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Einstein's War
The story of relativity - showing how science really works, and how Einstein became famous
In 1916, Arthur Eddington, a war-weary British astronomer, opened a letter written by an obscure German professor named Einstein. The neatly printed equations on the scrap of paper outlined his world-changing theory of general relativity.
Until then, Einstein's masterpiece of time and space had been trapped behind the physical and ideological lines of battle, unknown. Many Britons were rejecting anything German, but Eddington realized the importance of the letter: perhaps Einstein's esoteric theory could not only change the foundations of science but also lead to international co-operation in a time of brutal war.
Einstein's name is now synonymous with 'genius', but it was not an easy road. He spent a decade creating relativity and his ascent to global celebrity, which saw him on front pages around the world, also owed much to against-the-odds international collaboration, including Eddington's crucial expedition of 1919 -- which was still two years before they finally met. We usually think of scientific discovery as a flash of individual inspiration, but here we see it is the result of hard work, gambles and wrong turns -- in this case subject to the petty concerns of nations, religions and individuals.
Einstein's War is a moving human story of a pair on opposite sides of history who came together for science. It sheds light on science through history, and the physics is more accessible as a result: we see relativity built brick-by-brick in front of us, as it happened 100 years ago.
In 1916, Arthur Eddington, a war-weary British astronomer, opened a letter written by an obscure German professor named Einstein. The neatly printed equations on the scrap of paper outlined his world-changing theory of general relativity.
Until then, Einstein's masterpiece of time and space had been trapped behind the physical and ideological lines of battle, unknown. Many Britons were rejecting anything German, but Eddington realized the importance of the letter: perhaps Einstein's esoteric theory could not only change the foundations of science but also lead to international co-operation in a time of brutal war.
Einstein's name is now synonymous with 'genius', but it was not an easy road. He spent a decade creating relativity and his ascent to global celebrity, which saw him on front pages around the world, also owed much to against-the-odds international collaboration, including Eddington's crucial expedition of 1919 -- which was still two years before they finally met. We usually think of scientific discovery as a flash of individual inspiration, but here we see it is the result of hard work, gambles and wrong turns -- in this case subject to the petty concerns of nations, religions and individuals.
Einstein's War is a moving human story of a pair on opposite sides of history who came together for science. It sheds light on science through history, and the physics is more accessible as a result: we see relativity built brick-by-brick in front of us, as it happened 100 years ago.
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First published May 21, 2019
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October 15, 2019
Einstein’s famous equation E = mc^2 so revolutionized science that researchers turned to nuclear fission as a kind of weapon. Even though Einstein's contribution in the theory, development and explosion of the first two nuclear bombs is negligible, the public perceives him as the genius who influenced the outcome of World War II. This makes the readers think about the Second World War upon seeing the book’s title. Interestingly, this is not the case. The book deals with World War I when Einstein published his theory on general relativity in wartime Germany and how Arthur Eddington, a pacifist British scientist, arranged an expedition around the world to verify the theory coming from an enemy country. It sings the paean of the international spirit of science transcending national boundaries and soaring above parochial politics of the ruling classes. It also serves as a warning note by narrating the experiences of several other scientists who fell for the prevailing public opinion and invented devices to inflict gruesome death on enemy soldiers and civilians. Matthew Stanley is a professor of the history of science at New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. He has published two academic books and this is his first trade book. Judging by the quality of research and presentation, we can be fairly certain that we’d see more of the author in the coming years.
