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Einstein: The Man, the Genius, and the Theory of Relativity
Written by bestselling author Walter Isaacson, Einsten is an introduction to, and celebration of, the scientist whose name is synonymous with ingenuity and intelligence.
From his remarkable theory of relativity and the famous equation E=mc2 to his concept of a unified field theory, no one has contributed as much to science in the last century as Albert Einstein. Drawing on new research and reproducing documents only recently made available, Einstein reveals the process behind the work and the man behind the his early years and experiments in Germany, his marriages and children, his role in the development of the atomic bomb, and his involvement with civil rights groups in the United States.
Now in a new format!
From his remarkable theory of relativity and the famous equation E=mc2 to his concept of a unified field theory, no one has contributed as much to science in the last century as Albert Einstein. Drawing on new research and reproducing documents only recently made available, Einstein reveals the process behind the work and the man behind the his early years and experiments in Germany, his marriages and children, his role in the development of the atomic bomb, and his involvement with civil rights groups in the United States.
Now in a new format!
160 pages, Hardcover
Published August 7, 2018
24 people are currently reading
749 people want to read
About the author
Walter Isaacson
132 books22.6k followersWalter Isaacson, a professor of history at Tulane, has been CEO of the Aspen Institute, chair of CNN, and editor of Time. He is the author of 'Leonardo da Vinci; The Innovators; Steve Jobs; Einstein: His Life and Universe; Benjamin Franklin: An American Life; and Kissinger: A Biography, and the coauthor of The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made. Visit him at Isaacson.Tulane.edu and on Twitter at @WalterIsaacson
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
June 11, 2019
V knihovně jsem si v dobré víře zarezervoval dlouhý životopis Einsteina (po vzoru Steva Jobse), ale nakonec se z knížky vyklubala barevná krátká životopisná koláž na křídovém papíře. Stárnu a zpomaluju - než se ke knížce dostanu, vyjde od stejného autora k danému tématu nový kousek :-)
Ničeho ale nelituji. Místo detailnějšího popisu jsem si užil fotografií či přetištěných dopisů a o Einsteinovi jsem se dozvěděl zase něco nového.
Ničeho ale nelituji. Místo detailnějšího popisu jsem si užil fotografií či přetištěných dopisů a o Einsteinovi jsem se dozvěděl zase něco nového.
September 9, 2021
This was a much quicker read than the full biography of Einstein would have been, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were a lot of photographs and documents alongside the text, which were really interesting, and this was a great introduction to Einstein's life. I didn't pay that much attention to the science (I have learned about the science in other places); I was more interested in the other details of Einstein's life.
May 28, 2024
Easy reading, not too granular, and big picture discussion of his research made this a great Beach book
September 22, 2024
(não sei pq a Intrínseca cadastrou esse livro como algo à parte e não o incluiu como uma edição da obra original. só pq encurtaram o título?)
uma biografia espetacular pra uma pessoa extraordinária. já tinha amado a biografia do Da Vinci escrita pelo Walter Isaacson, então vim com as expectativas altas pra essa. venho flertando com ela há um tempo e quase comprei a versão feiosa em inglês, mas fui surpreendido por essa reedição bem cuidada da Intrínseca.
o autor conseguiu com muito sucesso transmitir o q fez o Einstein ter sido uma das pessoas mais importantes da história humana, por diversos fatores, e construiu um livro muito agradável de ler sem se estender demais ou passar muito rápido por certas fases da vida dele. Albert Einstein se mostrou mais do q um descobridor de uma nova forma de entender o universo, foi também, por causa da época em q viveu, uma celebridade e um ativista político, tomando pra si diversos papéis importantes na história do século XX.
vemos em detalhes a sua maneira de pensar, q o distinguia tanto, e também suas contradições, q o tiraram da vanguarda das descobertas científicas, e isso foi o mais fascinante pra mim, já q havia elaborado suas teorias da relatividade restrita e geral por ter sido capaz de se despreender das amarras da física vigente, no entanto se mostrou conservador à medida q os estudos sobre a mecânica quântica iam avançando.
