Dear Professor Einstein: Albert Einstein's Letters to and from Children [Hardcover]

Alice Calaprice (Editor), Evelyn Einstein (Introduction), Robert Schulmann (Contributor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1591020158 | ISBN-13: 978-1591020158 | Publication Date: January 2002 | Edition: 1

We are often amazed by the wide-eyed innocence and boundless curiosity of children and the questions they ask. And letters to and from children are always appealing, especially so when they are written to someone famous. In "Dear Professor Einstein", Alice Calaprice has gathered a delightful and charming collection of more than sixty letters, most never published before, from children to perhaps the greatest scientist of all time. Obviously, Einstein could not respond to every letter written to him, but the responses he did find the time to write reveal the intimate human side of the great public persona, a man who, though he spent his days contemplating mathematics and physics, was very fond of children and enjoyed being in their company.Whether the children wrote to Einstein for class projects, out of curiosity, or because of prodding from a parent, their letters are amusing, touching, and sometimes quite precocious. Enhancing this correspondence are numerous splendid photographs showing Einstein amid children, wearing an Indian head-dress, carrying a puppet of himself, and donning fuzzy slippers, among many other wonderful pictures, many published for the first time in this book. Complete with a foreword by Einstein's granddaughter Evelyn, a biography and chronology of Einstein's life, and an essay by Einstein scholar Robert Schulmann on the great scientist's educational philosophy, this wonderful compilation will be welcomed by teachers, parents, and all the young, budding scientists in their lives.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"I have started to write before many times, only to tear the letter into bits. For you are such a brillant [sic] person... I am just an average twelve year old girl in the 7A at Eliot Junior High School... You and my uncle, who is in the Coast Guard, are my heroes." So begins one of the many touching missives on everything from the theory of relativity to a comic book about atoms in Dear Professor Einstein: Albert Einstein's Letters to and from Children, edited by Alice Calaprice (The Quotable Einstein). Includes a thumbnail biography, an introduction by Einstein scholar Robert Schulmann and a foreword by the physicist's granddaughter, Evelyn Einstein.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Review

"...[a] jewel of a book that both grown-ups and children will enjoy..." -- Philadelphia Inquirer, December 25, 2002

"...a charming collection...While the children's letters are amusing, much more interesting are Einstein's replies." -- Physics World, December 2002

"...a delightful combination of biography and anthology that will give students and teachers greater insight into science..." -- The Science Teacher, January 2004

"...completely charming...[the letters] reveal Einstein to be eloquent, curious, patient, funny, and--at times--almost painfully forthright." -- BookLoons

"...his replies remind us that he was not just brilliant but also intuitive and kind." -- Rocky Mountain News, January 3, 2003

"...inquisitive kids wrote to Einstein--his replies remind us that he was not just brilliant but also intuitive and kind." -- Arizona Republic, December 22, 2002

"...unique...well-rounded..." -- BookSense

"A hugely rewarding book, liberally scattered with gems..." -- New Scientist

"Delightful..." -- Skeptical Inquirer, March/April 2003

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books; 1 edition (January 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591020158
• ISBN-13: 978-1591020158
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,221,359 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Misleading Title, May 30, 2004

By 

Ji-soo Woo (Seoul, Korea) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dear Professor Einstein: Albert Einstein's Letters to and from Children (Hardcover)

I had been looking forward to this book's release for some time. As yet another self-confessed Einstein fan, the idea of a collection of correspondences between the greatest scientific mind in the history of human endeavour, and curious children from around the world, was irresistable. So, when I finally got my hands on it, I wanted to enjoy it very much. However, in the end, I felt a bit cheated and misled.

First of all, virtually the entire first half of the book (the first 110 pages!) contains no letters whatsoever. Instead it covers a biography of the scientist, discussions on his education, a photo gallery etc... While these were reasonably interesting, you can find similar material elsewhere, and was not the reason why I purchased the book.

And the letters themselves were a bit disappointing. While I enjoyed reading the funny and childish letters written to Einstein, the questions and comments they included whet my appetite for how Einstein might respond (are you going to go insane because all geniuses are said to go insane? Did Houdini discover the 4th dimension, allowing him to walk through walls? etc...). However, there were very few actual replies from Einstein (though the few there were were fascinating to read). Furthermore, many of the letters by Einstein included those to his own relatives or to grown ups - which I felt was not in keeping with the promise of the book.

This book reminded me of those music albums you buy because you hear one or two songs that you really like, only to discover that the remaining eight songs are just fillers to make up the space. Similarly, this book took a few gems and then made a book of it by adding a lot of extra stuff.

This book, titled "Dear Professor Einstein - Albert Einstein's Letters to and From Children" is misleading. I would have felt less cheated if it read something like "Dear Professor - a Biography of Einstein, including letters written to him (mainly from children) and the very few responses we could find that he made". However, that is a bit of a mouthful and probably less appealing from a marketing point of view.

I still gave it a 3 because it's about Einstein... did I mention I was an Einstein fan?

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected, March 3, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Dear Professor Einstein: Albert Einstein's Letters to and from Children (Hardcover)

A good book, but it was not what I expected. Only half the book is actual letters. There are very few with responses from Einstein. There are more letters from children than to children.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A better title than book, December 26, 2004

By 

Mark Mills (Glen Rose, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dear Professor Einstein: Albert Einstein's Letters to and from Children (Hardcover)

The idea conveyed by the title is wonderful, and to some degree the notion is realized. Unfortunately, it doesn't really fly. While there still may be merit in study of Einstein's educational comments to children, this volume doesn't offer much insight.

The book starts with Einstein's grand daughter's recollections of grandpa, then her personal bio of Einstein, then another two mini-bio's by 3rd parties and a bunch of Einstein photos. Finally, we get to the letters, but 'Einstein' only replies to about 1 of 5 letters. Maybe this is enough if Einstein had addressed actually addressed the issues, but they generally offer polite parental advice: study hard and hope for the best.

A few answers might give us a peak into Einstein's metaphysics, but the author doesn't explore them. For example, one child asks if scientists pray. Einstein answers that A) Scientist know prayer cannot influence the laws of physics, so they don't pray. B) But, scientists know their knowledge is limited, so C) they realize God might work in a restricted domain. D) This means scientists have a very special relationship with God. Left unsaid was the less than politically correct D) So, scientists still pray.