Product Description
2005 has been designated “World Year of Physics” to celebrate the publication of Einstein’s Theory of Relativity one hundred years ago. In commemoration of this landmark anniversary, Oxfor University Press brings Abraham Pais’ major work on Einstein’s life and work to a whole new generation of readers. Since the death of Albert Einstein in 1955 there have been many books and articles written about the man and an numbe of attempts to “explain” relativity. Throughou… More >>
Subtle Is the Lord: The Science and the Life of Albert Einstein
5 Comments, Comment or Ping
This is a scientific biography written by a physicist and friend of Einstein’s. Only about 20% of the book is non-technical biography, the rest being a very technical discussion of Einstein’s physics, the prior work that influenced it, and its impact. Being a friend of Einstein’s, the author puts him in the best possible light. For instance, missing is any reference to the daughter he fathered with his first wife Mileva before they were married, the reasons for their divorce, the events surrounding his relationship with his second wife, etc. (To be fair, before the unsealing of many of Einstein’s personal papers, the existence of this daughter was a well-kept secret; one almost definitely unknown to the author of this book.) Of more concern is a lack of very much discussion of most of his non-physics related interactions, so if you want the personal Einstein there are better, more modern, books. However, if you want to know more about Einstein’s physics, its development and its impact, then this book is a very good choice, providing that you have the necessary background. The book contains a very extensive timeline of Einstein’s life, especially of the events that had a bearing on his technical work. This timeline should be a great reference for Einstein’s life as most of the events are referenced to specific days, not just to the year of its occurrence.
As noted the author is a physicist and the book is written from that perspective. He goes into Einstein’s physics in considerable detail so a physics background is necessary to get the most from this book. For the most part, there is no attempt to provide the necessary scientific background for these discussions, so if you are completely ignorant of thermodynamics, statistical mechanics or theoretical physics in general, you will likely find yourself having to skip over large portions of the text. There are a lot of sentences that contain “it is well known from …that …”, so if this is not well known to you, you may have to skip over that portion of the text, and perhaps the rest of the chapter. There is also a lot of mathematical notation that is not explained or developed, so you may be lost if you are unfamiliar with it. However, the book is very good for those with the necessary background because it describes how Einstein developed his physics and what influenced this development.
I recommend this book for people with some background in physics; the more the better. This might be a five star book for a theoretical physicist, but only a one or two star book for someone with little or none of the necessary background. On average, I rated it as a four star book because, while I do not have all of the necessary background, I had enough to follow the discussion. I am also very interested in the development of Einstein’s ideas, so this book was a natural for me. I only wish that I had a better background, because then, for me, it might have been a five star book, so please consider this rating from that perspective.
Rating: 4 / 5
February 24th, 2010
I had to skip over most of the mathematical formulas in this book other than to note that there was a little fine tuning going on in crunching the numbers that all physicists have to do in the course of their research.
I appreciated Einstein’s concept that philosophizing was like *writing in honey: it all turns to mush.* Perhaps modern science has been too Westernized to find a unified field theory without have to revert to a grand unifier such as Spinoza intimated. I was glad to see that Einstein was attracted to Spinoza, who was known as a God-intoxicated atheist.
A good read for those who want to learn more of the Divine Man.
Rating: 4 / 5
February 24th, 2010
The science…the physics is there for those who really want to know. There are no shortcuts or dumming it down. But the heart and the soul is also there of this truly brilliant mind. Over the years I’ve read this book several times, in fact, have had to order it three times, because every time I loan it to someone, it is never returned to me (I guess they liked it too.)
Rating: 5 / 5
February 24th, 2010
I have really enjoyed reading A. Pais’ biography of Einstein. The book is a very detailed scientific biography. And I would like to stress this point: if you are looking for anecdotes or gossips this is not your book. The main goal of the author is to expose the ideas and scientific achievements of Einstein, explaining in detail his theories. This is a taugh book for someone without a physics background, because Pais has written a book on the physics of the last century, with a detailed account of the origin and development of relativity and quantum theories. And it uses all the mathematical concepts physicists are familiar with.
Otherwise, this is the best biography of Einstein I have read.
Rating: 4 / 5
February 24th, 2010
A scientifically sophisticated but also highly sensitive portrait of the great man. It is a biography written for physicists or students of physics, among whom I count myself fortunate to be. Strongly recommended.
Rating: 5 / 5
February 24th, 2010
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