em se tratando de biografias, sempre me interesso em ler aquelas sobre figuras q tiveram uma grande relevância sobre o mundo ou sobre o modo como pensamos a cultura ou a política, e esta não podia ser mais certeira. o estilo do Isaacson é excelente, espero poder ler mais das obras dele no futuro.
uma biografia espetacular pra uma pessoa extraordinária. já tinha amado a biografia do Da Vinci escrita pelo Walter Isaacson, então vim com as expectativas altas pra essa. venho flertando com ela há um tempo e quase comprei a versão feiosa em inglês, mas fui surpreendido por essa reedição bem cuidada da Intrínseca.
o autor conseguiu com muito sucesso transmitir o q fez o Einstein ter sido uma das pessoas mais importantes da história humana, por diversos fatores, e construiu um livro muito agradável de ler sem se estender demais ou passar muito rápido por certas fases da vida dele. Albert Einstein se mostrou mais do q um descobridor de uma nova forma de entender o universo, foi também, por causa da época em q viveu, uma celebridade e um ativista político, tomando pra si diversos papéis importantes na história do século XX.
vemos em detalhes a sua maneira de pensar, q o distinguia tanto, e também suas contradições, q o tiraram da vanguarda das descobertas científicas, e isso foi o mais fascinante pra mim, já q havia elaborado suas teorias da relatividade restrita e geral por ter sido capaz de se despreender das amarras da física vigente, no entanto se mostrou conservador à medida q os estudos sobre a mecânica quântica iam avançando.
em se tratando de biografias, sempre me interesso em ler aquelas sobre figuras q tiveram uma grande relevância sobre o mundo ou sobre o modo como pensamos a cultura ou a política, e esta não podia ser mais certeira. o estilo do Isaacson é excelente, espero poder ler mais das obras dele no futuro.
January 28, 2022
Curiously, I walked away from Walter Isaacson's Einstein: The Man, the Genius, and the Theory of Relativity with a reduced view (which may be the correct view) of the most celebrated physicist of the 20th century.
Einstein's achievements rest on one year of work in which he overturns the Newtonian universe with his theory of relativity. After that, he achieves almost nothing in physics. In fact, he seems mostly to rebel against quantum physics in a closed minded and unproductive way. I couldn't help recalling Feynman's depiction of him in Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman. Einstein comes across as worried mostly about how advances impact the legacy of the theory of relativity--after that he's mostly not interested or even helpful.
Outside of his profession, Einstein seems like a nice enough but otherwise unimpressive figure. He has a child out of wedlock that he never sees, the child is given up for adoption, and then it dies of scarlet fever. He leaves his first wife to marry his cousin. Like many physicists of the atomic age, he distrusts nations and favors a sort of federalist worldwide government. He seems to be a theist but otherwise not very religious, though he is proud of his ties to Jewish communities. In all of these ways, he strikes me as an ordinary man. Perhaps his greatest achievement after relativity is cultivating a persona as an absent minded professor.
Einstein is often associated with hyper intelligence. There aren't any anecdotes here in which he comes across as especially brilliant, though that is often how Newton or Oppenheimer are depicted. I don't want to suggest Einstein never made observations. What does he think about politics? About atheism? About art? Did he fail high school math--what of that? (No, he didn't fail high school math.) I've seen entire books written on these questions, but I finished this biography thinking "we mostly shouldn't care what Einstein said about anything beyond relativity."
I really doubt this is what Isaacson was going for, so I may need to read more about Einstein.
Einstein's achievements rest on one year of work in which he overturns the Newtonian universe with his theory of relativity. After that, he achieves almost nothing in physics. In fact, he seems mostly to rebel against quantum physics in a closed minded and unproductive way. I couldn't help recalling Feynman's depiction of him in Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman. Einstein comes across as worried mostly about how advances impact the legacy of the theory of relativity--after that he's mostly not interested or even helpful.
