Captivating!
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Captivating biography! One of the best. In a class by itself!
Written before the popular Broadway play, "Copenhagen" by Michael Frayn, Pais' book covers the Heisenberg-Bohr meeting in 1941[the real one],--- and there is a lot more! We are fortunate that Pais has given us this, and several other wonderful biographies;-- the one about Albert Einstein stands out! It is especially fortunate that he has chosen to write for the general public. I can't think of anyone who did, or possibly could have done it better. His writing is captivating, and unique in its recreation of the times, and the social context of the scientific events. Pais further succeeds magnificently in bringing to life the many colorful personalities. This includes the young physicists born in Europe around 1900 who arrived in Copenhagen in the 1920ties to work with Bohr, some later to win the Nobel Prize,-- how he became a father figure to some of them,- Heisenberg, for example. And there are the other players,Albert Einstein early on, and Pais himself later, in the drama of quantum physics of the Twentieth Century. Even if you might perhaps not be scientifically inclined, and if you choose to skip the physics sections, I don't think you will be disappointed.
Reviewed by Palle Jorgensen, August 2003
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Definitve account of a great physicist
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A little bit of a tome, hence only 3 stars, but otherwise superb book on one of the founders of QM. Some technical stuff for those that are interested, a good historical account of the start of 20th century physics, but most of all a fully deserved biography of a man who most will never ever appreciate existed. Obviously not of great interest to those who do not have physics as a hobby or profession (unless you really want to explore new territory), but it clearly comes across that some people are more than just experts in their field or an historical landmark of science.
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