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Einstein: His Space and Times
From the prizewinning Jewish Lives series, a revealing new portrait of Albert Einstein, the world’s first scientific “superstar”
“With graceful lucidity, Gimbel illuminates the intensely personal challenges facing the great physicist.”— Booklist , Starred Review
The commonly held view of Albert Einstein is of an eccentric genius for whom the pursuit of science was everything. But in actuality, the brilliant innovator whose Theory of Relativity forever reshaped our understanding of time was a man of his times, always politically engaged and driven by strong moral principles. An avowed pacifist, Einstein’s mistrust of authority and outspoken social and scientific views earned him death threats from Nazi sympathizers in the years preceding World War II. To him, science provided not only a means for understanding the behavior of the universe, but a foundation for considering the deeper questions of life and a way for the worldwide Jewish community to gain confidence and pride in itself.
Steven Gimbel’s biography presents Einstein in the context of the world he lived in, offering a fascinating portrait of a remarkable individual who remained actively engaged in international affairs throughout his life. This revealing work not only explains Einstein’s theories in understandable terms, it demonstrates how they directly emerged from the realities of his times and helped create the world we live in today.
About Jewish
Jewish Lives is a prizewinning series of interpretative biography designed to explore the many facets of Jewish identity. Individual volumes illuminate the imprint of Jewish figures upon literature, religion, philosophy, politics, cultural and economic life, and the arts and sciences. Subjects are paired with authors to elicit lively, deeply informed books that explore the range and depth of the Jewish experience from antiquity to the present.
In 2014, the Jewish Book Council named Jewish Lives the winner of its Jewish Book of the Year Award, the first series ever to receive this award.
More praise for Jewish
"Excellent" –New York Times
"Exemplary" –Wall Street Journal
"Distinguished" –New Yorker
"Superb" –The Guardian
“With graceful lucidity, Gimbel illuminates the intensely personal challenges facing the great physicist.”— Booklist , Starred Review
The commonly held view of Albert Einstein is of an eccentric genius for whom the pursuit of science was everything. But in actuality, the brilliant innovator whose Theory of Relativity forever reshaped our understanding of time was a man of his times, always politically engaged and driven by strong moral principles. An avowed pacifist, Einstein’s mistrust of authority and outspoken social and scientific views earned him death threats from Nazi sympathizers in the years preceding World War II. To him, science provided not only a means for understanding the behavior of the universe, but a foundation for considering the deeper questions of life and a way for the worldwide Jewish community to gain confidence and pride in itself.
Steven Gimbel’s biography presents Einstein in the context of the world he lived in, offering a fascinating portrait of a remarkable individual who remained actively engaged in international affairs throughout his life. This revealing work not only explains Einstein’s theories in understandable terms, it demonstrates how they directly emerged from the realities of his times and helped create the world we live in today.
About Jewish
Jewish Lives is a prizewinning series of interpretative biography designed to explore the many facets of Jewish identity. Individual volumes illuminate the imprint of Jewish figures upon literature, religion, philosophy, politics, cultural and economic life, and the arts and sciences. Subjects are paired with authors to elicit lively, deeply informed books that explore the range and depth of the Jewish experience from antiquity to the present.
In 2014, the Jewish Book Council named Jewish Lives the winner of its Jewish Book of the Year Award, the first series ever to receive this award.
More praise for Jewish
"Excellent" –New York Times
"Exemplary" –Wall Street Journal
"Distinguished" –New Yorker
"Superb" –The Guardian
208 pages, Hardcover
First published April 28, 2015
12 people are currently reading
164 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
August 10, 2015
Short and sweet biography. Focuses more on the science rather than his life. Well written. Rare anecdotes.
June 6, 2023
A brief overview into Einstein’s life. I give the author credit for trying to explain complex theories into something accessible for those who are not physicists but this is a very high level overview into his life. His final years felt very short and rushed by the author.
The Jewish Lives series (so far) I feel is meant to provide just a high level biography and it’s up to curious readers to seek out additional reading, especially starting with the bibliography section in the back. I felt this was a bit too high level, particularly in his final years. I’m a collector of the Jewish Lives series but those curious about Einstein can likely better get their needs met elsewhere. I’ve ordered the Isaacson biography to get a deeper dive.
The Jewish Lives series (so far) I feel is meant to provide just a high level biography and it’s up to curious readers to seek out additional reading, especially starting with the bibliography section in the back. I felt this was a bit too high level, particularly in his final years. I’m a collector of the Jewish Lives series but those curious about Einstein can likely better get their needs met elsewhere. I’ve ordered the Isaacson biography to get a deeper dive.
July 8, 2023
This is part of the Jewish Lives published by Yale University Press, and I am working my way through the series. There is no doubt that Einstein was a unique and gifted scientist. The author knows way more about physics than I ever will. The most interesting part to me about Einstein is the dichotomy of how he was both the victim of antisemitism as well as being treated like a commodity. Not only is still credited with all kinds of statements he probably never made, but he was trotted around by his friends whenever they needed attention to their particular cause. He did remain true to his beliefs and was never impressed by authority or grandiosity. He was one of those people that he was your friend and you were in a social situation together he would say aloud whatever you were thinking. No filter, no cares about whether anyone appreciated his sense of humor.