Outside of his profession, Einstein seems like a nice enough but otherwise unimpressive figure. He has a child out of wedlock that he never sees, the child is given up for adoption, and then it dies of scarlet fever. He leaves his first wife to marry his cousin. Like many physicists of the atomic age, he distrusts nations and favors a sort of federalist worldwide government. He seems to be a theist but otherwise not very religious, though he is proud of his ties to Jewish communities. In all of these ways, he strikes me as an ordinary man. Perhaps his greatest achievement after relativity is cultivating a persona as an absent minded professor.
Einstein is often associated with hyper intelligence. There aren't any anecdotes here in which he comes across as especially brilliant, though that is often how Newton or Oppenheimer are depicted. I don't want to suggest Einstein never made observations. What does he think about politics? About atheism? About art? Did he fail high school math--what of that? (No, he didn't fail high school math.) I've seen entire books written on these questions, but I finished this biography thinking "we mostly shouldn't care what Einstein said about anything beyond relativity."
I really doubt this is what Isaacson was going for, so I may need to read more about Einstein.
August 21, 2025
Uma boa (mas não excelente) biografia do Einstein. Acho que o Isaacson tem como virtude explorar bastante a faceta pessoal dos seus personagens. Foi isso o que encontrei no livro dele sobre o Leonardo da Vinci e que também está aqui.
Por outro lado, acho que ele não é dos melhores para explicar as particularidades da obra do seu biografado. Acho que essa era a falha maior do seu livro sobre o Leonardo e acho que esse é também o ponto mais vulnerável desse livro.
Aqui, a coisa é ainda mais complicada. Explicar ciência não é uma coisa fácil, ainda mais quando envolve um campo tão pouco intuitivo (e tão longe do senso comum) quanto a relatividade.
Um dos outros pontos negativos é o modo como trata a relação, digamos social, de Einstein com o mundo da ciência. Em “A decodificadora”, o Isaacson conseguiu apresentar ao leitor o modo como funciona a ciência de um ponto de vista social, ou seja, como é ser um cientista nos dias de hoje.
Isso não vai tão bem aqui. O Einstein é um caso muito curioso e provavelmente impossível de ser replicado. Talvez só possa ser compreendido dentro daquela realidade do início do século XX: um sujeito fora do circuito, sem um emprego dentro de uma universidade, trabalhando à margem e que consegue se inserir no sistema de produção de conhecimento científico, i. e., publicar em um revista científica de renome (mesmo sendo só um funcionário do escritório de patentes da Suíça), ter um reconhecimento pelos principais cientistas da época e ter se tornado um nome de referência.
Do mesmo modo, a segunda parte da vida do Einstein (talvez com exceção de um artigo publicado em 1935) é a transição (mesmo trabalhando no Instituto de Estudos Avançados de Princeton) de cientista para celebridade e ativista político.
Por fim, o Isaacson simplesmente ignora (exceto por uma referência sobre cactos) a passagem do Einstein pelo Brasil e pela América do Sul.
Enfim, um bom livro, ajuda, mas que é insuficiente para compreender o cientista Einstein.
Por outro lado, acho que ele não é dos melhores para explicar as particularidades da obra do seu biografado. Acho que essa era a falha maior do seu livro sobre o Leonardo e acho que esse é também o ponto mais vulnerável desse livro.
Aqui, a coisa é ainda mais complicada. Explicar ciência não é uma coisa fácil, ainda mais quando envolve um campo tão pouco intuitivo (e tão longe do senso comum) quanto a relatividade.
Um dos outros pontos negativos é o modo como trata a relação, digamos social, de Einstein com o mundo da ciência. Em “A decodificadora”, o Isaacson conseguiu apresentar ao leitor o modo como funciona a ciência de um ponto de vista social, ou seja, como é ser um cientista nos dias de hoje.
