Einstein: His Life and Universe

An enlightening look at Einstein's life from birth to death and everythinig inbetween. There was just enough discusion of physics to give you a background, but comprehendable to the non-physists of the world. The author covered the creation of the theory of relativity, but it was not the focus of the book. It rather focused on Einstein's aproach to life, his way of thinking and philosophies that caused him to create his theories. I found the book a comprehensive view of his life and entirely enjoyable.

A page turner. Full of the life of Einstein and his fellow scientists in his day. Interesting insights into the person and his work. Easy to understand explanations of the science and theories. A tireless work of research and building up in a logical order of a life filled with the excitement of discovery, the pressure to be first in formulating ideas, to maintain friendships and remain true to basic human dignity in the face of an emerging ruthless political system. The sadness of drifting off on the seemingly dead end of finding a field theory and rejecting the lure of quantum mechanics.
This book was hard to put away for the night. Prose and style give support to the reader. No loose ends, no questions or vagueness. At the end of the book, all has been dealt with and the only thing remaining is the useless bookmark and the need to find a book as good as this one. Of course, one can always start at page one again.

It is interesting to see that 4 years after Isaacson's Benjamin Franklin: An American Life he chose to write about another rebel scientist in Albert Einstein. While the two men make a great compare/contrast it doesn't make it any easier for the author writing the books (NOTE: At no point during "Einstein" does Isaacson try to compare/contrast the two). While writing on Franklin most readers can grasp the scientific and political thoughts that are being discussed. This is not necessarily true of the readers of Einstein.

I need to offer a bit of a disclaimer - I am a degreed engineer who has taken multiple classes in quantum mechanics. However, there are times I had difficulty in grasping the concepts that Isaacson was presenting. While I believe that Isaacson did much research I did find that his approach to explaining the concepts to be a bit clumsy. Please do not take this as being overly negative - MOST people will look clumsy when trying to explain the theory of general relativity or the photoelectric effect. However, in "einstein" it made sections of the book very difficult to read much less comprehend. I have a lot of sympathy to the readers who have never been introduced to these concepts prior to reading "Einstein".

That is the negative - it can be a very difficult read at times (which is the reason for 4 stars instead of 5). On a positive note (and there are many more positives than negatives) Isaacson has presented us with a lovable yet humanly flawed Einstein. We are told of the passion and failures of his first marriage. We are shown great insights into the curious thought experiments that he performed to generate his great insights (such as a person who is accelerated downward at high acceleration doesn't know if it is "gravity" or another force that he is feeling) or the perceived changes in light on a passenger on a train compared to someone viewing from the train station.

Another insight that we rarely see is his opposition to nationalism and the loss of personal liberty. Einstein was a very outspoken critic of McCarthyism and he did not shy away from the controversy. In short, Einstein was a rebel for the conventional thought of science and that of politics. Isaacson is very skilled in showing these comparisons throughout Einstein's life.

While Isaacson's "Einstein" does not reach the level of "Franklin" in story-telling skill or scientific explanation it is still a must read for anyone curious in the development of modern thought in Physics...for everyone else... I hope you are up to the challenge. 4 stars.

4 stars.

This is an outstanding life of Einstein; it portrays his genius at every stage of life, and leads to understanding his positions on issues both scientific and political.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R97YEZJZMMBZG My personal opinion and impression of this complicated life story