Customer Reviews

Einstein: A Life

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Brian writes an admirable biography on a fascinating man. The books is a bit short on discussing Einsteins thoughts or analysing what led him to his theories. But it gives much background on his private life, much of which was unknown until recently. A good read.

This is quite a good book about his life and history. Although, if you are looking for an explanation of his theories, this wouldn't be it. It's very easy to read and has a very good insight

People who know nothing about Einstein's ideas, nonetheless have ideas about Einstein -- his life, habits, subjects he flunked, and so on. The principal benefit of Mr. Brian's text is its ability to convey a dispassionate objective rendering of Einstein, organized almost as a yearly diary, with each chapter covering a set number of years in the life of this great scientist. It is, as other revewers have noted, a remarkably readable book. One doesn't look here, however, for the scientific contribution -- this is, as the title says, A Life. Einstein's life, though, for all his tendency and capacity for concentrating like a laser on whatever problem he worked, was very much a social life. He made friends quickly, surrounded himself with students quite often, had more than his share of challenges with the many women in his life, and was deeply affected by the wave of anti-semitism that characterized so much of his most productive years. Portrayed in these pages, in other words, is a profoundly human Einstein. In many respects, quite the ordinary man with extrordinary intellectual capacities. Nominated 8 times in 11 years for the Nobel Prize, he was denied the prize, partly because of the anti-semitism of one of the Committee's members, and partly because, well, the Committee was not sure they understood what he was saying. That itself, is an indication of his vision. So, March 14, the year his birth -- Happy Birthday Albert!

I am pretty much in agreement with the fellow amazon reviewer - herrdirektor's impression of this book. It is a very well researched biography. However, the book looms away from Einstein, the man and focuses more into his works. Brian writes of his scientific researches in great detail and in a manner which may not be too convenient for any reader unrelated to the scientific field. I was particularly looking for a book which gave me a glimpse inside the mind of the philosopher/scientist. With its prime focus on his career, this book fails the philosopher that Einstein was. I feel that those philosophies played a very important role and maintaining his mass popularity even after decades of his death. This missing element may disappoint some of the readers.

I started reading about Einstein about 1 year ago and once I read the first book my hunger for knowledge about this person grew so I picked up this book by Denis Brian. I've read a few books about Albert Einstein, "Creator and Rebel" by Banesh Hoffmann, "Der private Albert Einstein by Peter Bucky", "Am Sonntag kuess ich Dich muendlich" by Albert Einstein & Mileva Maric, "Einstein sagt" & "Die Welt wie ich sie sehe" by Albert Einstein. I've enjoyed all these books yet none of them really gave me a big glimpse at who Einstein really was (except for his quotes and his love letters to Mileva, but that's only one side of him). Some of these books attempted to portray the private Einstein but at the same time were careful not to show to much or hide things which weren't thought of proper at the time of publishing (what happened to the Media since then ? ;-) Denis Brian tries to uncover this very private person and does so successfully considering how well protected Einstein was from the public by his close friends, co-workers and neighbors. If you are out for "dirt" on this great scientist, you have the wrong book. You will find out facts, some of them will not enlighten you but at the same time, he was only human. But if you are out for scandalous news about him, forget it, you won't find it here. Back to this book, I found it to be very informative but definitely not boring, very entertaining and delightful. You will catch yourself laughing out loud or snickering at some of the things Einstein said or did and he will remind you of the kid next door, very down to earth. Anyway, I could go on and on, but I really would like to recommend this book. Denis Brian did his homework, the materials have been researched very well (impressive bibliography) and at the same time are written in an entertaining style. Even though I already read a few books about Einstein, I still discovered plenty of new material. If you are looking for a book to become aquainted with the human behind the genius, this will be your best bet!

Author Brian does a commendable job in presenting a very detailed, yet not burdensomely tedious portrait of one the 20th century's most important physicist and one of history's most enduring cults of personality. Brian's book is extensively researched with copious notes, although it does buck the current biographical trend of oral history and personal interviews with eyewitnesses/friends/participants, of which there are only a handful throughout the book's 528 pages. The book's most important feature is Brian's effective blending of Einstein's public/professional/personal lives into a cohesive and comprehensive biography. A thorough and enjoyable biographical tome.

Based on recently released archival material about Einstein, this biogrpahy presents facts that make it clear that Einstein was all too human and reserved most of his passion in life for scientific investigation, while in personal relations he could slide into being aloof, or even callous.

The biographical information is very detailed. This is one of the most thoroughly researched biographies I have ever come accross. Stylistically this may pose some challenge to the reader, because the book becomes very fact-laden and slow about a third way through.

This is a conscientious and detailed examination of Einstein's life. You will probably find out more facts about Einstein from this biography than from any other.