Isso não vai tão bem aqui. O Einstein é um caso muito curioso e provavelmente impossível de ser replicado. Talvez só possa ser compreendido dentro daquela realidade do início do século XX: um sujeito fora do circuito, sem um emprego dentro de uma universidade, trabalhando à margem e que consegue se inserir no sistema de produção de conhecimento científico, i. e., publicar em um revista científica de renome (mesmo sendo só um funcionário do escritório de patentes da Suíça), ter um reconhecimento pelos principais cientistas da época e ter se tornado um nome de referência.
Do mesmo modo, a segunda parte da vida do Einstein (talvez com exceção de um artigo publicado em 1935) é a transição (mesmo trabalhando no Instituto de Estudos Avançados de Princeton) de cientista para celebridade e ativista político.
Por fim, o Isaacson simplesmente ignora (exceto por uma referência sobre cactos) a passagem do Einstein pelo Brasil e pela América do Sul.
Enfim, um bom livro, ajuda, mas que é insuficiente para compreender o cientista Einstein.
April 27, 2023
Samotná kniha je celkem zajímavá, je to odvyprávěné celkem poutavě a celé je to spíše o tom, jak Einstein žil, než o jeho práci. Občas to trpí neduhy typické pro americké self help tituly - převážně jde o opakování několika banálních výroků. Zde si tedy skoro na každé druhé stránce přečtete o myšlenkových experimentech a jaké by to bylo letět vedle paprsku světla.
Překlad je spíše podprůměrný, ale pokud vám nevadí číst otrocky přeloženou angličtinu větu od věty, tak je to o trochu lepší než co by vyplivl google translator.
Kniha vypadá luxusně, ale bohužel obsahuje dost chyb (v textu). Sazba je poměrně divoká a působí chaoticky. Bloky s citáty bych úplně vynechal - jsou nevzhledné a často je citát v textu a zároveň v tomto podivném bloku hned pod sebou. Čtete tedy stejný text dvakrát a z toho jednou vypadá jak kdyby ho vytvořil člověk, kterému poprvé ukážete možnosti formátování textu ve Wordu. Nehledě na to, že kolikrát je to fakt taková blbost, že je až s podivem, že to prošlo přes editora.
V knize je hodně fotek, ale velká část z nich je také nerelevantní - je tam v podstatě fotka každého člověka (nebo budovy), který se kolem Einsteina jen mihnul. A přestože se můžete podívat, jak vypadal člověk, který doručil jeden z Einsteinových dopisů, tak fotka jeho posledního setkání se synem tam není, ačkoliv evidentně existuje, protože se jí autor snaží do detailu popsat.
Překlad je spíše podprůměrný, ale pokud vám nevadí číst otrocky přeloženou angličtinu větu od věty, tak je to o trochu lepší než co by vyplivl google translator.
Kniha vypadá luxusně, ale bohužel obsahuje dost chyb (v textu). Sazba je poměrně divoká a působí chaoticky. Bloky s citáty bych úplně vynechal - jsou nevzhledné a často je citát v textu a zároveň v tomto podivném bloku hned pod sebou. Čtete tedy stejný text dvakrát a z toho jednou vypadá jak kdyby ho vytvořil člověk, kterému poprvé ukážete možnosti formátování textu ve Wordu. Nehledě na to, že kolikrát je to fakt taková blbost, že je až s podivem, že to prošlo přes editora.
V knize je hodně fotek, ale velká část z nich je také nerelevantní - je tam v podstatě fotka každého člověka (nebo budovy), který se kolem Einsteina jen mihnul. A přestože se můžete podívat, jak vypadal člověk, který doručil jeden z Einsteinových dopisů, tak fotka jeho posledního setkání se synem tam není, ačkoliv evidentně existuje, protože se jí autor snaží do detailu popsat.
