People like myself, who truly feel at home in several countries, are not strictly at home anywhere," writes Abraham Pais, one of the world's leading theoretical physicists, near the beginning of this engrossing chronicle of his life on two continents. The author of an immensely popular biography of Einstein, Subtle Is the Lord, Pais writes engagingly for a general audience. His "tale" describes his period of hiding in Nazi-occupied Holland (he ended the war in a Gestapo prison) and his life in America, particularly at the newly organized Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, then directed by the brilliant and controversial physicist Robert Oppenheimer. Pais tells fascinating stories about Oppenheimer, Einstein, Bohr, Sakharov, Dirac, Heisenberg, and von Neumann, as well as about nonscientists like Chaim Weizmann, George Kennan, Erwin Panofsky, and Pablo Casals. His enthusiasm about science and life in general pervades a book that is partly a memoir, partly a travel commentary, and partly a history of science. Pais's charming recollections of his years as a university student become somber with the German invasion of the Netherlands in 1940. He was presented with an unusual deadline for his graduate work: a German decree that July 14, 1941, would be the final date on which Dutch Jews could be granted a doctoral degree. Pais received the degree, only to be forced into hiding from the Nazis in 1943, practically next door to Anne Frank. After the war, he went to the Institute of Theoretical Physics in Copenhagen to work with Niels Bohr. 1946 began his years at the Institute for Advanced Study, where he worked first as a Fellow and then as a Professor until his move to Rockefeller University in 1963. Combining his understanding of disparate social and political worlds, Pais comments just as insightfully on Oppenheimer's ordeals during the McCarthy era as he does on his own and his European colleagues' struggles during World War II.
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
In A Tale of Two Continents physicist Abraham Pais writes of his life in war (hiding from the Gestapo for five years) and peace (learning to call the Dodgers "Bums"). David Gross of the Institute of Theoretical Physics says, "The book teems with anecdotes and stories of the great men and women he encountered, wonderful stories that often capture the personalities of these historic figures in a single paragraph. For the scores of thumbnail portraits alone the book is worth the price." Pais interleaves his more personal recollections with the story of post-war particle physics, providing the most accessible history of the field yet written.
From Library Journal
Pais's autobiography is truly "a tale of two continents"; the contrast between his World War II experiences and his later life are amazing. Pais, a Jew, was forced into hiding in 1943 and spent some of that time practically next door to Anne Frank. Ultimately discovered and arrested, he spent the last weeks of the war in a Gestapo prison. Within a year of his liberation he was working with Niels Bohr and shortly thereafter moved to the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton. As a physicist with an international reputation, he counts Albert Einstein, Robert Oppenheimer, Andrei Sakharov, and Werner Heisenberg among his contemporaries. As such, this memoir is also a partial history of 20th-century physics. Pais is probably best known for his biography of Bohr (Niels Bohr's Times, Oxford Univ., 1991) and his very popular biography of Albert Einstein (Einstein Lived Here, LJ 6/1/94). This work is no less enjoyable. Recommended for general science and biography collections.?James Olson, Northeastern Illinois Univ. Lib., Chicago
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A divided life: Both sides,
By Palle E T Jorgensen "Palle Jorgensen" (Iowa City, Iowa United States) - See all my reviews (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: A Tale of Two Continents (Hardcover)
Abe Pais was in hiding during WWII in Holland (actually just across the street from where Anna Frank was hiding); but he was a few years older than Anna Frank, and he survived. While in hiding, he studied physics.
That part of the story reads like a thriller. But the narrative throughout is compelling, and honest. After the war, through a sequence of small miracles, and a stunning intelligence, he ended up in Copenhagen to work with Niels Bohr, and then to the US, at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton, where he became a Professor. And in fact, he became a leading and exceptionally successful nuclear physicist. Throughout his career as a physicist, he knew Niels Bohr, Albert Einstein well, and a host of the other pioneers; and he worked with them too. He is fluent in at least 7 languages, and knows many more. All of this is part of his autobiography, which is also filled with charming observations about cultural differences, and observation of human affairs; including affairs of the heart. His whole life was divided between two Continents, hence the title of the book. But Abe Pais's life was divided in several other ways too: The first half was science, and the second writing. Marriages further marked dividing lines. He wrote a number of extremely well received biographies, the best one perhaps `Subtle is the Lord' about Albert Einstein (I have a weakness for biographies!); and his last was his autobiography! In fact, he finished it only a few years before he died. The last 10 years of his life was spent in Denmark; so in some sense closing the circle. Review by Palle Jorgensen, November 2004.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An honest account of a scientist,
By
This review is from: A Tale of Two Continents (Hardcover)
This is probably the most honest autobiography I've read so far. And a good one.
The author is a world renown physicist who made great contribution to the theory of particle physicist. As other reviewers have mentioned, the book details his life in Europe that centers on WWII, and then in America that peaks in his life among many of the great physicists of the 20th century. The readers may find that the book is written with the help from many historical documents and personal diaries. The reason that I feel this book is honest is that the author describes his various experiences in a personal perspective, which is based on close attention to details and careful analysis on human behaviors. Although not exactly scientific, his views are humane enough for us to understand and relate to. Also it helps that the author himself is successful and well respected, which makes his description of other great scientists (e.g. Einstein, Bohr, Dirac, and Oppenheimer) more vivid and closer to reality. I find this a great plus, because in general great people, especially great scientists, are painted as semi-gods who think and behave differently in every way, which is untrue. Among many interesting things I learned from this book, a few really strike me as real insights. One is his first experience with deep thinking. It occurs when he was hiding from the Nazis in a small room. After extensive reading and thinking on physics, he got into this mode of not being aware of the surrounding physical world, while being immersed in ideas that related with the topics he was concentrated on. A second one is his stories on Dirac, a great British physicist. While Dirac is usually portrayed as the strangest man on earth, here you find that Dirac is actually funny in a very special way. He can be curious about very small things, but once he sets his mind to, he would study the subject to the very last detail, like his long lasting interest in Pais' having three sandwich as lunch. Overall, from his words on his own and many others' way of thinking, the book presents a coherent view on how real scientists live and work. More importantly, it reveals how great scientists think and live.
0 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a good story,book in good condition.,
By
This review is from: A Tale of Two Continents (Hardcover)
The book I received is in totally new condition.very excellent.
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