Customer Reviews: Read 208 more reviews...
 A must-read if you are interested in the history of science September 9, 2008
Walter Isaacson has done a masterful job of retracing Albert Einstein's life, including his earliest childhood, his miracle year of 1905, the development of general relativity and his political activism. This book is an erudite yet thoroughly readable and entertaining look at the man.
His genius was in being able to see physical meaning to equations; to him an equation was a representation of physical reality. His weakness was in not accepting quantum mechanics, to which can be attributed his famous quote about God and dice. Most enjoyable about the book were his exchanges with the quantum scientists such as Max Born and Niels Bohr. Isaacson was completely objective, illustrating his strengths in science, his weaknesses in relationships, and his naïveté in politics.
The author also was able to communicate the difficult scientific concepts necessary for understanding physics today. Indeed this is the clearest book I have read on the subject but possibly also the least detailed, although these may go hand-in-hand. I suggest, if you are making a new foray into reading about the history of physics, that you start here. This book will give you a good foothold into reading other books such as Kip Thorne's "Black Holes and Time Warps: Einstein's Outrageous Legacy."
Einstein liked to hang out in coffee houses and drinking coffee September 3, 2008
I liked learning about his life and what he did for fun. This was an amazing book. It went well with me after reading The Black Swan. Similar stuff in a way. [...]
A life of science and faith -- in the comprehensibility of the universe August 31, 2008
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.)
Not Too Thick for the Thick of Mind August 29, 2008
I had a mild interest in reading about Einstein, but frankly put off reading this biography for the simple reason that it seemed thicker than my interest. But what a wonderful read it is. Isaacson does a graceful job of keeping the pace moving, and an estimable job of explaining the science (to us non-scientists) without letting it bog down the story.
And, quite simply, Einstein is also a fascinating person to read about, especially his later life as an internationalist and world icon. Highly recommended.
great book August 28, 2008
Very interesting book. Easy to understand. A fascinating overview of WWI and WWII. Well-written, informative and enjoyable to read. Hard to put down.
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