December 7, 2024
A very good biography of Einstein the man, the scientist, the human being and the family man and the lover of a few women. It was a very satisfying read. The book delves just enough into the science and the physics to make it palatable for the every man - but the yarn is densely spun about the man himself and what made him special among the pantheon of geniuses and scientists and fellow physicists.
Even when you read the failings of Einstein you come across with a sense of understanding of the person -the book seems to get you in touch with the inner most feelings of the man himself. This is a rare feat for any biographical book and Walter Isaacson achieves it easily with his fluent writing.
A definite buy if you are a popular science or physics enthusiast and one you will cherish having in your library and would pick up again for a second or a third read in the years to come.
Even when you read the failings of Einstein you come across with a sense of understanding of the person -the book seems to get you in touch with the inner most feelings of the man himself. This is a rare feat for any biographical book and Walter Isaacson achieves it easily with his fluent writing.
A definite buy if you are a popular science or physics enthusiast and one you will cherish having in your library and would pick up again for a second or a third read in the years to come.
December 20, 2024
Jedná se o monografii, ne o biografii, takže kniha je zaměřená spíše na Einsteinovu práci než na jeho soukromý život (i když i o tom se dozvíme relativně dost). Má pouze 156 stránek, tudíž představuje velmi stručný úvod do života Alberta Einsteina, ale pokud člověk nehledá drby nebo nějakou senzaci, tak to podle mě víc než postačí. Navíc je dílo doplněné rozsáhlým obrazovým materiálem, a je tím pádem i pěkné na pohled, navíc vytištěné na křídovém papíře. Navíc mám pocit, že jsem díky němu konečně skutečně pochopila podstatu Schrödingerovy kočky a z jakého důvodu tento experiment vlastně vznikl.
May 1, 2022
หนังสือไอน์สไตน์ ชีวประวัติของ Walter Isaacson เล่มนี้เป็นหนึ่งใน Weekend read ที่อ่านจบ ด้วยความที่ชอบฟังประวัติของไอน์สไตน์ตาม Youtube หรือตามสารคดีต่างๆ มาค่อนข้างมาก พออ่านหนังสือเล่มนี้จบเหมือนได้เติมเต็มรายละเอียดต่างๆ ที่ตกหล่นไป ทั้งลักษณะนิสัย ปีทอง บทบาททางการเมือง ระเบิด และที่ชอบมากที่สุดก็คือ Thought Experiment ในเล่มมีทั้งภาพประกอบต่างๆ ทั้งเรื่องเกี่ยวกับทฤษฎีสัมพัทธภาพ และการยกตัวอย่าง ฯลฯเป็นหนึ่งเล่มที่คนชอบวิทยาศาสตร์ต้องมีเก็บไว้
April 25, 2022
An interesting biography of the most well-known genius in the world. Even if it dragged at times, it truly showed that Einstein is a normal person that appeared to come up with one of the greatest formulas (E=MC^2) out there and the Theory of Relativity.
Shame he was an awful husband and dated his cousin. That wasn't very smart of him.
Shame he was an awful husband and dated his cousin. That wasn't very smart of him.
October 27, 2022
A synopsis of the private life and public persona of the popular scientist. Intrigued that Steve Jobs' life story (by the same author) reflected similar dissonance between personal and professional achievements. Are these geniuses overcompensating with success in public domain due to their inability to garner support for their private failures?
May 18, 2022
Enjoyed this little biography. I really liked the pictures included throughout the book. The aesthetic reminds me of a small textbook. I’m sure there are more in depth biographies, but for a quick read with photos, this was great.
July 2, 2025
Molt agradable de llegir. Cada pàginà conté fotos de l’època: família, llocs, cartes, científics famosos, totes molt interessants d’examinar per intentar entrar amb la imaginació en aquell món desaparegut.
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July 25, 2019Kúpil som ju ako darček, ale us teraz viem, ze musim vybrat ako darček inu knihu... :)
February 24, 2020
great issue, lacking content - too brief
February 27, 2022
Typisch amerikanisch, viele reißerische Überschriften und Adjektive.
