The man and the genius. Isaacson let's you know how he did it
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This is an excellent Einstein biography. I really love it; a real page-turner, completely captured my attention for several of days, until I finished with a sensation of wanting for more. No doubt it was very well researched, and includes new details uncovered from Einstein's letters recently made available for the public. Very well written, and Isaacson ability to explain complex science is outstanding, although my guess is that more than a bit of basic knowledge of physics is required to fully grasp the scientific discussions of relativity, quantum mechanics and the like.
The book is particularly insightful in recounting how Einstein developed his theories, just with thought experiments; his rebellious attitude toward authority of any kind; his endless fight against quantum theory (now I do understood what he meant and why he died thinking that God does not play dice); the controversies and interactions with the other scientific giants of his time; and his failure to develop a unified field theory, all of these aspects leading smoothly to the understanding on how he developed not only his revolutionary theories, but his philosophy about science, education, politics, and God. Also, the book goes into deep details on how he went from apolitical to an activist on Zionism, and from a pacifist to a supporter of the US entering WWII; his limited but key role on the US development of the atomic bomb, and afterwards, his regret; closing with his stand against McCarthyism. And because nobody is perfect, the biography shows his main weakness, throughout his life he was a lousy father and husband.
Coming back to the science, I had always been curious in understanding how Einstein came up with his theories without experimentation; even Newton did experiments to develop his laws. This biography explains in minute detail how he did it through his clever thought experiments. Also, the recount presented provides a good idea on how science progresses, from Einstein's fight against the prevailing paradigms in the beginning of his career, to Einstein's stubborn skepticism against the new paradigm he himself contributed to develop, quantum mechanics. Also I found fascinating how the more he used his thought experiments in trying to falsify quantum mechanics, the more the theory got reinforced. A good example on how the real scientific method works, illustrating the importance of an open debate for science to get closer to the truth. Also a really good historic example for those who believe that scientific theories can be proven by consensus.
I highly recommend this book for those interested in modern physics, cosmology, the history of science, philosophy of science, or just Einstein's admirers.
PD: Finally, a word of advice for some readers in order to avoid disappointment based on the majority of positives reviews. Me as well many of the other reviewers who gave five stars to the book, really got carried away, but I think it is very likely that most of us have a decent background on physics, and/or have read a lot about cosmology, or just have a good grasp of hard sci-fi. I was curious to know why some reviewers gave just a few stars to the book, and I found the main reason for the low grades is the complexity of the scientific explanations. So, despite Isaacson's clarity in the scientific explanations, some parts of the book are not Carl Sagan stuff. If you have read Hawking's "A Brief History of Time", or Paul Davies' "God and the New Physics", or any similar books on modern astrophysics and cosmology, and didn't like them, couldn't understand much, or simply got bored, then you probably will be better off with other biography. But if you are really interested in Einstein's life and achievements, my advice is to try and just skip the more technical parts, the book is still very interesting without the technical stuff.
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Good read
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Well done piece of work. The book captures what we already knew about AE and presents it in a very engaging manner.
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Inspirational and Enlightening
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Walter Isaacson did an excellent job writing this well-researched, inspiring, and enlightening biography of Albert Einstein. The book was a great joy to read.
I was very pleased with the way how relevant concepts, theories, principles, notions, and experiments were introduced and explained in the book (e.g., the equivalence principle, relativity of simultaneity, the Michelson-Morley experiment, Newtonian notions of absolute space and time, etc) as well as the amount of space that was given to other physicists whose work had an impact and influence on Einstein's own work (e.g., Plank, Bohr, Lorentz, Minkowski, etc).
The importance of independent thinking and imagination, and having the courage to abandon the conventional wisdom when necessary, was illustrated with many great examples throughout the book (e.g., Newtonian notions of space and time). Einstein was even greater genius than he is thought to be. His ability to come up with such ingenious thought experiments and see their many far-reaching implications on physical reality was truly astonishing.
To my delight, the book is also full of great stories illustrating Einstein's sense of humor. My favorite story was the one that described his response to Women Patriots after they had petitioned for denying him a visa to enter the United States. His evocation of the geese that once saved Rome gave me the biggest laugh of all.
This book is well worth the time.
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