December 31, 2023
I'm a fan of science, so I thought, "Why not Einstein!" Well, let's just say I've lost all my respect towards this man after reading his life story. At first it's compelling, and as it progresses, it becomes disappointing. Lowkey this man was an asshole, so reader's discretion advised, BIG TIME.
December 28, 2015
Poor. Last chapter maybe
Note: I just finished Einstein: His Space and Times (Jewish Lives) and gave it 2 stars. A short book, with a non proportional price and quality. Isaacson 's bio is much superior. The last chapter adds bits of Einstein's jewishness. That's all. Not worth to touch it. Actually the collection Jewish Lives feels is expensive and without expression. Summaries.
Note: I just finished Einstein: His Space and Times (Jewish Lives) and gave it 2 stars. A short book, with a non proportional price and quality. Isaacson 's bio is much superior. The last chapter adds bits of Einstein's jewishness. That's all. Not worth to touch it. Actually the collection Jewish Lives feels is expensive and without expression. Summaries.
December 9, 2017
2.5 stars. I wanted more person than science, and if I must have science, it should be better. But it was a pretty fast read, well enough written, and makes a decent starter biography. Still, the Isaacson is better.
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November 22, 2021I picked up the novel The Other Einstein, by Marie Benedict, which is about Einstein’s first wife. Before I read it, I wanted to brush up on my general Einstein knowledge so I would know how much of the novel was factually accurate. As a short overview of the man’s life I thought this fit the bill.
Einstein’s life as told here is a series of stories: the story of his attempt to get an education, the story of his attempt to get a job, the story of his attempt to get a doctoral degree, the story of his attempt to get the Nobel prize. Most of these stories go the same way: he thought the rules did not apply to him. He was charming, yet arrogant. He didn’t go to class. He openly mocked people he disagreed with. He didn’t want to work as an underling for someone when he thought he knew more than they did. As a consequence, he alienated many of the people who could have helped him, and had to cobble together work-arounds to get a degree. Yet, as we know, he ultimately revolutionized physics and was recognized as a genius around the world.
This book also addresses the content of Einstein’s scientific work, because there is not really any understanding his life without understanding his relationship to the other scientists of his day. There is here as accessible an explanation of the work of atoms and photons and relativity as may be. One of the delays in his getting his Nobel was that an old guard of hands-on physicists who thought that discovering things by experiments in the laboratory was real science, and Einstein’s theoretical thought experiments were not.
Einstein’s Jewishness is explored, perhaps in part because this book is part of a series of “Jewish Lives,” but also because, as a refugee from Nazi Germany, the issue of Einstein’s Jewishness was forced upon him. He was religious when he was young, then became a skeptic as he studied science. Later in life he came to identify with the Jews as a persecuted people. Einstein was used, to a certain degree, by Zionists, because of his celebrity. Einstein actually had no interest in establishing a Jewish state. He hated states, and nationalism, and armies. He was a pacifist, and a socialist, who had a John Lennon-like “Imagine” dream of all people living as one. Even as the people loved him, people in power hoped he would be a little more hush-hush about his political opinions.
The issue I came to the book for, the story of Einstein’s first marriage, is a sad and tumultuous one. Mileva Maric was a Serbian student with Einstein in the physics program at the University of Zurich. She was an excellent student, and at first Einstein respected her brilliant mind. But Mileva became pregnant, and had an illegitimate child, a daughter, Lieserl, who disappeared from the historical record. Mileva never finished her degree. She and Einstein married, and had two sons, but it seemed that he came to regard her as a housekeeper and not as an intellectual partner. She was unhappy, and they divorced.
Einstein’s second wife was his cousin Elsa. She did not understand the science, but happily cooked and cleaned for him, freeing him up to be the intellectual, and that seemed to work for them, until her death. Einstein himself died rather suddenly of an aneurysm in Princeton, New Jersey. One of the stories I liked was how he used to walk around the Black neighborhood of Princeton, making friends, and helping a child with her homework. They recognized in him a man without racism. According to our author, Einstein felt that the Blacks of America were kindred spirits, as they and the Jews were both oppressed peoples.
Einstein’s life as told here is a series of stories: the story of his attempt to get an education, the story of his attempt to get a job, the story of his attempt to get a doctoral degree, the story of his attempt to get the Nobel prize. Most of these stories go the same way: he thought the rules did not apply to him. He was charming, yet arrogant. He didn’t go to class. He openly mocked people he disagreed with. He didn’t want to work as an underling for someone when he thought he knew more than they did. As a consequence, he alienated many of the people who could have helped him, and had to cobble together work-arounds to get a degree. Yet, as we know, he ultimately revolutionized physics and was recognized as a genius around the world.
This book also addresses the content of Einstein’s scientific work, because there is not really any understanding his life without understanding his relationship to the other scientists of his day. There is here as accessible an explanation of the work of atoms and photons and relativity as may be. One of the delays in his getting his Nobel was that an old guard of hands-on physicists who thought that discovering things by experiments in the laboratory was real science, and Einstein’s theoretical thought experiments were not.
Einstein’s Jewishness is explored, perhaps in part because this book is part of a series of “Jewish Lives,” but also because, as a refugee from Nazi Germany, the issue of Einstein’s Jewishness was forced upon him. He was religious when he was young, then became a skeptic as he studied science. Later in life he came to identify with the Jews as a persecuted people. Einstein was used, to a certain degree, by Zionists, because of his celebrity. Einstein actually had no interest in establishing a Jewish state. He hated states, and nationalism, and armies. He was a pacifist, and a socialist, who had a John Lennon-like “Imagine” dream of all people living as one. Even as the people loved him, people in power hoped he would be a little more hush-hush about his political opinions.
The issue I came to the book for, the story of Einstein’s first marriage, is a sad and tumultuous one. Mileva Maric was a Serbian student with Einstein in the physics program at the University of Zurich. She was an excellent student, and at first Einstein respected her brilliant mind. But Mileva became pregnant, and had an illegitimate child, a daughter, Lieserl, who disappeared from the historical record. Mileva never finished her degree. She and Einstein married, and had two sons, but it seemed that he came to regard her as a housekeeper and not as an intellectual partner. She was unhappy, and they divorced.
Einstein’s second wife was his cousin Elsa. She did not understand the science, but happily cooked and cleaned for him, freeing him up to be the intellectual, and that seemed to work for them, until her death. Einstein himself died rather suddenly of an aneurysm in Princeton, New Jersey. One of the stories I liked was how he used to walk around the Black neighborhood of Princeton, making friends, and helping a child with her homework. They recognized in him a man without racism. According to our author, Einstein felt that the Blacks of America were kindred spirits, as they and the Jews were both oppressed peoples.
May 18, 2020
There was a high usage of academic language. I was interested in reading this book to learn more about how a celebrity dealt with being Jewish in that era. However, there was not enough mentioning of this topic. Keep in mind that this book took me 10 months to get through bc i kept on tossing it to the side
February 1, 2024
Very excellent book about Einstein!
October 22, 2025
Interesting nuggets on how secular Judaism shaped Einstein's ethics and outlook.
March 6, 2024
The Philosopher Steven Gimbel published Einstein: His Space and Time published in 2015. Philosopher Steven Gimbel specializes in the philosophy of physics and analytic philosophy. Gimbel is a professor of philosophy at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. Gimbel does a good job explaining the scientific discoveries of Albert Einstein, including the theory of special relativity. Gimbel’s biography of Einstein is for Yale University Press and the Leon D. Black Foundation's Jewish Lives series. The book covers the whole life of Albert Einstein in 178 pages. Einstein lived for 76 years. Gimbel’s brief biography of Einstein covers a lot of ground in a brief book. The book covers Einstein’s complex relationship with the project of Zionism and the Manhattan Project which created the Atomic Bomb. Each chapter covers a different era of the life of Einstein. The book is very interested in the politics of Einstein as well as his scientific discoveries and his scientific discoveries. The book includes a section of notes, a bibliography, and an index. The book starts with the meeting of physicists in the town of Bad Nauheim in 1920 (Gimbel 2). I read the book on the Kindle. At this meeting, several prominent German physicists attacked the theory of special relativity on political grounds, not on scientific grounds (Gimbel 1-3). The book starts this way to show that Einstein had to navigate politics during a complex time in the history of Europe and the United States. Steven Gimbel’s biography of Einstein is an interesting short biography of Einstein.
December 30, 2016
One star because I became disinterested and set it aside.
I attended a talk on Einstein by Steven Gimbel in Kings X which was lively and entertaining; the discussion focused on the man rather than his theories. I was hoping that the book was more of the same. More of Einstein's humanity rather than his genius.
(From 1926 until 1933 Einstein and Szilárd collaborated on ways to improve home refrigeration technology. The two were motivated by contemporary newspaper reports of a Berlin family who had been killed when a seal in their refrigerator failed and leaked toxic fumes into their home.)
I attended a talk on Einstein by Steven Gimbel in Kings X which was lively and entertaining; the discussion focused on the man rather than his theories. I was hoping that the book was more of the same. More of Einstein's humanity rather than his genius.
(From 1926 until 1933 Einstein and Szilárd collaborated on ways to improve home refrigeration technology. The two were motivated by contemporary newspaper reports of a Berlin family who had been killed when a seal in their refrigerator failed and leaked toxic fumes into their home.)
August 23, 2016
A decent book chronicalling the times of Albert Einstein. However considering this book to be a part of the "Jewish Lives" book collection, I am dissappointed by the small proportion of the book that covers his ties and relations to judaism. Although his theories were explained in a way that made it easy for me to understand their jist, I would have much prefered to learn about his jewish and zionist ties and positions.
December 17, 2016
For its length (177 pages), it's pretty comprehensive. The only downside is its length, but this is a good introduction to the longer biographies by Isaacson, Frank, Neffe, etc.
October 21, 2020
A good sweet compact overview of Einstein’s life.
November 1, 2015
A very interesting life made more vivid to me by Steven Gimbel. Excellent.
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June 6, 2017Had to return. Slow start, but good reviews.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews