Einstein: His Life and Universe

Good Book - Rated down for VERY bad epub formatting

I do not have a Nook, but I've recently been trying out B&N's Nook Study, which I think is the best PC-based reader available. You can choose the font (even add your own), set the font size, view it in single or two-page format, take notes, etc. I had been reading Einstein, His Life and Universe in print form, and figured it would be a good test for Nook Study - it is huge, has hundreds of detailed footnotes, and an extensive index. The Nook passed with flying colors, but the publisher, Simon and Schuster gets a big F. The book reads just as well on Nook Study as it does in the printed book, no problem. But unlike other epub books I have (many published by B&N itself), the text footnote numbers are not linked to the footnotes. I can flip to the back of a print book and access footnotes, but I can't do that in an ereader. I have to find the actual note the hard way, by trial and error, read the note and then I have to find my place in the text again. And I cannot copy the note in order to refer to it once I'm back in the main text because apparently S&S don't allow this. Not easy. Worse than that, the index contains neither links nor page numbers - it is just a list of names, subjects, etc., that refers to exactly nothing. S&S should be ashamed of itself for offering this well-written bio in epub form in such a shoddy form. They need a do-over, and should offer existing buyers a copy of same.

4 out of 8 people found this review helpful.

Educational

I found this book very interesting and informative. The author does a good job making Einstein seem a rather humble, somewhat eccentric, human and a genius. I had a hard time though with the mandatory chapters about physics--it's just not my subject.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

The Palestinian issue

How come the author did not mention that Enstein was a fierce zionist and wanted to terminate all Palestinians from Palestine?

2 out of 20 people found this review helpful.

Rad

This was a rad book it was good!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Amazing book providing insight in gaining a perspective of Einstein's life, science, and his love for humanity

"Einstein, His Life and Universe" is a fascinating account providing a unique and intriguing insight to what made Einstein, Einstein! This book provides amazing details and unparalleled levels of Einstein's writings and correspondence from his youthful days in which he was first falling in love with his first wife to his later years when he was stuck in his unrelenting quest for his "Unified Field Theory". We learn not only the different steps Einstein journeyed throughout his life and what it took for him to become the nonconformist and revolutionary that postulated Special Relativity and later General Relativity - but also how he ended up in some ways becoming the "reactionary physicist" that earlier in his younger days he had defied with his revolutionary theories. Most importantly, Isaacson provides Einstein's own words and deeds in allowing the reader to see that despite the amazing humanitarian Einstein was, he was human and had flaws like the rest of us. Saying this, his love for humanity was without doubt one of his greatest motives of his life and although he would often times leave the realm of the "merely personal" and delve into his scientific work to escape life's stresses - the quest for world peace encompassed his ultimate moral value in which he believed in the universality and paramount importance of individual freedom and free expression of the mind and human spirit. Without these universal values, Einstein believed creativity stifles and the human spirit hampers in the abyss..

Truly fascinating book... I only take one issue with Walter Isaacson in this book. I was interesting in reading more about Einstein's lack of belief in a personal god and in the chapter "Einstein's God", the chapter is very terse and does not provide us many details. In addition, Isaacson takes more of a subjective and opinion based approach to that chapter. I have studied Einstein's religiosity (or lack-of) and while he indeed was not an avowed atheist, he time and time expressed his non-belief of religion and based on many of his writings and quotes, one can come to the conclusion that even the "cosmic divine" in which Einstein sometimes referred to was simply metaphoric as during a period when Einstein was in the United States, he was blasted on all sides (whether from civil society, media, and press) in what was believed to be his being a "heretic". Therefore, Isaacson does not take a fair and objective overview of Einstein's own words throughout his life in which Isaacson jumps to the conclusion based on a lack of an overall review of Einstein's quotes and thoughts throughout Einstein's years in asserting that Einstein believed in a "divine providence" - although, Isaacson at least does admit that Einstein did not believe in a personal god.

But overall, that chapter on "Einstein's God" was the only chapter that was quite terse and was based more on subjectivity rather than objectivity. Great book, and I recommend it to EVERYONE!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Isaacson's Einstein is a Very Complete Book

Winner of Time Magazines person of the 20th Century, Albert Einstein was a legend in his own time and his scientific ideas continue to live on today. Walter Isaacson's recent biography, Einstein His Life and Universe, is an in depth look at this icon, his life, ideas and tribulations. Born in Germany, this boy genius was a rebel and not a very good student when he was young. Unhappy with authority and the Prussian mind set of strict discipline, he found a better life for free thinkers in neighboring Switzerland. A graduate of The Zurich Polytechnic and later an employee at the the Bern Patent Office, he had a hard time finding work. His desire to work at more respectable universities were often met with letters of rejection. With a chaotic marriage, coupled with child custody problems and a later divorce, it is a miracle that this man came up with such breakthroughs in theoretical physics. But he did and it changed the lives of humanity to this day.
Isaacson, does a good job in his book of not only covering Einstein's life but describes his theories of Special and General Relativity; with later introductions to Quantum Theory, that a "smart" layman can understand. I had to re-read the juicy scientific parts a few times to digest it, but it was worth the effort. Later in his life, Einstein wrestled with a unified field theory that would unite gravity and electromagnetism with the crazy unpredictable micro world of Quantum Mechanics. He did not have much success but did make some interesting observations and had many theories and opinions on this new and strange small atomic world. Being world famous and on the speakers circuit, Einstein was thrown into the political mix of the 1920's and 1930's and eventually made decisions that would later affect his life. An early believer in a Jewish state, he helped the Zionist movement and the creation of a Hebrew university in Israel. A staunch opponent to militant nationalism politics, he unknowingly endorsed anti war Communist front group causes and later was seen as a risk to national security during World War Two. But, there was no doubt that he was a proud American. Einstein would joke that he was not a Pacifist, but a militant pacifist. His utopia vision for the world was a one world benevolent government that ensured individual freedoms and encouraged free thought. As for the development of the A-Bomb, Einstein was not a active participant in its construction, but his famous equation of, e=mc2, was the building block that helped make it.
This book is an enjoyable read because it covers all parts of Einstein's life to include the lighter side of this deep thinker. His love of life, his love of people and his quick witted humor and absentmindedness is a trait that many people equate with this great man. One example is when he would take his hat off during a rainstorm saying that he knew that his hair could withstand the rain but he was unsure of how his hat would hold up. He would listen to his students ideas and theories and even help small children in his neighborhood with their math homework. I have read other books on Albert Einstein, but I would recommend that this one be put on the list of favorites. Some are not as complete, while others deal mainly with his science- but this one is a pleasant mixture of both. I enjoyed this book and found it informative, educational and interesting on the life of this human legend. Robert Glasker

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

very good!

Einstein - a genius forever!

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Best History of Science Book ever

Unlike Isabella, I was glued to this book. While I still dont get most of the physics in it, I got a picture of the process and the context in which 20th century physics developed in a way I never have before. Also, the picture painted of Einstein is complex and complete.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

boring

I love 'bios' and was excited when my son gave me this book. I was quickly bored by the author. I was not glued to this book as I have been with other biographies, the author lacks passion when he writes about all of Einsteins' accomplishments and his life. I couldn't wait to finish reading it, not because it was entertaining, but because I had another book I wanted to read.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Alex to tempo

WHERE R YA

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Tempo

Heeeeelllooooo

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

The Man

Working with Lewy Carroll AKA Charles L. Dodgson. Wow, the two of them through a wormhole or was it a Looking Glass?

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great book on albert einstein

This is a great book on the life of einstein. Great for a person how likes science.

Verygood

Good on lak

Einstein is Everything

I love everything Einstein, and this book is wonderful.

Great Read

This is a fasinating biography. Through it I have gained insight and understanding, not only of the events in the life of Einstein and of his work, but of his personality, home life and lifelong friendships as well as a glimpes of the way his mind worked. Excellently written. I am looking forward to reading more books by Walter Isaacson.

Well balanced book of a great man

I always think that Einstein was the greatest physicist of last century, which is why I picked up this book, hoping to know more about this man. I am not disappointed. Isaacson did very good research in this book that is evident by about 100 pages of references at the end. The book shows a lot of interesting details of Einstein's personal and scientific life and is not a dry reading to me. It would be a plus if readers still remember some high-school physics because when Isaacson describes Einstein's thought experiments, they do require some thinking. I have to admit that it was a bit redundant in certain chapters when Isaacson describes Einstein's belief in internationalism and super-nations, but it might be necessary to explain Einstein's political point of views and actions. Overall, it is a great book.

E=MC2

Before reading this book,I had a delusion that ,only gurus can understand
Einstein equation.
The flow in this book has made me to understand him as well as his equation!
Pictures showing great Scientist like Plank , Neil and others
made additional silver lining to this book.

Overall , Book which makes you to see not only the great achievement of people but also other side of them too......

Suresh

Great Book

This was an amazing book, and put together very well.
It bright to light some information about Einstein I was unaware of.
I like the explanations of how Einstein did his thought experiments.
Walter must have spent a lot of time and research putting this together, you can tell when you read the book, that's why it so long but worth it.

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