Einstein's life in a graceful way."-- Gerald Holton, Professor of Physics at Harvard and author ofEinstein, History, and Other Passions, "Walter Isaacson has captured the complete Einstein. With an effortless style that belies a sharp attention to detail and scientific accuracy, Isaacson takes us on a soaring journey through the life, mind, and science of the man who changed our view of the universe."-- Brian Greene, Professor of Physics at Columbia and author of "The Fabric of the Cosmos", "Walter Isaacson has captured the complete Einstein. With an effortless style that belies a sharp attention to detail and scientific accuracy, Isaacson takes us on a soaring journey through the life, mind, and science of the man who changed our view of the universe." -- Brian Greene, Professor of Physics at Columbia and author of The Fabric of the Cosmos, "With unmatched narrative skill, Isaacson has managed the extraordinary feat of preserving Einstein's monumental stature while at the same time bringing him to such vivid life that we come to feel as if he could be walking in our midst. This is a terrific work."-- Doris Kearns Goodwin, author ofTeam of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, "I found so much to admire; there are many places where I just had to cheer what Isaacson had written." -- Dudley Herschbach, Professor of Science at Harvard, "Walter Isaacson has captured the complete Einstein. With an effortless style that belies a sharp attention to detail and scientific accuracy, Isaacson takes us on a soaring journey through the life, mind, and science of the man who changed our view of the universe."-- Brian Greene, Professor of Physics at Columbia and author of The Fabric of the Cosmos, "Once again Walter Isaacson has produced a most valuable biography of a great man about whom much has already been written. It helps that he has had access to important new material. He met the challenge of dealing with his subject as a human being and describing profound ideas in physics. His biography is a pleasure to read and makes the great physicist come alive."-- Murray Gell-Mann, winner of the 1969 Nobel Prize in Physics and author ofThe Quark and the Jaguar, "With unmatched narrative skill, Isaacson has managed the extraordinary feat of preserving Einstein's monumental stature while at the same time bringing him to such vivid life that we come to feel as if he could be walking in our midst. This is a terrific work." -- Doris Kearns Goodwin, author of Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln, "I found so much to admire; there are many places where I just had to cheer what Isaacson had written."-- Dudley Herschbach, Professor of Science at Harvard, "This book does an amazing job getting the science right and the man revealed." -- Sylvester James Gates, Professor of Physics at the University of Maryland
Table of Content
CONTENTS Acknowledgments Main Characters CHAPTER ONE The Light-Beam Rider CHAPTER TWO Childhood, 1879-1896 CHAPTER THREE The Zurich Polytechnic, 1896-1900 CHAPTER FOUR The Lovers, 1900-1904 CHAPTER FIVE The Miracle Year: Quanta and Molecules, 1905 CHAPTER SIX Special Relativity, 1905 CHAPTER SEVEN The Happiest Thought, 1906-1909 CHAPTER EIGHT The Wandering Professor, 1909-1914 CHAPTER NINE General Relativity, 1911-1915 CHAPTER TEN Divorce, 1916-1919 CHAPTER ELEVEN Einstein's Universe, 1916-1919 CHAPTER TWELVE Fame, 1919 CHAPTER THIRTEEN The Wandering Zionist, 1920-1921 CHAPTER FOURTEEN Nobel Laureate, 1921-1927 CHAPTER FIFTEEN Unified Field Theories, 1923-1931 CHAPTER SIXTEEN Turning Fifty, 1929-1931 CHAPTER SEVENTEEN Einstein's God CHAPTER EIGHTEEN The Refugee, 1932-1933 CHAPTER NINETEEN America, 1933-1939 CHAPTER TWENTY Quantum Entanglement, 1935 CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE The Bomb, 1939-1945 CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO One-Worlder, 1945-1948 CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE Landmark, 1948-1953 CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR Red Scare, 1951-1954 CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE The End, 1955 EPILOGUE Einstein's Brain and Einstein's Mind Sources Notes Index
