Einstein on the Road

by Josef Eisinger

At the height of his fame, Albert Einstein traveled throughout the world, from Japan to South America and many places in between. During these voyages, between 1922 and 1933, he was in the habit of keeping travel diaries in which he recorded his impressions of people and events, as well as his musings on everything from music and politics to quantum mechanics and psychoanalysis. These fascinating recordsare now here published in thier entirety, painting an engaging personal portrait of Einstein the man.The author has created a vivid and entertaining narrative that brings Einstein's voice to the fore. During Einstein's travels far and wide, he meets with royalty, presidents, movie stars, and artists-Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, Charlie Chaplin, Fritz Kreisler, and Sinclair Lewis, as well as the most eminent scientists of the time, including Niels Bohr, Max Planck, Erwin Schrödinger, and Edwin Hubble.In his travel entries, we read his candid impressions of the Far East during a long sea voyage to Japan (1922), where Einstein is welcomed with enormous enthusiasm, and steals the show at an imperial reception. He and Elsa visit and explore many Japanese cities, as well as Singapore, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Barcelona, Madrid, and Jerusalem, where Einstein cogitates on Zionism and sees it in action. In 1931, the couple spends eight weeks in Pasadena, where Einstein enjoys fruitful interactions with scientists at Caltech and the Mount Wilson observatory. This portion of the diaries contains illuminating observations about America, science, and the Hollywood celebrities he encounters. He returns to Caltech two more times, and enjoys two extended sojourns in another academic sanctuary, Oxford University. Back at home in Berlin, his diary shows his deep involvement with the academic, social, and cultural life of the German capital, and with the politics of the Weimar Republic. He discusses books, dinner parties, plays, concerts, and sailing, but his greatest passion, apart from physics, is music; he is never happier than when playing chamber music, preferably Mozart-and he does so at every opportunity. A lifelong pacifist, he watches the rise of the Nazis with anxiety, and when Hitler gains control in 1933, he renounces pacifism and searches for a place of refuge. He finds it in Princeton, New Jersey, where he joins the newly created Institute for Advanced Study and becomes an American, never more to roam. Filled with memorable vignettes, this singular book provides a window into the thoughts and opinions of the twentieth century's most celebrated scientist and allows us to share in his exhilarating experiences.

Genres: Biography, Science

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[Jason Pettus · Rating 3 out of 5]

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)

For those who don't know, physicist and Early Modernist Albert Einstein did quite a lot of traveling as well as heavy thinking while alive; born in Germany, he moved to Italy for a time as a child, then studied in Switzerland, then moved back to Germany and then Prague, visited America, Britain, Asia and Palestine, then fled the Nazis to first Belgium and then New Jersey for the rest of his life. And it turns out that Einstein kept pervasive journals of his travels the whole time too, which have recently been analyzed and interpreted by Josef Eisinger for the book Einstein on the Road, put out by the mostly science-book-publishing Prometheus Books (albeit with this also being the parent company that owns the cutting-edge science-fiction publisher Pyr). But alas, I suspect that the journals themselves are not too scintillating of stuff; because this book is more like a journalist or historian using such material as a source for writing their own original tale, with Eisinger trying as admirably as he can to inject a sense of excitement and globetrotting adventure to these records, but with the few direct quotes he includes making it clear that Einstein simply wasn't a romantic vagabond, and that these journals are for the most part probably mere logs full of dry facts and figures. Interesting as a historical document, this is not exactly the NPR-friendly crowdpleaser that Prometheus is trying to sell it as, although will definitely hold a lot of interest to those who wish to know more about Einstein himself.

Out of 10: 8.0

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning about Einstein's travels, particularly his thoughts on the people and places he visited nearly a century ago. Also, I am a student of ocean liner history, so it was nice to be brought onboard ships that stayed out of the spotlight. My big disappointment was that, contrary to my expectations when I bought the book, it was not a translation of his actual diaries. Rather, it was a summary of his entries, albeit in extraordinary detail. I understand there may be reasons this could not be done, yet I did not see this mentioned anywhere. Still, it was an enjoyable read.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gleaned from the diaries of Albert Einstein, written on trips he made between 1922 and 1933. He was at the height of his fame, and adoring crowds met him at every stop. He gave lectures and met other physicists during the trips to Japan with stops on his return to Germany, to South America, and to United States. He comments on people, places, customs, and his observations. The diaries offer a look at life during those years. His last trip was to Princeton, NJ to the Institute for Advanced Study. to escape Nazism. He becomes an American, and never returned to Germany.

[Pam · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oh my goodness I could not get through this book. I tried for Weeks! slowly reading bits here and there. There was absolutely zilch pathos in the book. To use a term that this book reminded me of from my H.S. English teacher, the book had so much 'packing peanuts' that it was hard to find anything of value in it. So much of what was in the book was just filler, a complete travel log with summaries of how Einstein felt sprinkled in confusingly. This evening I finally just gave up. It leads me to wonder if it's the subject or the author that made the book so uninteresting. Ugh, I need a good, quick read now.

[Pat Poulsen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enjoyable look at a portion of this man's important life

I read anything about Einstein and his interesting life. The best parts to read tell about opinions and reactions to every day life and the little things that annoyed this genius.. This book is well written and remains interesting all the way through.