Albert Einstein: Out of My Later Years (Hardcover)

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Product Description

Albert Einstein, among the greatest scientists of all time, was also a man of profound thought and deeply humane feelings. His collected essays offer a fascinating and moving look at one of the twentieth century's leading minds.

Covering a fifteen year period from 1934 to 1950, the contents of this book have been drawn from Einstein's articles, addresses, letters and assorted papers. Through his words, you can understand the man and gain his insight on social, religious, and educational issues.

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Albert Einstein, among the greatest scientists of all time, was also a man of profound thought and deeply humane feelings. His collected essays offer a fascinating and moving look at one of the twentieth century's leading minds.

Covering a fifteen year period from 1934 to 1950, the contents of this book have been drawn from Einstein's articles, addresses, letters and assorted papers. Through his words, you can understand the man and gain his insight on social, religious, and educational issues.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Gramercy (October 18, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0517093804
• ISBN-13: 978-0517093801
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #826,737 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

78 of 79 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for Travel, Quick Reads, March 23, 2000

By	J. B. Barton "Beth Barton" (Saint Petersburg, FL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Out of my Later Years is a collection of Einstein's speeches and articles covering not just physics but his thoughts on the social condition of man, of Jews, and of war as well as several speeches about the likes of Max Planck, Mahatma Gandhi, and Marie Curie.

As letters and speeches, these are written as the ordinary man that Einstein once was - very easy to read and understand. Even some of the physics lectures are understandable. Each is relatively short making this perfect for when you want to read something of substance but don't have much time.

The sections on Public Affairs are especially haunting as Einstein presents his arguments for the "global village" and advocated someting akin to the current U.N. - things that began to come into their own after his passing. In particular, there is an interchange between him and a group of Communist scientists that underlines the Cold War tension in its height and is a chilling read now in the Post Soviet Union age.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essays of the last fifteen years , June 26, 2005

By	Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

This volume collects essays of the last fifteen years of his life. The work has sections on 'Convictions and Beliefs' 'Science and Life' ' Public Affairs' ' Personalities' and 'His own people: The Jews"
The work features expositions of some of Einstein's major scientific work.
Among the personalities written about are Gandhi who Einstein greatly admires, Newton, Kepler, Planck, Madame Curie, Langevin, and lesser known figures Paul Ehrenfest,Carl von Ossietsky.
Einstein writes much about the terrible changes in Germany he saw in his own lifetime, the rise of Nazism and Anti- Semitism.
He writes about the creation of a national homeland for the Jews, his own Zionism, and his own connection with the Jewish people.
He writes too about his conception of world- peace, about the threat to the world brought about something he is no small part a contributor to, the harnessing of the atom.
In writing about himself in the opening section of the work he says, "I do the thing which my own nature drives me to do. It is embarassing to earn so much love and respect for it."
He celebrates the life of thought , of the solitary individual .
Einstein is the greatest modern example of Keynes dictum of how it is 'ideas' that change the world. He is the example of how one man alone , thinking, transformed our understanding of nature, and our power to change it.
In these essays the main interests of Einstein's life are touched upon. He writes with clarity and modesty.
An invaluable opportunity to be in touch with ' the Mind that defined an Age'.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Wide array of topics, yet less insightful than would be expected, April 5, 2008

By	Xenocrates - See all my reviews

This review is from: Albert Einstein: Out of My Later Years Through His Own Words (Hardcover)

Considering this book offer insights into the mind of one of history's greatest thinkers, I was slightly disappointed to find Einstein's views outside of science to be somewhat thin. It is natural to not expect great revelation from outside one's specialty, but as a famous intellectual, Einstein's should be the exception.

I do not rate this book poorly because it does offer a wide spectrum of topics which coming from Einstein is appealing. Some of the topics outside of science include politics, religion, and even racism; thus offering an ample range of thought. The section on science is sound as expected and perhaps on this portion alone the book is worthwhile; however, his thoughts on the other topics included offer little revelation or at least nothing new or profound. It is for this reason I do not rate this book highly.

I offer three stars so as not to discount the enjoyable read one might find merely gaining access to Einstein's thoughts on a spectrum of topics. However, on the same account, I do not offer more as I do not feel this book presents the insight one would expect from Einstein and thus it is somewhat disappointing.