Einstein: A Life [Paperback]

Denis Brian (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471193623 | ISBN-13: 978-0471193623 | Publication Date: August 7, 1997 | Edition: 1

Blends the brilliance of the scientific genius with the compassion, playfulness, and wit of the private figure

"A fascinating read with more interesting material about Einstein as a human being than I have ever seen before."--Robert Jastrow, astrophysicist and bestselling author

"A thoughtful and captivating account of one whom I had the joy of knowing and loving."--George Wald, Nobel Prize Laureate

His face is one of the most recognized on the planet. His very name is synonymous with genius. Yet, for all the attention and countless biographies, our images of Albert Einstein rarely go beyond the eccentric and larger-than-life scientist unraveling one cosmic mystery after another.

In this engaging popular biography, Denis Brian draws on a wealth of new information recently opened to the public to bring us a broader, more authentic portrait of Einstein than previously available. The first full-scale Einstein life published in 20 years, it is also the first to integrate Einstein's genius with his private and public life to give us a complete impression of the real person.

We meet an Einstein with a gift for friendship, a romantic with a roving eye for women. We confront a man whose countless scientific triumphs were tempered by tragic ironies in his personal life. We encounter Einstein the humanist who showed compassion for the children of others yet neglected his own sons. We learn from his former assistants how they revered Einstein, how he worked at his science, and of his warm relationships with other physicists.

Based on information drawn from new access to the Einstein archives as well as exclusive interviews with colleagues and friends, Einstein: A Life reveals an endearing and sensititve man, but one slightly detached from even those closest to him, as if he inhabited his own world of lofty thoughts and cosmic dreams.

DENIS BRIAN (West Palm Beach, Florida) is the author of The True Gen: An Intimate Portrait of Hemingway by Those Who Knew Him and Genius Talk: Conversations with Nobel Scientists and Other Luminaries.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

With his halo of white hair, Albert Einstein looked the part of the century's secular saint, and Brian quotes a child asking, "Is that the Lord?" As the successor to Copernicus and Newton in revolutionizing concepts of the physical universe, Einstein was possibly the next best thing. Aside from awkward paragraph transitions and some lazy shortcuts that use parts of interviews verbatim, Brian's anecdotal biography, with just enough science to make Einstein's achievements persuasive, humanizes the icon, whose private life was guarded by zealous executors after his death at 76 in 1955. Once Einstein's elegantly audacious relativity theory emerged in 1905, when he was an obscure 26-year-old Swiss Patent Office examiner, he was on his way to a reputation as "the Columbus of science," his every scrap of paper so treasured that some of his checks were not cashed. In a few strokes of his pen?E=MC2?he revolutionized physics, explaining, "Time and space and gravitation have no separate existence from matter." Despite years of resistance from scientific and political reactionaries, deftly dramatized by Brian, observed phenomena would validate Einstein's equations. After his Nobel Prize in 1922, he unsuccessfully chased the holy grail of physics, a "unified field theory" that might mesh electromagnetism with gravitation. No more successful were his two marriages or his parenting. Eager to prove that the liberal, sometimes naive Jewish refugee from the Nazis was disloyal to his adopted country, J. Edgar Hoover would compile a 1160-page file, what Brian calls a jumble "of fact and fantasy, of lies, rumors, and ravings"?the largest and most unreliable of the dozens of biographies of Einstein. More the life than the work, Brian's unworshipful account is genial and judicious.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The making of the mythology of Albert Einstein began well before his death and shows no sign of abating. One of these books aims to cut through the myth; the other to capitalize on it. Brian's ambitious and well-researched work is a refreshing change from the recent glut of revisionist Einstein biographies, like Roger Highfield and Paul Carter's tawdry The Private Lives of Albert Einstein (LJ 5/1/94). Brian does a fine job of depicting the man, not the myth. Each of his 42 vividly detailed chapters covers a very specific period in Einstein's life. Brian is strong in covering the full range of Einstein's personal, political, and professional activities, and he offers insight into his thinking. This is not, however, a scientific biography, and little is offered by way of explanation of his theories. For that, the best work remains Abraham Pais's Subtle Is the Lord: The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein (LJ 8/82). Still, most general readers will probably prefer the personal, nontechnical style of Brian's book. Recommended for all libraries. Eddington's Essential Einstein is, essentially, fluff. It contains around 90 duotone photographs, in which Einstein is shown as gentle, unkempt, avuncular, eccentric, and visionary?in short, it portrays all of the standard characteristics of the Einstein image that permeates popular culture. Next to the photos are quotes taken from his speeches and writings. True, many of the photos are captivating, so buy this book for your coffee table if you want, but not for your library.?Gregg Sapp, Univ. of Miami Lib., Coral Gables, Fla.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 528 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (August 7, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471193623
• ISBN-13: 978-0471193623
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #866,100 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #80 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( E ) > Einstein, Albert

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Story of Einstein the man, not Einstein the Scientist, November 20, 2002

By 

D. Wolf "wolfd" (Fairfax, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Einstein: A Life (Paperback)

In this very readable biography, Brian conveys an extraordinary amount of information about Einstein's personal life so that the reader gets a real sense of what it must have been like to be around him.

Einstein's brilliance as a scientist did not turn him into a snob even tho' he clearly recognized that he had extraordinary abilities. He was both amused and repulsed by the trappings of celebrity that came with his status. Brian makes clear that Einstein was a kind man, a good friend, and a mediocre husband and father. The same man who labored intently over both scientific and social issues apparently put little effort into his family life. Brian does an excellent job of relating Einstein's family, social, and business world.

The 2 areas where this otherwise good biography falls short are the lack of context about Einstien's scientific achievements and the inadequate treatment of his interaction with other leading scientists outside of social and business matters. To the first matter, the book doesn't address why the theory of relativity mattered. He explains that it is a different model of the universe than what Newton defined centuries earlier; but, he leaves out any discussion of the impact. Similarly, the importance Einstein's quest for a unified theory is identified as an activity, but not why it was an important one. Brian never addresses why Einstein resisted Heisenberg's theories with such vehemence and for so long? The author provides little of Heisenberg, Bohr, or Plank's perspective of Einstein.

If you know the science already, this book is an excellent intrduction to the man. If you only know that Einstein was a "really smart guy," but not why his contributions mattered, then this is not the book for you.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent insight into one of the world's greatest minds., July 22, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Einstein: A Life (Paperback)

This book covers the full spectrum of one of the worlds greatest minds. From his difficult time conforming as a young student, through the financial trials and trial of the heart. For those, like myself, who veiwed Einstein strickly as a scientist, this book will prove as a valuable tool to gain an understanding of his life.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Incredible biography, February 25, 2000

By 

Y. Kaynar "yk3b" (Malden, MA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Einstein: A Life (Paperback)

I'm a big fan of biographies, and have read many, and I can easily rank this one in top 5. It's definetely the definitive biography of Einstein for those that want to get to know Einstein almost on a personal level. The amount of detail is just right and he's never portrayed as a God which other biographers have tried to do. I definetely recommend it.