Author: Walter Isaacson
Published: April 10, 2007 by Simon & Schuster
Format: Hardcover, 675 pages
Genre: Biography
First Sentence: “I promise you four papers,” the young patent examiner wrote his friend.
Blurb: How did his mind work? What made him a genius? Isaacson’s biography shows how his scientific imagination sprang from the rebellious nature of his personality. His fascinating story is a testament to the connection between creativity and freedom.
Based on newly released personal letters of Einstein, this book explores how an imaginative, impertinent patent clerk—a struggling father in a difficult marriage who couldn’t get a teaching job or a doctorate—became the mind reader of the creator of the cosmos, the locksmith of the mysteries of the atom, and the universe. His success came from questioning conventional wisdom and marveling at mysteries that struck others as mundane. This led him to embrace a morality and politics based on respect for free minds, free spirits, and free individuals.
These traits are just as vital for this new century of globalization, in which our success will depend on our creativity, as they were for the beginning of the last century, when Einstein helped usher in the modern age.
My Opinion: Let’s be honest, the science was over my head, but the people, places, and history are what kept me reading.
I had never put into context the history timeline of Albert Einstein from the time he was wondering what it was like to ride a light-beam, to his relativity theory, to challenging conventional wisdom, to fighting for what he believed in even though he, as a person, didn’t change that much from the lowly patient clerk where he started.
This book has sat on my shelf for years and I always made excuses not to read it since I just knew it was going to be a dry, boring slog throw an arrogant egotistical man’s life. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Albert Einstein, through the words of Walter Isaacson, is a warm, goofy, charming man who didn’t take himself seriously. His science was serious, but he was just a regular guy, who took regular walks and helped the neighborhood kids with their homework.
He lived in exciting time and with his little bit of fame, and a couple of awards, he was able to travel in renowned circles and influenced other great scientists. He was not a good husband, and it took years to be a decent father, but in the end, he got there.
I suggest reading this book for the history, the humor, and to be introduced to a man that you did not expect to jump off these pages.
Blurb: How did his mind work? What made him a genius? Isaacson’s biography shows how his scientific imagination sprang from the rebellious nature of his personality. His fascinating story is a testament to the connection between creativity and freedom.
Based on newly released personal letters of Einstein, this book explores how an imaginative, impertinent patent clerk—a struggling father in a difficult marriage who couldn’t get a teaching job or a doctorate—became the mind reader of the creator of the cosmos, the locksmith of the mysteries of the atom, and the universe. His success came from questioning conventional wisdom and marveling at mysteries that struck others as mundane. This led him to embrace a morality and politics based on respect for free minds, free spirits, and free individuals.
These traits are just as vital for this new century of globalization, in which our success will depend on our creativity, as they were for the beginning of the last century, when Einstein helped usher in the modern age.
My Opinion: Let’s be honest, the science was over my head, but the people, places, and history are what kept me reading.
I had never put into context the history timeline of Albert Einstein from the time he was wondering what it was like to ride a light-beam, to his relativity theory, to challenging conventional wisdom, to fighting for what he believed in even though he, as a person, didn’t change that much from the lowly patient clerk where he started.
This book has sat on my shelf for years and I always made excuses not to read it since I just knew it was going to be a dry, boring slog throw an arrogant egotistical man’s life. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Albert Einstein, through the words of Walter Isaacson, is a warm, goofy, charming man who didn’t take himself seriously. His science was serious, but he was just a regular guy, who took regular walks and helped the neighborhood kids with their homework.
He lived in exciting time and with his little bit of fame, and a couple of awards, he was able to travel in renowned circles and influenced other great scientists. He was not a good husband, and it took years to be a decent father, but in the end, he got there.
I suggest reading this book for the history, the humor, and to be introduced to a man that you did not expect to jump off these pages.
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