Im Netz nennt sich das click bait.
Dadurch kann ich mich nicht auf den Inhalt konzentrieren.
Im Netz nennt sich das click bait.
Dadurch kann ich mich nicht auf den Inhalt konzentrieren.
December 15, 2022
Truly fascinating book with some great insights into the life of an incredible Physicist who revolutionized our understanding of the laws of physics like no other scientist before him.
December 28, 2022
Another Isaacson master piece biography. Both the personal life, historical context and the physics explained masterfully.
January 11, 2023
Very nicely documented, inspired me to read a more substantial Einstein biography later this year as this book is only a light overview of his life
June 12, 2023
dear alissa- was looking for a biography/autobiography-style read and this read more like an encyclopedia.
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August 19, 2023this series of books is great for people who don't care so much for actual science but more for the lives of the scientists. AND there's a lot of great pictures :)
December 15, 2023
Interesting biography about Einstein, which mainly sheds light on the personal and political aspects of his life and focuses less on his scientific work.
March 8, 2025
Interesting guy (obviously). I don't know if it was my copy of the ebook or what, but this felt horribly-written and nearly incomprehensible in parts.
February 8, 2020
For those who think that Walter Isaacson's "Einstein: His Life and Universe" may be a complex book to read, then look no further! This shortened edition of "Einstein: The Man, the Genius, and the Theory of Relativity" may be the book for those who are interested in reading about this gifted scientist who hailed from Ulm, Germany.
"Einstein the Man" contains illustrations and photographs throughout the book. Here the reader can find sidebars complete with information about Albert Einstein's family and fellow scientists who were around during his time. The book also discusses important points in history such as both World Wars and when Einstein and his second wife Elsa traveled to--and eventually--settled in the United States. Following their big move across the Atlantic Ocean in late 1933, Albert Einstein never returned to Europe.
Albert Einstein once stated: "If you can't explain (things) simply, you don't understand them well enough." Walter Issacson follows this basic advice, especially when he discusses Einstein's four banner experiments from 1905. These theories include the photoelectric effect and the theory of relativity.
As a teen-ager, Albert thought about what it would be like to "ride a light wave". Though his unified field theory eluded him throughout most of his life, quite a number of Einstein's thoughts and experiments led him to fruition and everlasting fame. Without his scientific accomplishments, today's society would not have technology such as lasers, compact discs (CDs) or television. Even those who didn't like science in school would enjoy reading about Einstein, his life and his contributions to science and our world. All these reasons listed make this book a must read for any Einstein enthusiast!
Rating: *****
"Einstein the Man" contains illustrations and photographs throughout the book. Here the reader can find sidebars complete with information about Albert Einstein's family and fellow scientists who were around during his time. The book also discusses important points in history such as both World Wars and when Einstein and his second wife Elsa traveled to--and eventually--settled in the United States. Following their big move across the Atlantic Ocean in late 1933, Albert Einstein never returned to Europe.
Albert Einstein once stated: "If you can't explain (things) simply, you don't understand them well enough." Walter Issacson follows this basic advice, especially when he discusses Einstein's four banner experiments from 1905. These theories include the photoelectric effect and the theory of relativity.
As a teen-ager, Albert thought about what it would be like to "ride a light wave". Though his unified field theory eluded him throughout most of his life, quite a number of Einstein's thoughts and experiments led him to fruition and everlasting fame. Without his scientific accomplishments, today's society would not have technology such as lasers, compact discs (CDs) or television. Even those who didn't like science in school would enjoy reading about Einstein, his life and his contributions to science and our world. All these reasons listed make this book a must read for any Einstein enthusiast!
Rating: *****
November 25, 2024
A solid book for people without a strong background in science. It is basically a scaled-down version of Isaacson's excellent biography of Albert Einstein. I recommend "Einstein: His Life and Universe" by the same author for everyone who is interested in the great scientist.
December 6, 2021
HB 4h 55
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews