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The first full biography of Albert Einstein since all of his papers have become available shows how his scientific imagination sprang from the rebellious nature of his personality. Biographer Isaacson explores how an imaginative, impertinent patent clerk--a struggling father in a difficult marriage who couldn't get a teaching job or a doctorate--became the locksmith of the mysteries of the atom and the universe. His success came from questioning conventional wisdom and marveling at mysteries that struck others as mundane. This led him to embrace a morality and politics based on respect for free minds, free spirits, and free individuals. These traits are just as vital for this new century of globalization, in which our success will depend on our creativity, as they were for the beginning of the last century, when Einstein helped usher in the modern age.--From publisher description.… (more)
Isaacson writes very engaging biographies, so the staggering page count isn't felt along the way. I really enjoyed this, having of course heard bits and pieces about Einstein from the zeitgeist, this helped fill in all the gaps. I sure would like to read about a smart man who wasn't a total womanizer though. Good grief. ( )
Years ago I read Ronald Clark's "The Life and Times of Einstein", remembering it as a difficult book to get through. Since I recall so little of that now I thought another attempt was in order, this time coming from noted biographer Walter Isaacson, particularly after reading glowing reviews for his Steve Jobs bio.
I am now about a quarter through and each page reminds me of how tough I found Clark's effort to be. Maybe that is indicative of a biography about a person's whose life work I have no chance of understanding. At any rate I will continue, as fascinated by Isaacson's seemingly (to him) layman's explanations of physics principles as I am Einstein himself.
UPDATE:
I completed the book a week or so ago. It remained interesting although for reasons I don't understand, Isaacson spent a lot of time demonstrating his knowledge of physics by going into more detail about much that had little to do with Einstein's life. Or at least it seemed that way to me. Nonetheless if that doesn't bother you, I recommend the book, particularly if you have an above average interest in physics. ( )
Walter Isaacson takes you on a pleasant exploration of the human behind the genius without losing sight of the arduous labor behind his scientific discoveries. Einstein's life and universe is packed with guiding principles of what one should strive for as a good scientist, and perhaps, as a human, the mistakes to avoid as a result of it. ( )
Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. --Albert Einten, in a letter to his son Eduard, February 5, 1930
Dedication
To my father, the nicest, smartest, and most moral man I know
First words
"I promise you four papers," the young patent examiner wrote his friend.
Quotations
They even considered the unlikely possibility that the earth was the only thing at rest with respect to the ether, and that everything else in the cosmos was spinning around, including the other planets, the sun, the stars, and presumably poor Copernicus in his grave.
The leader of the group, Mrs. Randolph Frothingham (who, given this context, seemed as if her distinguished family name had been conjured up by Dickens), submitted a sixteen-page typed memo to the U.S. State Department detailing reasons to "refuse and withhold such passport visa to Professor Einstein."
Last words
And thus it was that an imaginative, impertinent patent clerk became the mind read of the creator of the cosmos, the locksmith of the mysteries of the atom and the universe.
The first full biography of Albert Einstein since all of his papers have become available shows how his scientific imagination sprang from the rebellious nature of his personality. Biographer Isaacson explores how an imaginative, impertinent patent clerk--a struggling father in a difficult marriage who couldn't get a teaching job or a doctorate--became the locksmith of the mysteries of the atom and the universe. His success came from questioning conventional wisdom and marveling at mysteries that struck others as mundane. This led him to embrace a morality and politics based on respect for free minds, free spirits, and free individuals. These traits are just as vital for this new century of globalization, in which our success will depend on our creativity, as they were for the beginning of the last century, when Einstein helped usher in the modern age.--From publisher description.
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Quando, nel 1900, Lord Kelvin dichiarò che la fisica non aveva ormai "nulla di nuovo da scoprire", il mondo scientifico non sospettava che, di lì a pochi anni, gli articoli di un giovane impiegato dell'Ufficio brevetti di Berna, basati su esperimenti mentali, avrebbero rivoluzionato la scienza. Albert Einstein, il mite rifugiato in fuga dall'oppressione, con la sua aureola di capelli arruffati, gli occhi pensosi, la sua accattivante umanità e il suo limpido genio spicca come icona suprema del Novecento. Gli impulsi ribelli, la curiosità, le passioni e l'elegante distacco che permeano la sua produzione scientifica hanno dominato anche la vita affettiva e la dimensione politica dell'uomo Einstein. A un secolo di distanza dalle sue straordinarie scoperte risulta ancora stupefacente che un giovane studioso sia riuscito da solo a ridisegnare l'universo. Come funzionava la sua mente? Quanto influiva l'intuizione e quanto la logica nel suo modo di pensare? Che cosa fece di lui un genio? Walter Isaacson ci offre una biografia completa di Einstein, probabilmente lo scienziato più famoso e più amato di tutti i tempi, cercando di indagare lo stretto legame tra creatività e libertà che fece di un fisico teorico capace delle più complicate astrazioni un personaggio pubblico di grande carisma, impegnato a difendere la causa della pace e della giustizia sociale. (piopas)
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