Physicists on Wall Street and Other Essays on Science and Society [Hardcover]

Jeremy Bernstein (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0387765050 | ISBN-13: 978-0387765051 | Publication Date: August 19, 2008 | Edition: 1

Over the years, Jeremy Bernstein has been in contact with many of the world’s most renowned physicists and other scientists, many of whom were involved in politics, literature, and language. In this diverse collection of essays, he reflects on their work, their personal relationships, their motives, and their contributions. Even for those people he writes about that he did not know personally, he provides important insights into their lives and work, and questions their character, their decisions, and the lives they led. In the first three essays, Professor Bernstein looks at economic theory and how some physicists who developed interesting economic models based on derivatives and hedge funds almost led to the country into bankruptcy. In later essays, he discusses a suspect visit to Poland by the great Heisenberg during the Nazi era, a visit that there is almost nothing written about. Included also are essays on ancient languages and a nuclear weapons program in South Africa that was supposedly dismantled. In one particularly humorous essay, he describes how an ill-conceived manned spaceship to be powered by an atomic bomb was being developed by some of the country’s most powerful intellects. The project never got off the ground. Dipping into these pages is like rummaging around in the mind of a genius who has a potpourri of interests and an abundance of fascinating experiences. Bernstein has not only rubbed elbows with some of the finest minds in world, he has worked and played with them. He has sometimes mourned with them and laughed at them. His sharp wit and even sharper analysis make for a fascinating read.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Over the years, Jeremy Bernstein has been in contact with many of the world’s most renowned physicists and other scientists, many of whom were involved in politics, literature, and language. In this diverse collection of essays, he reflects on their work, their personal relationships, their motives, and their contributions. Even for those people he writes about that he did not know personally, he provides important insights into their lives and work, and questions their character, their decisions, and the lives they led. In the first three essays, for example, Professor Bernstein looks at economic theory and how some physicists who developed interesting economic models based on derivatives and hedge funds almost led to the country into bankruptcy. In later essays, he discusses a suspect visit to Poland by the great Heisenberg during the Nazi era, a visit that there is almost nothing written about. There are essays on ancient languages and a nuclear weapons program in South Africa that was supposedly dismantled. In one particularly humorous essay, he describes how an ill-conceived manned spaceship to be powered by an atomic bomb was being developed by some of the country’s most powerful intellects. Needless to say, the project never got off the ground! Dipping into these pages is like rummaging around in the mind of a genius who has a potpourri of interests and an abundance of fascinating experiences. Bernstein has not only has rubbed elbows with some of the finest minds in world, he has worked with them and played with them. He has sometimes mourned with them and laughed at them. His sharp wit and even sharper analysis make for reading you simply can’t put down.

About the Author

Many readers will recognize Bernstein (Cranks, Quarks & the Cosmos, LJ 1/93) as the noted science essayist for the New Yorker for the past 30 years. He has also contributed essays to Scientific American and The Atlantic Monthly. He wrote A Theory for Everything (Copernicus, 1996) which collected some of his essays as well as Hitler's Uranium Club 2e (Copernicus, 1996) and Secrets of the Old One: Einstein, 1905 (Springer, 2006).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 195 pages
• Publisher: Springer; 1 edition (August 19, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0387765050
• ISBN-13: 978-0387765051
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,440,558 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars ignoring minor quibbles, August 27, 2011

By 

Happy Hippo - See all my reviews

This review is from: Physicists on Wall Street and Other Essays on Science and Society (Paperback)

The other reviewer is right about there not being an essay with the title "Physicists On Wall Street" but there are a bunch of essays that can arguably be said to constitute the theme. Ignoring this minor quibble and the typos existent due to inadequate editing, this is an entertaining book in the same vein as the author's "The Merely Personal", you can dip into it for pleasurable reading on science and scientists. The chapters on linguists and Ventris who deciphered linear B were a revelation, I assumed that I would never read those parts of the book but I was pleasantly surprised. All in all a nice potpourri of topics for a rainy night written in the signature Bernstein style.

I wish the author had picked another publisher and not Springer, the academic publishing house which clearly has no clue how to price a book like this.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Bait and Switch!, September 23, 2010

By 

Ms. Mica (CA - San Francisco & Goleta) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Physicists on Wall Street and Other Essays on Science and Society (Paperback)

I am disappointed to find NO essay, "Physicists on Wall Street," in this dense little tome. Perhaps I will return it. Yes, there is at least one essay buried in the book that looks related to the title essay; but the book's title certainly qualifies it as a 'bait and switch'.