Einstein: His Life and Universe

Walter Issacson

I don’t often read biographies, but I have a great fondness for and interest in Albert Einstein, and I have a strong interest in modern physics. Einstein: His Life and Universe , by Walter Isaacson is one of those rare books that I can say is almost perfect. I have read many books about Einstein and his theories but none compare to this one. Isaacson has done a complete job of revealing the man, his life, his thinking, his emotions, and his scientific insights. Most importantly the book is readable and fascinating and very difficult to put down. The fact that the author is not a scientist or a scientific writer but is a skilled biographer is probably what makes this book perfect. He communicates the special qualities of Einstein’s life and at the same time integrates the science in a very understandable and enjoyable manner.

Einstein was a very special human being. This book reveals his psyche, his emotional and psychological make-up and ties together the events in a very unique life that changed the way the world views reality.

What really was amazing to me, in terms of coincidences, is that I started reading this book after I had finished a book by Balsekar ,I was literally floored when I read the chapter Einstein’s God and discovered that Einstein’s view of God and determinism was exactly in line with the views of Balsekar . I guess it proves the old adage that “great minds think alike”.

I would like to conclude with a paragraph from the concluding chapter of this book which I believe indicates why this is such a “must-read”: The world has seen a lot of impudent geniuses. What made Einstein special was that his mind and soul were tempered by this humility. He could be serenely self-confident in his lonely course yet also humbly awed by the beauty of nature’s handiwork. “A spirit is manifest in the laws of the universe—a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble,” he wrote. “In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort.”

Einstein was an incredible human being, and Isaacson has more than done him justice.

Review by Len Oppenheim