Synopses & Reviews
Since the death of Albert Einstein in 1955 there have been many books and articles written about the man and a number of attempts to "explain" relativity. In this new major work Abraham Pais, himself an eminent physicist who worked alongside Einstein in the post-war years, traces the development of Einstein's entire oeuvre. This is the first book which deal comprehensively and in depth with Einstein's science, both the successes and the failures.
Running through the book is a completely non-scientific biography (identified in the table of contents by italic type) including many letters which appear in English for the first time, as well as other information not published before.
Throughout the preparation of this book, Pais has had complete access to the Einstein Archives (now in the possession of the Hebrew University) and the invaluable guidance of the late Helen Dukas--formerly Einstein's private secretary.
Synopsis
Having the advantage of knowing Einstein personally during the last nine years of his life and having access to some of his 50,000 pages of letters and science papers, the author fills many gaps about what we know of Einstein's life. It deals with his interest in philosophy, his concern with Jewish destiny, and his opinions of great figures from Newton to Freud. Also depicts the state of physics at the turn of the century and how Einstein transformed the field.
About the Author
About the Author - Abraham Pais is Detlev W. Bronk Professor at the Rockefeller University and winner of the J.R. Oppenheimer Memorial Prize for 1979. He is also the author of Inward Bound and Niels Bohr's Times, In Physics, Philosophy, and Polity.