As it claims, the book is all about watching the development of relativity brick by brick, from thought experiments to radical concepts to experimental confirmation. It follows a dual track narrative, explaining the life and work of Albert Einstein and Arthur Eddington in alternating chapters and sections. Eddington’s role is paramount in defining the genius of Einstein. He worked against all odds in a British setting. Being a Quaker, he refused to fight in the Great War. This was at a time when the casualty figures of the war was so great that the British government mopped up all men of fighting age irrespective of their talent, education or natural bent. This indiscriminate conscription wasted the lives of many promising scientists in the killing fields of continental Europe. Relativity was a complicated, abstract theory beyond the ken of most people including scientists. Eddington untiringly studied the theory, braving wartime censoring of information coming from enemy territory and developed textbooks for general use. He also conducted speeches to elucidate the theory to ordinary folk and built a support base for efforts to verify the predictions of the theory. Einstein predicted that gravity deflected the path of light as if it had mass. The precise value over which the deviation would take place was also estimated by theory. Eddington arranged two teams which travelled to Brazil and Africa to observe the total solar eclipse of 1919 and to measure the actual deflection. A shift of 1.75 arc seconds was expected, corresponding to 1/60 of an mm on photographic plates and this was observed by the team. It tallied with Relativity’s prediction and Einstein's fame was made. The author affirms that without Eddington, Einstein would not have become such an intellectual giant as he eventually turned out to be.
This book exposes the mutual distrust and hatred developed between the scientists of Britain and Germany during the Great War. Intense nationalism clouded the judgement of intellectuals, forcing some of them to condone war crimes perpetrated by their national armies. Scientific journals omitted contributions by the ‘Other’. Even great scientists succumbed to blind nationalism. British scientist Chadwick was working under Geiger in Germany. When Geiger knew of the arrest of Chadwick during wartime as a preventive measure, he replied that Chadwick was atoning for the sins of the English. Fritz Haber, who revolutionized agriculture with the invention of nitrogen fixing and artificial fertilizers, turned to industrial production of chlorine and mustard gas for poisoning the enemy. Haber was so taken in with appearances that he wore his military uniform, complete with rank, to the lab every day. Stanley provides many other examples of how militant nationalism upset the society’s wisdom gained through centuries of adaptation.
The author has provided some nice anecdotes and funny quotes often associated with Einstein. It is believed that he was not good at mathematics. Stanley remarks that this belief gives comfort to generations of frustrated high school algebra students, but Einstein’s remark was just in comparison to the company he kept. He was brilliant in mathematics, but when he associated on a daily basis with the world's most talented mathematicians, his inadequacy found expression in the self-mocking quip. The deepest truth of the universe needed to be accessed by abstract mathematics, not by empirical experience. Proficiency in mathematics is an absolute necessity in such cases.
Einstein was a genius of the first rate. But that does not mean that he was a good human being or even a good citizen. He spurned nationalism and clung on to his Swiss citizenship to evade military duties. He had earlier renounced his German citizenship when he obtained a job in the Swiss patent office. He had no moral or cultural affiliation to his homeland. This was polished with fine arguments on the internationalism of science. However, this did not hinder him from associating with Zionism later in his life. Einstein rejoiced when Germany was defeated in the war and asked Max Planck to cheer himself up on the abdication of the German Kaiser. Plank’s reply to Einstein was arresting. He said “I feel something that you admittedly will not be able to understand at all… namely, a reverence for and an unshatterable solidarity with the state to which I belong about which I am proud of – and especially so in its misfortune – and which is embodied in the person of the monarch”. A tinge of remorse must have been generated in Einstein's mind on reading this reply.
The book contains flashes of the great scientist’s biography which makes the readers reflect on the stunted growth of human emotions in him. Einstein met his first wife Mileva quite early in his life and never even saw the first child born out of the relationship after she was adopted by his wife's family. The matrimony did not last long after he began an illicit affair with his own cousin Elsa. As the first wife was not legally divorced, he couldn't marry again. He was niggardly when the time finally came to pay alimony. The 8000 francs that was settled upon was conditional on receiving his Nobel Prize money. Einstein soon developed so passionate a bond with his lover’s grown-up daughter that he left the decision of whom to marry to be decided between the mother and daughter. This volume is extraordinarily candid in unveiling all aspects of the lives of its protagonists, even though they often fail to live up to their stature in their personal lives. Eddington refused to join the war effort on account of religious beliefs which forbade it. This was also a case of a reputed scientist blindly following religion.
The book is a pleasure to read and appreciates the scientific principles involved. Abstract concepts are lucidly explained and do not cause a problem to any. The research for this book is made only from secondary sources but the author has carefully categorized and arranged the facts so that they appear fresh. The message it gives to the world is relevant even after a century of the events described in it. The flag of internationalism it holds up should be a pointer to today's world.
The book is highly recommended.
As it claims, the book is all about watching the development of relativity brick by brick, from thought experiments to radical concepts to experimental confirmation. It follows a dual track narrative, explaining the life and work of Albert Einstein and Arthur Eddington in alternating chapters and sections. Eddington’s role is paramount in defining the genius of Einstein. He worked against all odds in a British setting. Being a Quaker, he refused to fight in the Great War. This was at a time when the casualty figures of the war was so great that the British government mopped up all men of fighting age irrespective of their talent, education or natural bent. This indiscriminate conscription wasted the lives of many promising scientists in the killing fields of continental Europe. Relativity was a complicated, abstract theory beyond the ken of most people including scientists. Eddington untiringly studied the theory, braving wartime censoring of information coming from enemy territory and developed textbooks for general use. He also conducted speeches to elucidate the theory to ordinary folk and built a support base for efforts to verify the predictions of the theory. Einstein predicted that gravity deflected the path of light as if it had mass. The precise value over which the deviation would take place was also estimated by theory. Eddington arranged two teams which travelled to Brazil and Africa to observe the total solar eclipse of 1919 and to measure the actual deflection. A shift of 1.75 arc seconds was expected, corresponding to 1/60 of an mm on photographic plates and this was observed by the team. It tallied with Relativity’s prediction and Einstein's fame was made. The author affirms that without Eddington, Einstein would not have become such an intellectual giant as he eventually turned out to be.
This book exposes the mutual distrust and hatred developed between the scientists of Britain and Germany during the Great War. Intense nationalism clouded the judgement of intellectuals, forcing some of them to condone war crimes perpetrated by their national armies. Scientific journals omitted contributions by the ‘Other’. Even great scientists succumbed to blind nationalism. British scientist Chadwick was working under Geiger in Germany. When Geiger knew of the arrest of Chadwick during wartime as a preventive measure, he replied that Chadwick was atoning for the sins of the English. Fritz Haber, who revolutionized agriculture with the invention of nitrogen fixing and artificial fertilizers, turned to industrial production of chlorine and mustard gas for poisoning the enemy. Haber was so taken in with appearances that he wore his military uniform, complete with rank, to the lab every day. Stanley provides many other examples of how militant nationalism upset the society’s wisdom gained through centuries of adaptation.
The author has provided some nice anecdotes and funny quotes often associated with Einstein. It is believed that he was not good at mathematics. Stanley remarks that this belief gives comfort to generations of frustrated high school algebra students, but Einstein’s remark was just in comparison to the company he kept. He was brilliant in mathematics, but when he associated on a daily basis with the world's most talented mathematicians, his inadequacy found expression in the self-mocking quip. The deepest truth of the universe needed to be accessed by abstract mathematics, not by empirical experience. Proficiency in mathematics is an absolute necessity in such cases.
Einstein was a genius of the first rate. But that does not mean that he was a good human being or even a good citizen. He spurned nationalism and clung on to his Swiss citizenship to evade military duties. He had earlier renounced his German citizenship when he obtained a job in the Swiss patent office. He had no moral or cultural affiliation to his homeland. This was polished with fine arguments on the internationalism of science. However, this did not hinder him from associating with Zionism later in his life. Einstein rejoiced when Germany was defeated in the war and asked Max Planck to cheer himself up on the abdication of the German Kaiser. Plank’s reply to Einstein was arresting. He said “I feel something that you admittedly will not be able to understand at all… namely, a reverence for and an unshatterable solidarity with the state to which I belong about which I am proud of – and especially so in its misfortune – and which is embodied in the person of the monarch”. A tinge of remorse must have been generated in Einstein's mind on reading this reply.
