Einstein: A Biography Reprint Edition

This is far from your average biography. To begin with, the narrative is not chronological. The author holds Einstein like a jewel and exposes him one facet at a time. It is a nontraditional approach to a unique man. But it works. The reader is left to put the parts together and it reveals a complex person like anyone, and unlike anyone ever. Also unique in this book is the access the author provides to the science -- yesterday's, today's and tomorrow's. He doesn't just translate complex ideas into accessible forms, which he does wonderfully, but he displays these achievements and failures in their full historical, social and political context as well. That alone is worth the price of the book. Finally, this wonderful book is the product of a German writer (and a translator whose work is wonderfully transparent). Being European gives this scientist/author comfortable access to other European scientists (something that is often a challenge to US science writers). His European roots enhance the analysis of the influences of antisemitism, Nazism and McCarthyism on Einstein. Time with this book is well spent.

This is an excellent biography of Albert Einstein, whom Neffe considers "...one of the greatest men in the history of the world...." In addition to special and general relativity (including how these ideas developed in his mind), there is very good coverage of Einstein's contributions to quantum physics, including the photoelectric effect, the duality of light, Bose-Einstein statistics and condensates, stimulated emission, and the EPR paradox. Neffe explains how Einstein's work in relativity and quantum physics is influencing research in physics today. There is the interesting story of how East Germany (GDR) honored Einstein by renovating his vacation home in Caputh and of the woman--a former art teacher--who was hired by the GDR in 1979 to be its caretaker and who continued in that role after German reunification. The biography also covers Einstein's private life as well as problems caused by anti-Semitism both in Germany and in the U.S., where his humanitarian concerns in the latter also caused difficulties. This comprehensive biography should by read by anyone with an interest in Einstein, science, or human civilization.

The opening chapter is the key to opening EINSTEIN by Jurgen Neffe. The vivid prose describes Thomas Harvey's autopsy of Albert Einstein's brain. Harvey basically steals the brain in which "he (Harvey) is certain, lies the key to understanding the greatest intellectual creative power." The chapter stands as a metaphor for Neffe's literary dissection of Einstein's psychological and rational mind.I suppose that when I chose Jurgen Neffe's book, I anticipated a more standard biography. I possibly expected a narrative of Einstein's life. Instead, Neffe's meticulously researched take on Einstein delves into the man's thinking processes for his scientific research. Neffe similarly attempts to get into Einstein's mind concerning his personal relationships with wives, children, mistresses, colleagues, and the world in general.The following sentence appears on the front flap of the jacket: "Neffe offers a fresh portrait of the man behind the myth . . . in clear and accessible prose." I'm not certain "clear and accessible prose" is completely applicable here. Meticulous is a better adjective to describe the author's writing style. Possibly minutiae is a second adjective.It appears that Neffe left no letter unturned in his research. Einstein's scientific journals, notebooks and papers were apparently scoured for insights. When discussing Einstein's relationships with his family, Neffe does not create a chronological path of events. This approach tends to get a reader lost in a time warp of letter excerpts. As Neffe analyzes Einstein's scientific thought processes, the mathematical-physics challenged reader becomes embroiled in moving trains, falling elevators, spacetime,speed of light, deflection, and mathematical formulas. This thought is not to detract from Neffe's work. The biography is a much more enlightening approach than Harvey's autopsy to understanding the genius of the man.

This book has all the history, all the details, all the math, all the wild hair, and all the fun. This was the only book I had read on the man, and I think it will be the last, since I can't imagine anything better. Well written, moves fast, you feel like you really learned a thing or two or three. Even the theories are explored in terms you can visualize (key method Einstein used was to visualize ideas in his head...) and while we won't get it all, we get enough to realize how gifted the man was. A pretty good person too, though human like us all and took a few missteps here and there, which brings him closer to us as a human rather than this Sheldon genius.

A rare read. Writing about a very popular but not necessarily well known subject is a real challenge and that challenge is fully met here.The author manages to keep a steady flow of relevant narrative from the first to the last page, going as deep as possible into psychological, scientific and historical facts.Einstein comes fully to life once again. A work not to be missed!

This books is well written, with many pages of formal references if you want to check his sources!Every page drags you to the next one screaming for more, and shows you that Einstein was much more than the science icon that was created around him (and in some cases, much less). This book covers his groundbreaking science, his family relationships and relationships with various women, his political involvement, his difficult relationship with zionism and eventually his fall to shame in the scientific community.I couldn't stop reading it, but I was at times worried i'd never find the end! A long, fantastic and well cited resource on arguably the most important man for civilization today.

Revealed the humanity in Hr. Einstein;the pluses as well as the negatives

A lively and engaging work! The opening draws one in and knocks your socks off. Loved it. With no scientific knowledge or ability, I was able to follow the explanations of the Relativity Theory and the General Relativity subtleties. But there is so much more in the human story too. Readable, memorable, admirable!

Puede ser interesante para quien ya sepa lo esencial sobre el personaje. Aporta nueva información sobre cartas u otros documentos que se han ido conociendo posteriormente a muchas de las otras obras existentes. Más duro de leer que el de W. Isaacson, pero vale la pena.

I found this biography easy to read and follow. It tries to present Einstein in an objective light, but is lyrical and thoughtful. Without casting judgement the writer moves you to make your own judgement.I feel only sadness when I hear of Einsteins private life and what happened to his wives and children. In that sense he was as ordinary as the rest of us, and perhaps more tragic.I feel only total exhilaration and excitement when I read how he came about the theory of relativity which surely is the most awesome thought man has ever had? Tough competition from Darwin on Evolution I think and of course Watson and Crick with DNA.He let his religious and philosophical prejudices cloud his scientific judgement sometimes, but relativity opened up cosmology (how was the universe created) which allowed science to move into an area dominated by religion and myths. He would have smiled I think when the Supernova teams under Perlmutter and Schmidt discovered our universe is accelerating its expansion.The writer mixes the chapters so that you follow his life as his ideas develop. As a biography and style of writing throughly recommended.

This is a well written, engaging account of Einstein's life. It differs from most biographies in the sense that it proceeds by examining themes in Einstein's life as opposed to telling his life story in strict chronological order.The main stages and successes and failures of the subject's life are covered in sufficient detail The author is generally successful is describing the essentially mathematical content of Einstein's theories in a way which can be followed by non-mathematicians.After completing the book, while appreciating the genius of Einstein, I was left with a feeling of sadness. Either because of his essential character or because of his single-mindedness, Einstein's personal life was less successful. Neither of his two marriages gave him the happiness that he would have hoped for and he spent the last third of his life in a country he didn't really like.

I have read many books on relativity and quantum theory, and there are some very talented scientists who are able to explain Einstein's discoveries in layman's terms. Neffe and his translator Frisch deserve to be amongst that group. The passages in this that are about the nature of those discoveries are clearer than anything I have read before. Wonderful.For all that this isn't a wonderful book, merely a good one. I am by no means a prude, and appreciate that the more salacious parts of Einstein's biography are what will cause the books to fly off the shelves, but I found the focus on rumours about the scientist's personal life and repetition of scandalous claims from single sources to be a little tiresome. In my view private lives are just that.In addition, the book is badly in need of a good editor - it could and should have been two thirds as long. There is a lot of repetition and overlap between chapters and often two paragraphs will essentially repeat themselves.For all that, the science in here makes it well worth reading.