Chemical Education Today
Book & Media Reviews Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson Simon & Schuster: New York, 2007, 675 pp, ISBN 978‑0743264730 (cloth), $32. ISBN 978-0743561389 (Audio CD), $49.95 reviewed by A. Truman Schwartz
Albert Einstein is, at least in the public mind, the quintessential scientist. His bushy mustache and unruly hair appeared on the cover of Time magazine five times, including the December 31, 1999 issue in which he was named Person of the (20th) Century. He has been the subject of numerous biographies, and one might well ask, “Why another?” Moreover, “Why review this one, written for educated general readers, not for professional scientists or science teachers?” Finally, “Why devote valuable JCE page space to a physicist, even a very distinguished one?” The last question is easily answered. Three of the four major papers written in Einstein’s annus mirabilis of 1905 exerted a profound influence on chemistry. In the first of these publications, Einstein explained the photoelectric effect by atomizing radiant energy into what came to be known as photons. (Too many introductory chemistry texts state or imply that Max Planck did this in 1900, but in fact Planck only quantized the energy levels in a black-body radiator, and he had severe reservations concerning Einstein’s corpuscular view of radiation.) It was this work, not relativity theory, that was specifically identified in Einstein’s 1921 Nobel Prize citation. The second paper, which earned Einstein his doctorate, included an estimate of Avogadro’s number, and the third provided compelling evidence for the kinetic–molecular theory as the basis for Brownian motion. The fourth paper of 1905 introduced the special theory of relativity. Walter Isaacson, President of the Aspen Institute and former Managing Editor of Time, treats these and other scientific topics with accuracy and clarity. Although not trained as a scientist, Isaacson had the expert advice of a number of physicists who carefully vetted the relevant sections of the book. The result is a model of effective popularization of science. There are only two equations in more than 600 pages: E = mc2 and the last line of the book, in Einstein’s own hand, the final thing he wrote. Technically trained readers will likely want more details, but they already know many of them. The author captures Einstein’s imaginative and intuitive feel for the universe, which sometimes struggled against a more abstract mathematical formulation. The famous debates with Niels Bohr over the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics, indeterminacy, and the nature of reality are well documented and nicely summarized. Many quotations from Einstein’s extensive correspondence with his contemporary scientists greatly enrich the narrative and provide evidence of his influence and his scientific indebtedness to others.
edited by
Jeffrey Kovac University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN 37996-1600
But this book is much more than science. Drawing on the Einstein Papers, including the recently opened private correspondence, and many secondary sources, Isaacson presents a balanced and comprehensive account of, as the subtitle has it, Einstein’s “Life and Universe”. The book is organized in chronological order, and the reader follows the scientific, personal, political, and philosophical evolution of a genius. On the personal side, we learn of Einstein’s complex relationships with his first wife, Mileva Marić, and their sons, Hans Albert, a successful engineer, and Eduard, who spent the latter half of his life institutionalized for schizophrenia. But we learn little of Lieserl Einstein, Albert and Mileva’s daughter who was born in 1902, before their marriage the following year. Indeed, little is known about Lieserl’s life, which may have been very brief. The fact of her existence only became public in 1986. The special and general theories of relativity appear to defy common sense, and their mathematical complexity appear to defy human comprehension. Perhaps for these reasons, and the appearance and personality of their discoverer, Einstein was a darling of international journalism from the 1920s onward. Isaacson concludes that Einstein had a love–hate relationship with fame and publicity. Although he prized privacy and seemed genuine in his love of simplicity, he also enjoyed giving interviews and sometimes welcomed public exposure. His fame meant that his opinion and endorsement were sought on many subjects. His success in science suggested, at least to some, that he should also be an expert on politics, economics, and ethics. One popular opinion is that his pronouncements on these topics were often uninformed and naïve. But Isaacson reveals a much more subtle and complex response to policy issues—a thoughtful individual who was willing to change his opinion as circumstances changed. Thus, his strong pacifism in the immediate aftermath of World War I was subsequently tempered by his recognition of the threat posed by Hitler. But after World War II, and the use of the atomic bombs that were in part a consequence of his 1939 letter to Franklin Roosevelt, Einstein became an outspoken advocate for world government and international control of atomic weapons. His position on the state of Israel also evolved with time. To the distress of some, Einstein was unapologetic about these changes; after all, he had witnessed and contributed to profound changes in how we humans view our world. But if change is at the heart of science, Einstein argued that some things must be constant. Somewhere he stated that his two great theories were really not about relativity but about invariance—the invariance of the speed of light and the laws that explain the universe. He believed in a universe that was objectively real, governed by deterministic causal relationships, and free of “spooky action at a distance”—a universe in which the Old One does not play dice. Therefore, he devoted the last 32 years of his life in an ultimately unsuccessful effort to develop a unified field theory that would unite electricity and magnetism, gravity, and quantum mechanics. Such a theory would be
© Division of Chemical Education • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • Vol. 85 No. 1 January 2008 • Journal of Chemical Education
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Chemical Education Today
Book & Media Reviews further proof for the “subtle, intangible and inexplicable” force that Einstein sometimes called God. Walter Isaacson obviously regards his subject with admiration and affection. But this is not hagiography; it is an accurate portrait—warts and all. Moreover, Einstein is beautifully and engagingly written. The 551 pages of narrative fairly flew by. The text is enriched with 88 pages of sources and notes, an unusually complete index, and a collection of photographs. I recommend the book wholeheartedly to anyone interested in the 20th century, the structure of the universe and the means
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by which we study it, and the fascinating life and work of this simple but complex genius. Supporting JCE Online Material
http://www.jce.divched.org/Journal/Issues/2008/Jan/abs49.html Full text (HTML and PDF)
A. Truman Schwartz is an emeritus member of the Department of Chemistry, Macalester College, Saint Paul, MN 55105;
[email protected].
Journal of Chemical Education • Vol. 85 No. 1 January 2008 • www.JCE.DivCHED.org • © Division of Chemical Education
