Customer Reviews

Einstein's Cosmos: How Albert Einstein's Vision Transformed Our Understanding of Space and Time (Great Discoveries)

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as you can see from my title, i am a child of the 60's. einstein died when i was 4. i am of average intelligence, with a college degree in english. math and science were never my favorite subjects, nor was i very good at them.

with all that in mind, i was blown away by this book. it covers the biography of eistein only minimally and spends the majority of its fast paced, easy reading 235 pages talking about the discoveries of einstein and their impact on the sceintific community.

i won't try to improve on what the author does so well, and that is explain in simple terms the concepts of einstein. to be perfectly honest, i'm still not sure of them all exactly nor what they portend.

what further amazed me is how this genius thinks. he thought in pictures. "what if i traveled as fast as the speed of light, what would it look like?" "why when i fall do i become weightless?" his failure at the end of his life to solve his unified field theory was because he couldn't put it into a picture.

i always go back to the old movie "the paper chase". in it the harvard professor played by john houseman tells his students that it is his job to teach them how to think. i firmly believe that that is what the education system needs to do. teach people how to think. had i been taught physics with the concepts in this book, i would not have dreaded every minute i spent in that course.

read, enjoy, wonder! a great trip through an amazing mind.

+++++

This book, by Dr. Michio Kaku, deals with three main themes that are intertwined together:

(1)The life of Dr. Albert Einstein (March 1879 to April 1955)
(2)The all-important science of Einstein
(3)The important scientific contributions of others and some insight into their lives.

This slim book contains three parts each made up of three surprisingly easy-to-read chapters. Below I will give the title of each chapter (not necessarily the same as the book's) and what I consider to be the highlights of each chapter. For chapter nine, I will provide a overview only.

Part I:

(1) Physics before Einstein

The scientific discoveries of Isaac Newton and James Clerk Maxwell.

(2) The Early Years of Einstein

Einstein in school; Einstein and religion; Einstein's introduction to science, mathematics, and philosophy; his thinking; his loves; Einstein and authority; Einstein begins working for a living; his marriage.

(3) Special Relativity and the "Miracle Year of 1905"

Einstein's first thought picture; two simple principles by Einstein that "mark the most profound insights into the nature of the universe since Newton's work;" his famous equation; Einstein explains the photoelectric effect; he gives the first experimental proof of the existence of atoms; Einstein receives his Ph.D.: Einstein's guiding principle in physics; Experimental evidence confirms some of Einstein's ideas; Einstein becomes a professor of physics; the famous "twin paradox;" his marriage begins to "unravel;" Einstein meets his second love.

Part II:

(4) General Relativity (1915)

The concept of free fall; the difference between Newton's and Einstein's thinking; Einstein's second thought picture; Euclidian or flat-surface geometry versus non-Euclidian or curved-surface geometry; Einstein explains what causes gravity; Einstein focuses on three experiments that would eventually prove his ideas concerning the geometry of space and gravity; an outbreak of war; Einstein saves a close friend from execution; he suffers a breakdown; Einstein marries again.

(5) Einstein Becomes Famous

A solar eclipse of 1919 confirms Einstein's theory of gravity; he goes from professor of physics to a world figure, "a worthy successor to Isaac Newton;" Einstein's fame attracts many detractors; Einstein decides to promote other causes such as peace; he wins the Nobel Prize; Einstein visits the United States; his thoughts on philosophy and religion.

(6) Einstein's Universe

Einstein's static and finite universe; he introduces a "fudge factor" (cosmological constant) in his theory of general relativity; Edwin Hubble's discoveries "shake the foundations of astronomy"; Einstein's "greatest blunder of his life;" general relativity introduces unexpected concepts such as the expanding universe, the "big bang," black holes, neutron stars, gravity waves, and Einstein lenses & rings.

Part III:

(7) Unification and Quantum theory (1925)

Einstein begins work on the unified field theory (unifies his theory of gravity and the theory of electromagnetism) - this theory is also known as the "theory of everything;" marble versus wood; reformulation of Einstein's general relativity into five dimensions (four of space and one of time); problem: Einstein has no guiding thought picture to show him the way to develop a unified field theory; physicists become preoccupied with quantum theory or quantum mechanics; the dual nature of light; a famous wave equation; antimatter; the uncertainty principle; the historic Bohr-Einstein debate; a famous physicist's cat; Einstein's EPR experiment; wormholes.

(8) War, Peace, Death, and an Unfinished Theory

In December 1932, Einstein and some of his scientific colleagues leave Germany for good; Einstein goes to the Institute of Advanced Study at Princeton in the U.S.; Einstein's second wife dies and he is devastated; the atomic bomb in theory; neutron discovered (1932); nuclear fission of uranium (1938); verification of Einstein's famous equation; worry that the Germans would be the first to develop the atomic bomb; historic letter (signed by Einstein) given to President Roosevelt; the secret Manhattan Project; Einstein not chosen for this project since he "could not be trusted;" first bomb detonated July 1945; Einstein makes the cover of "Time" (1946); Einstein becomes chairman of the first major anti-nuclear organization; Einstein continues work on the unified field theory; time machines; Einstein's first wife and some friends die; Einstein dies (1955); unification field theory unfinished.

(9) Einstein's Legacy: This chapter is a truly fascinating one. Kaku explains:

"[S]cientific developments in the last few decades have given us an entirely new look into Einstein's legacy. Because his work was so fundamental...his impact continues to reverberate throughout physics...[C]rumbs that have tumbled off Einstein's plate are now winning Nobel Prizes for other scientists...This chapter discusses new developments in three areas where Einstein's enduring legacy continues to dominate the world of physics: the quantum theory, general relativity and cosmology, and the unified field theory."

This book reads like a novel. Considering the subject matter, I think being able to say this makes this book an extraordinary achievement. As well, this book contains no equations (except Einstein's famous equation). Kaku's main narrative is easy to read. He incorporates into the main narrative the actual words used by Einstein and others. I especially enjoyed Kaku's parenthetical statements he made throughout the book.

I'm not sure why but this book has no index. (A name index listing all the scientists and Nobel Prize winners would also have been an asset). Even though this is not absolutely necessary, it helps if you want to look up something quick. Also, there are no diagrams or pictures in this book. Again, these are not absolutely needed since the narrative is so clearly written.

Finally, I was surprised that there was no mention of the chemical element named after Einstein. It's called Einsteinium (symbol Es).

In conclusion, this book interweaves the story of Albert Einstein's scientific insights with his personal and political life. If you want a comprehensible tour of one of the most creative minds of the twentieth century, then this is the book to get!!

(first published 2004; preface; acknowledgements; 9 chapters; main narrative of 210 pages; (foot)notes; bibliography)

+++++

There are many Einstein biographies out there, and I've read a number of them. In my opinion, this is one of the most concise and readable ones. The writing is clear and engaging, thus making the book difficult to put down. Einstein's theories are clearly explained for anyone to understand, amidst the main highlights of his life and times. I recommend this book to a wide audience, from science buffs to Einstein fans to anyone wanting to understand what is was that made Einstein so famous, and why.

Michio Kaku, a respected theoretical physicist at City College of New York, has created an outstanding examination of Einstein's life and technical accomplishments, certainly among the best books on Einstein that I have encountered. Einstein's Cosmos targets the layman and as such it avoids mathematics, and yet I am quite certain that it will appeal to technically inclined readers also. Michio Kaku's explanations of Einstein's monumental work, especially the Special Theory of Relativity and his General Theory of Relativity, are remarkably clear and will be readily understood by nearly all readers.

I was especially fascinated by Kaku's analysis of Einstein's later efforts to unify gravity and electromagnetics. He argues persuasively that much of Einstein's unification efforts, almost always dismissed by writers and biographers as irrelevant and misdirected, has in recent decades pointed a new generation of physicists toward new breakthroughs and discoveries. Einstein's vision was decades ahead of most of his contemporaries. His final quest may have been unsuccessful, but his legacy remains vibrant and highly influential.

Einstein's Cosmos : How Albert Einstein's Vision Transformed Our Understanding of Space and Time was published 2004 in the Great Discoveries Series. I also highly recommend another title in this series, Incompleteness: The Proof and Paradox of Kurt Godel by Rebecca Goldstein. Godel was Einstein's closest intellectual companion during Einstein's later years at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Princeton.

The author shares personal details (as well as scientific triumphs and failures) of Einstein in such a way that you will feel like you had been Einstein's close personal friend throughout his life. Extrememely well-written, and easy to understand. I don't have much time to read as I am a busy mom, but this book was worth making the time for.

In this small book Prof. Kaku has created a marvelously entertaining and easy-to-read biography of the scientist whose very name has, somewhat illogically, become synonymous with any and all flavors of genius. As a physicist himself, Kaku enriches the narrative with lucid explanations and personal scientific judgments. He consistently shows a sure hand for striking a nice balance between the extremes of expecting too much, or too little, from the general reader.

The author describes vividly the many fascinating aspects of Einstein's life, including a brief obsession with religion at 11, an uneasy relationship with conventional education, difficulty finding a job, a stint as a patent examiner combined with startlingly original contributions to physics, escape to America from an increasingly Nazified Germany, the triumph of General Relativity, and finally life as a scientific elder statesman at Princeton, doggedly chasing the elusive unified field theory and insisting to the end that the intrinsically probabilistic quantum theory he helped establish could not represent ultimate reality.

Woven into the narrative by Kaku the biographer are many valuable insights from Kaku the physicist. For instance, he counters the popular misconception that relativity brought classical physics crashing down, and that Newton's equations were suddenly revealed as useless or wrong. Relativity did perform the astonishing feat of reducing classical dynamics to a special case, but it is an exceedingly important case which is still used daily by engineers and scientists around the world. In the author's words (p. 65), "...for everyday velocities, Newton's laws are perfectly fine." Kaku contrasts Einstein's accomplishments with today's physics in some interesting ways, including a remark on page 224 proposing that the encyclopedic Standard Model of quantum particle behavior is, despite its predictive success, "...perhaps one of the ugliest theories ever proposed in science." So much for the notion that truth and beauty always go hand in hand.

The author provides an edifying resolution of the famous "twin paradox" by emphasizing that although the relative velocity histories of the moving and stationary twins must be symmetrical and indistiguishable, their histories as recorded by separate accelerometers attached to each twin would be very different. The traveling twin encounters the time stretching effect of large velocity changes with respect to inertial space, hence returns younger than her stay-at-home sibling. The key is to recognize that the required accelerations move the problem out of the limited realm of special relativity.

The book's story line skillfully blends Einstein's professional life with illuminating vignettes of his nonscientific side. For instance, he was not an unqualified pacifist and supported the use of force when challenged by an enemy, such as the German/Japanese alliance in World War II, which pursued destruction of life as an end in itself. Occasionally Einstein could appear shockingly naive, as when he suggested locating the Jewish state in a country such as Peru to avoid replaying the "promised land" conflicts described so vividly in the Old Testament. Odd as it seems, this proposal was consistent with Einstein's way of looking at things, which supported some aspects of Zionism but simply could not countenance any claim to supernatural land grants.

I found only two drawbacks: First, the absence of illustrations was a letdown, especially since Einstein was known for thinking in pictures. Second, lack of an index is frustrating in any non-fiction book, and especially in one as good as this.

The author loves Einstien. Good simplification of Einstiens' work. I gave this a 4 star because I understand more about einsteins theories now than before I read it.

I have gained even more respect for Einstein. From the book, I am impressed that he seems like a real down to earth decent person. He also suffered from many trials and tribulations (like hating school and almost not passing entrance exams, etc.).

Michio Kaku is obviously very fond of Albert Einstein. That much is evident through the affectionate, absorbed style in which he writes about the great man. But that fondness in no way inhibits Kaku from bringing to the reader the fascinating story of Einstein's life and the absolutely astounding leaps he made in the realm of physics.
With his typical smooth and easy style, Kaku emphasizes for the reader in just what darkness scientists lingered when Einstein came along to rattle the world. Most were still clinging to Newtonian theories. Little was known about the nature of light and gravity. And then came an obscure patent clerk with theories we still hear about in present day headlines.
Kaku's book is not just one more on the life of Time Magazines Man of the Century. Because Kaku has the same gift that Einstein possessed -- that of an eagerness and ability to share complex science with the layman who cannot make sense of formulas and esoteric language.
Einstein once said that science that could not be explained to a child was not worth much at all. Kaku clearly embraces the same philosophy. In this book and others, he brings mind blowing science to the masses. Read "Einstein's Cosmos" and you'll have a solid grasp of where we were, what Einstein did for us, and where we are going. And by the end, you might want to get a poster of Kaku to hang next to the Einstein portrait hanging on your office wall.

All physicists learn about Einstein's papers published in 1905 on the subjects of special relativity, the photoelectric effect, and Brownian motion. His general theory of relativity which followed a few years later made him world famous. However, his attempts at a unified field theory, a "theory of everything", have not been well regarded. The author revises our view of Einstein's work, pointing out that Einstein's field theory investigations were a precursor to modern-day string theory. He also explores the effects predicted by Einstein that were not observed for another sixty or seventy years: the Bose-Einstein condensation in which a collection of atoms acts as one; gravitational lensing by distant galaxies to form Einstein rings; and gravity wave radiation. However, Professor Kaku has missed one very important Einstein contribution. Einstein pioneered the theory of stimulated emission of radiation in 1917. This forms the theoretical foundation for lasers which were not demonstrated for another forty years. Lasers are a pervasive technology, used for everything from supermarket bar code scanners and CD players to eye surgery.

Can you write a book about a physicist and his work without including a single equation or diagram? Apparently you can. The author makes it work. I also recommend his book "Hyperspace".

The professor, Michio Kaku, has easily become one of my favorite authors. That Einstein was the greatest scientist of the past century there's no doubt. And the author in addition to being a physicist is able to explain, in a warm, and caring way, how Einstein pictured, in his mind, what eventually became his theory of special relativity. But there's more; Prof. Kaku provides us a glimpse of the life, thoughts, frustrations, and accomplishments of Einstein the man as well. An easy, and interesting read for sure.