The Private Albert Einstein [Hardcover]

Peter A. Bucky (Author), Allen G. Weakland (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Summer vacations, road trips and picnics with an icon of the century are detailed in this recollection of the Bucky and Einstein families' 30-year friendship. With freelance writer Weakland, Bucky--a businessman and son of Einstein's close friend Gustav Bucky-- organizes his material in such chapters as "Einstein and Religion" and "Einstein and His Family," and includes sections labeled "Einstein's Roving Eye" (which seemed mainly to follow heiresses) and "Einstein the Poet" (which covers charming doggerel). Among revelations about Einstein's office furniture, eating habits, dress and musical tastes, the authors suggest that the physicist's longtime secretary, Helen Dukas, may have been his out-of-wedlock daughter by Mileva Maric, or his lover. The book's angle into Einstein's private life ultimately proves narrow: the subject emerges as a less rounded person than the one found in Abraham Pais's Subtle Is the Lord and other biographies. Photos not seen by PW .
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 171 pages
• Publisher: Andrews Mcmeel Pub (June 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0836279972
• ISBN-13: 978-0836279979
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #479,154 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #51 in Books > Biographies & Memoirs > People, A-Z > ( E ) > Einstein, Albert

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Einstein...Genius and a Fool at the same time, September 7, 2011

By 

V-ROD "Bookworm" (Phoenix, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Private Albert Einstein (Hardcover)

There are many ways to approach giving a review of this book. If you are interested in learning what Einstein was like as a person this is an excellent book. If you want to know his views on various subjects this is also a good book. My review however, is based more on what he advocates and how foolish his ideas are. Here are a few examples:

1. He flees Nazi Germany and abhors the totalitarian state. Yet I learn he advocates a world government as a solution for the abolition of war. Apparently a new Hitler will never rise to power; and only a benevolent dictator will rule over this body.

2. He advocates banning all nuclear weapons. He actually suggests all nations turning their weapons over to an independent body for safekeeping thereby eliminating war between nations. It makes me wonder if this is similar to Al Gore's "lock box" for social security revenue.

3. He doesn't believe in a personal God who came in the flesh. He believes in a " cosmic god". The author states a rebuttal from a Catholic Bishop who quipped: "Who ever wanted to die for the Milky Way?" He also doesn't believe in a God who judges; or that a person should live in fear of being punished for his actions. This seems logical for a man who fathered an illegitimate child and had a "roving eye" for women.

In conclusion...Albert Einstein, a brilliant scientist and at the same time ignorant of human nature and fallibility.

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. (Romans 1:22)

0 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not a review, just a plea, December 23, 1999

By 

Autumn (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Private Albert Einstein (Hardcover)

I read the book and I think it is great. I really need to get ahold of the authors, particularly Mr. Bucky. I have a family friend that knows Mr. Bucky and I would like to get the book signed. I borrowed it and never returned it so that he could get it done himself. Somebody please help me.