The book contains flashes of the great scientist’s biography which makes the readers reflect on the stunted growth of human emotions in him. Einstein met his first wife Mileva quite early in his life and never even saw the first child born out of the relationship after she was adopted by his wife's family. The matrimony did not last long after he began an illicit affair with his own cousin Elsa. As the first wife was not legally divorced, he couldn't marry again. He was niggardly when the time finally came to pay alimony. The 8000 francs that was settled upon was conditional on receiving his Nobel Prize money. Einstein soon developed so passionate a bond with his lover’s grown-up daughter that he left the decision of whom to marry to be decided between the mother and daughter. This volume is extraordinarily candid in unveiling all aspects of the lives of its protagonists, even though they often fail to live up to their stature in their personal lives. Eddington refused to join the war effort on account of religious beliefs which forbade it. This was also a case of a reputed scientist blindly following religion.
The book is a pleasure to read and appreciates the scientific principles involved. Abstract concepts are lucidly explained and do not cause a problem to any. The research for this book is made only from secondary sources but the author has carefully categorized and arranged the facts so that they appear fresh. The message it gives to the world is relevant even after a century of the events described in it. The flag of internationalism it holds up should be a pointer to today's world.
The book is highly recommended.
August 9, 2021
this is a perfect book.... relativity and history of science and the first world war and absolutely captivating narrative prose my beloveds <3
October 19, 2020
When we think of the Theory of Relativity, we have images of an abstract, once-in-a-century, hard-to-understand scientific theory. We look at its creator, Albert Einstein, with awe and reverence. This theory catapulted him to enduring fame, making him a celebrity worldwide. The NY Times reported the event in 1919 with the following headlines: “Einstein’s Theory triumphs. Stars not where they seemed or calculated to be, but nobody need worry”. However, this book shows it was not all that straightforward as we believe it to be. Einstein developed the General Theory of Relativity in 1915, a year into World War I. The war had divided Europe in ways that scarred its people, including the scientific community. Most scientists chose nationalism ahead of the international character of science. Einstein was little known around the world. He was yet to win the Nobel prize. Nor did the Relativity theory stir up the world of Physics even in Germany. German scientists were busy helping its military develop advanced weapons. Besides, Germany did not welcome Einstein’s pacifism and internationalism. Most British scientists responded in a similar nationalistic and patriotic vein. It was in such a polarized context that Einstein proposed the General Theory of Relativity. It was a revolutionary theory that sought to overthrow the 225-year-old Newtonian concepts of space, gravitation, and time with a new framework to understand the Universe. With Britain rallying behind its favorite son, Isaac Newton, there was much resistance to embracing the Relativity theory. However, another pacifist and internationalist in the form of Arthur Eddington saved the day by taking it upon himself to find experimental proof for the General Theory of Relativity. Eddington was an astronomer, physicist, and mathematician. The year 2019 marked the hundredth anniversary of the year when scientists produced the first empirical proof of the General Theory of Relativity. This book by Matthew Stanley is a gripping tale of the years between 1915 and 1919. By the end of the decade, Albert Einstein rose to the dizzy heights of fame we know today.
Many of us may not be familiar with the General Theory of Relativity (referred to as ‘General Relativity’ from hereon). It may be useful to reproduce here a summary of its essence. In 1905, Einstein presented the Special Theory of Relativity, describing space, motion, and time, in sweeping, revolutionary terms. But it did not include a formulation for gravity. He took ten more years to develop General Relativity, which is one of the main pillars of our understanding of the Universe today. This theory explained how galaxies move through space, predicted black holes, and defined the immense scale of the cosmos. It showed that gravity bent light, time dilated and length contracted if you travel closer to the speed of light. General Relativity radically re-fashioned gravity as the effect of the geometry of space-time and Matter and energy as shadows of one another. As a result, we perceive only a distorted image of the true four-dimensional universe. We can grasp the truth of all this reality only through complicated mathematics and philosophical paradoxes.
