Einstein

by Peter Smith

Overview

Albert Einstein re-wrote the textbooks of science in 1905: physics since has been little more than a series of footnotes to the theories of a 26-year-old patent-office clerk. Einstein's science and emotional life come together in this vivid portrait of a rebellious and contradictory figure, a pacifist whose legendary equation E=mc2 opened scientists' eyes to the terrible power within every atom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781904341154
Publisher:	Haus Publishing
Publication date:	05/01/2005
Series:	Haus Publishing - Life & Times Series
Pages:	170
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.40(d)

About the Author

Peter Smith regularly reviews science books for the Guardian, and has written for the Independent, the Financial Times and the Times Literary Supplement and other journals. In 1997 he was awarded a prestigious British Academy three-year Postdoctoral Fellowship, an award made each year to a handful of outstanding young scholars. He teaches at University College London where he is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Science and Technology Studies Department. His first book, Metaphor and Materiality: German Literature and the World-View of Science 1780-1955, was published in 2000 and according to one reviewer 'puts much other work in so-called cultural studies to shame.'

Table of Contents

	Maths, Music and Magnetism (1879-1894)	1
	The Relentlessly Strict Angels (1894-1900)	19
	The Battle of Dollie (1896-1903)	35
	Five Papers that Changed the World (1902-1905)	50
	The Happiest Thought of My Life (1906-1915)	75
	Eclipsing Newton (1916-1933)	93
	The Struggle for Truth (1933-1955)	114
	Notes	132
	Chronology	142
	List of Works	154
	Further Reading	159
	Acknowledgements	164
	Picture Sources	164
	Index	165

Editorial Reviews

There has never been a better time to take a literary overdose of Einstein. Of these, Smith's straightforward biography is a perfect place to start. Tight, well-written, strong on historical setting, easily digested and bursting with notes and details of websites, it takes the reader effortlessly through Einstein's arrogant, self-confident youth (he had no academic post in 1905 because he had been so consistently rude to his Zurich University professors) to his transformation to the iconic, bohemian, rheumy-eyed, gently humorous, self-deprecating genius he is remembered as today.
—The Observer, March 27, 2005

Robin McKie

This is a pocket-sized volume running to 130 pages and probably no more than 40,000 words of text. Its novelty is that the author has read through the eight volumes of Einstein’s correspondence so far published (out of an estimated total of twenty-five) and gleaned new information about Einstein’s marriage (to a fellow student at Zurich), his divorce and re-marriage and his subsequent affairs. The book will be for many readers a convenient introduction to a fascinating subject. Full length biographies of Einstein appear regularly, and get longer as the years pass. This book should be an excellent means of deciding whether to tackle such a work.
—in The New Humanist (June 2003.)

John Maddox

Peter Smith writes with admirable simplicity about the space-time curve, the photoelectric effect and the equivalence principle. At the same time, he paints a picture of the great boffin as all too human. ..Relatively speaking, this is a marvellous book.
—THE DAILY TELEGRAPH(LONDON) April 30, 2005

Christopher Bray

Concise, complete, well produced and lively throughout, Smith's Einstein is a bargain at the price.

New Scientist

This well-written, relatively short book discusses most of the important events of Einstein’s life...An interesting feature of the book is the supplementary material that is interjected throughout in boxed text, including quotes, poems, and supplementary material about Einstein’s science. The book includes a large number of photographs, most in black & white-Smith also supplies a large number of notes, a brief chronology of Einstein’s life, suggested readings, and a list of Web sites. Overall, this good introduction to Einstein's life is relatively easy to read. Highly recommended. For all Levels.
—(emeritus, Idaho State Uni), "CHOICE: Current Reviews for BR BR Parker (Idaho Uni), "CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries", Dec 2003.

BR Parker