Einstein: The Passions of a Scientist [Hardcover]

Barry Parker (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1591020638 | ISBN-13: 978-1591020639 | Publication Date: March 2003 | Edition: First Edition

Einstein continues to captivate, not only for his revolutionary scientific insights but also for his complex personality and personal pursuits. In this unique contribution to the Einstein literature, physicist and acclaimed science writer, Barry Parker draws on the great scientist's letters and personal papers to explore the intellectual and emotional passions that motivated both his work and his life. Parker focuses on five aspects of Einstein's emotional nature that had a profound influence on his life and career. This is an original, insightful look at one of the greatest geniuses of all time who did so much to shape our vision of the world.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Readers familiar with the famous photograph of Albert Einstein sticking his tongue out at the camera or the anecdote about his accompanying Christmas carolers on his violin know that he wasn't one of those aloof, unsmiling geniuses so often caricatured in movies. Prolific science author Parker (Einstein's Brainchild: Relativity Made Relatively Easy!) brings us a well-constructed biography that shows how the great scientist's various passions-for music, learning, peace, women-existed side by side with, and occasionally affected, his work. Einstein had a stormy love life as a young man. He and his first wife, Mileva, had a daughter before they were married whom they probably put up for adoption, and Einstein was living with his second wife, Elsa, before his divorce with Mileva was finalized. Even after he was happily married, Parker notes, he always enjoyed talking to a pretty woman. Parker relays how Einstein once got the solution for a scientific problem that had been puzzling him while picking out a tune at the piano. Late in life, he took refuge from his teaching and research at Princeton in sailing, as well as by playing his beloved violin. It's a minor quibble that the author doesn't demonstrate much insight into Einstein's love of music, and another that he shows a surprising na‹vet‚ about male-female relations at times. Parker does a superb job of explaining Einstein's groundbreaking early scientific papers and the special and general theories of relativity. There is little if any original research here, but readers looking for a good introduction to the 20th century's leading physicist will enjoy this. Photos.
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"...Einstein was indeed a brilliant physicist whose life had its ups and downs. He was, after all, human." -- Tribune & Times, July 20, 2003

"...portrait of a brilliant, complex, and sometimes unsettling person...sure to hold the interest of the general reader." -- Isis, December 2003

"Highly recommended." -- Choice, November 2003

"Short and simple...offers an easy entrance into Einstein's lifetime preoccupations." -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch, December 7, 2003

"There was no question [Einstein] was a genius, but this book shows how human he was too." -- Bookviews.com, June 2003

"We are pleased to recommend this modestly priced, insightful, behind-the-scenes look, containing scores of fascinating stories and amusing anecdotes..." -- The Chemical Educator, Vol. 9 No. 3, 2004

"readers will be left feeling as if they've had a valuable opportunity to get to know this brilliant, complicated man." -- Ft. Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel, April 20, 2003

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 297 pages
• Publisher: Prometheus Books; First Edition edition (March 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1591020638
• ISBN-13: 978-1591020639
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,948,566 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am a professor emeritus at Idaho State University where I taught physics and astronomy for 30 years. I also taught a writing class at night school at the university for several years. I am the author of 24 books and have written for the Smithsonian, Encyclopedia, Britannica, Time-Life Books, the Washington Post, and numerous magazines such as "Astronomy, Sky and Telescope, Flyfisherman, and Fishing World." My most recent books are "Good Vibrations: The Physics of Music," "Write a Book that Will Sell," and "You Should Write a Book." I now spend most of my time writing, but also enjoy travelling, hiking and fishing. Most of my early books were on popular science, but I've now branched into other areas. My webpage is BarryParkerbooks.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A well written account of his life., April 15, 2006

By 

Matt Kress (McLean, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Einstein: The Passions of a Scientist (Hardcover)

This book does an excellent job of telling the life of Einstein. The author, Barry Parker takes many accounts of his life and sums them all up into one book. The author was compelled to write about Einstein because of how important he was to our understanding of physics. I highly recommened this story because unlike most biographies this one throws in some humor, which keeps you interested. Also, this book not only talks about Einstein's many achievements but also takes you into his younger years. This book is also short so if you are interested in Einstein but do not want to read a 500 page book about him pick this one up. This book also includes many photographs and drawings of his early years and of people who influenced him in his life. My favorite fact of this book is that Einstein was not only interested in math and physics, but also enjoyed playing music.

The only negative part of this story is some of the chapters feel out of place. Parker begins to jump around near the end. Other then that it is an excellent read.

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent read, October 15, 2003

By 

Glenn Parker "Glenn Baker" (Moncks Corner, S.C.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Einstein: The Passions of a Scientist (Hardcover)

I have just read "Einstein: The Passions of a Scientist" and found it to be most informative and entertaining. I have always been curious about Einstein, what kind of a person he was, what his interests were outside of science. Mr. Parker, in fine style, certainly answers those questions and more. He has a very arresting way of capturing Einstein's personality. Mr. Parker has a writing style that I find particularly easy to read and understand, a rare quality amongst science writers. Congratulations Mr. Parker for a book that not only held my complete attention throughout, but was also entertaining and educational. Geoff Pearson, Jacksonville, N.C.

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice story, but very sloppy writing, September 30, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Einstein: The Passions of a Scientist (Hardcover)

This book provides some entertaining anecdotes about Einstein's life. I'm never certain as to how far one can trust such anecdotes, but they are fun to hear about anyway. However, this is one of the most poorly written books I have ever read. The typographical, grammatical, and spelling errors are rampant throughout the entire read. I wonder if there was no editor involved with the project whatsoever. For example, he writes at one point about a young woman named Suzanne, and within the same paragraph he mistakenly refers to her as Susan. The sentences are very poorly constructed, very redundant compositionally, and overall written as if from a sixth-grade point-of-view. The author's skill is clearly not a literary one, and he should have collaborated with a writer who knew what they were doing. The errors are so frequent, that it becomes difficult to trust what's written -- if you encountered a fact that seems puzzling, it is easy to brush it off as another typo. I was a bit embarrassed and insulted to find myself reading such low-level writing. But the book doesn't entirely fail, since it still leaves you with some nice feelings about Einstein.