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Einstein, his life and times,

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Phillip Frank was the German professor who replaced Einstein when he left Prague for Berlin. Frank was a fine theoretical physicist and a very cultivated man. Afterwards, in America, he became a philosopher of science at Harvard, I believe. This book is not the most complete biography of Einstein, but I still think it is the most intelligent, and the most beautifully written. Having had many conversations with Einstein at the peak of his career, he offers wonderful portraits of both the early life of the genius and of his work. I lost the count of how many times I read this book!

When discussing the life of Einstein it is never clear whether one's focus should be on the simple biographical facts, the scientific work or his political and social activism. This book attempts a distillation and mostly succeeds because it captures the essense of the man who was simultaneously many things - a complex, gentle person who became a persona.

For a long time he was defined by the equation E=MC2 but over time his other theoretical work has been explored (and many times dismissed) and more importantly, his early years and the ideas that emerged from that era have come more sharply into focus. The author provides a wealth of data on the European life of Einstein which is interesting in itself.

The author waxes eloquently on the non-scientific side of the man, the humanist that the world knows today. This is a beautiful, complete work covering all aspects of Einstein's life.

Einstein: His Life and Times was written by Philipp Frank, Einstein's close friend and colleague. It includes a plethora of information about Einstein's life and ideas as well as the effects of his work. The biography begins with information about Einstein's family, childhood, and early schooling along with the first signs of his interest in intellectual topics. The book discusses Einstein's personality and his relationships with others including colleagues, friends, and students. The book is not constrained to physics alone. It also goes very deep into philosophy and how philosophical ideas have shaped the world of science and physics. Besides Einstein's personal life and struggles (e.g., with anti-Semitism and finances), Philipp Frank explains Einstein's major theories (including the theory of relativity, the quantum theory, and the equivalence of mass and energy) and scientific ideas. Obviously, Einstein's theories are very complex, and even many scientists of his day could not fully comprehend them. However, Frank tries to explain these theories in terms that can be understood by most people. The book is interesting because it is not overly simple (it includes some very difficult concepts and proofs), but it isn't overly complex either. Frank covers many topics, ranging from curved space to the relativity of time to the atomic bomb. There is also lots of discussion of politics and the effect of the Nazis and World Wars on Einstein and physics. Philipp Frank has written this book for several reasons. Firstly, Einstein was a great influence on his life because they were colleagues and good friends. In addition, Einstein appointed Frank as his successor as the professor of Theoretical Physics at the University of Prague. Frank must have felt extremely fortunate to be connected with a man of such intelligence and fame. Frank wants to provide the reader with his personal insights and experiences with the world's most recognized genius of the modern age. His purpose was to perhaps provide a clearer picture and understanding of this enigmatic man known as Einstein. Frank even says in the introduction, "I am writing this biography of Einstein...for people who want to understand something of the contradictory and complicated twentieth-century world....[A]nyone who comprehends even a little of Einstein's personality, his work, and its influence will have taken a long step toward [such] an understanding." Anyone who is at all interested in Einstein's life, his ideas, or abstract concepts regarding physics and philosophy should read this book. The book is absolutely full of interesting facts, experiences, and information. I had a lot of fun reading it especially because it is suited for both the layman and the more advanced.

Einstein was and still remains the most compelling figure of the 20th century. He is universally recognized as the greatest mind the world has ever known even though many of his proponents do not understand the theories that made him a public figure in the first place. Einstein: His Life and Times attempts to shed light on both the theories that created the genius and the genius that created the theories that forever altered the course of mankind. In describing Einstein's theories, Frank is more than competent as he was Einstein's successor as Professor of Theoretical Physics in Prague. There is no doubt that Frank understands the concepts articulated by his predecessor. For the lay person Frank's explanations and the prose they are written in are difficult to comprehend. To worsen the symptoms, the in depth discussion of the theories of special and general relativity, as well as the history and development of the physical sciences are laborious reads at best. Moments such as these are precisely what keeps this biography from achieving the greatness it is capable of. Frank would have served his audience better if he had trimmed the biography of some of it's theoretical "fat" and "seasoned" it with deeper insight into the humanism of it's subject. For the most part Einstein: His Life and Times was an enjoyable read, I just wish I had tried one the other Einstein biographies instead.

When discussing the life of Einstein it is never clear whether one's focus should be on the simple biographical facts, the scientific work or his political and social activism. This book attempts a distillation and mostly succeeds because it captures the essense of the man who was simultaneously many things - a complex, gentle person who became a persona.

For a long time he was defined by the equation E=MC2 but over time his other theoretical work has been explored (and many times dismissed) and more importantly, his early years and the ideas that emerged from that era have come more sharply into focus. The author provides a wealth of data on the European life of Einstein which is interesting in itself.

The author waxes eloquently on the non-scientific side of the man, the humanist that that the world knows today. This is a beautiful, complete work covering all aspects of Einstein's life.