With such extraordinary propositions, it was no surprise word got around that the number of people who understood General Relativity in the world was in single digits. Arthur Eddington, the premier British astronomer, was one of them. Eddington was born a Quaker and hence was a pacifist and internationalist. With the First World War already ravaging Britain, he became a conscientious objector to the war and resisted the chauvinism of nationalism and patriotism. He became familiar with General Relativity through William de Sitter, a Dutch astronomer working with Einstein. The theory captured Eddington with its beauty and vision and he became its champion in Britain, despite it being an ‘enemy theory’. Soon after the war ended in 1918, he managed two expeditions to Brazil and Principe Island to observe a total solar eclipse. He took photographs of the stars behind the eclipsed sun’s disc to document the effect of the Sun’s gravity on the light coming from these stars. It took months of analysis to check the minuscule deflection of the light. Then, Eddington announced to the world that the light ray was bent over by the small amount Einstein had predicted. The counter-intuitive nature of the bending of light, and the curvature of space-time, made Einstein an overnight celebrity and genius in the eyes of the world.
Author Matthew Stanley writes a gripping account of the struggles of Einstein over ten years to iron out all the problems in his search for General Relativity. Though he did most of his work in Berlin, his friends and fellow-scientists in Berlin, Zurich, and Leiden helped him in this effort, assisting him with the mathematics. However, it was a time of war. There were other pressures on Einstein because of his beliefs. Einstein was a socialist at heart and a pacifist and internationalist to the core. He considered nationalism more dangerous than war. Einstein did not believe God existed either. He wrote in 1915, “I see with dismay that God punishes His children for their folly, for which we can hold Him only responsible. His nonexistence alone can excuse Him”. These beliefs made him take part in opposing the frenzy of war in Germany and fighting for open borders for science. With scientists everywhere embroiled in nationalism, it left Einstein to fight his lone battle. He tried getting the world to know about General Relativity and the experiments that would prove this extraordinary theory.
In his personal life during these years, Einstein separated from his first wife Mileva. He moved in with Elsa, his first cousin in Berlin with whom he was in love. Einstein was a ladies’ man and even had sexual encounters with Ilse, the daughter of Elsa. So much so that Ilse asked him whether he wanted to marry her or her mother. Einstein replied with a disarming ease that he was okay with either! On Valentine’s Day in 1919, Einstein got his divorce from Mileva on the grounds of his adultery with Elsa. Mileva got custody of their sons with a settlement for 8000 francs per annum. Mileva executed a smart settlement by laying claims to the money that Einstein would get if he won a Nobel prize. She was sure that Einstein would get the Nobel Prize! There have been suggestions that Mileva, a physicist herself, and friends Michele Besso and Marcel Grossmann have been part of the genesis of Relativity theory. Author Stanley says that none of them ever claimed credit for the work, and that Special Relativity would have been the same even if they did not involve themselves.
During the First World War, many scientists and sociologists critiqued the conscientious objection of Eddington to the War and Einstein’s pacifism and refusal to support Germany in the War. Stanley examines the proposition that scientists should not get involved with politics, and vice versa. He believes we must acknowledge the political aspects of science so we can understand them. Saying that science and politics are unconnected is to live in illusion. We can find connections between science and democracy and also between science and anarchism. Science does not carry with it an innate political orientation. During the war, German scientists signed Manifesto 93, supporting Germany in the war. Einstein felt that socialism is the natural ally of science. Eddington argued for internationalism as innate to science. The author says there is no correct answer here. If you think science needs many viewpoints, then you should fight for liberal values in science. If you think science suffers from too much government interference, then you should fight for libertarian values in science. How we view science, how we link it to other aspects of our life, changes the way we do science.
The General Theory of Relativity has stood the test of time. The scientific community has verified its predictions repeatedly in the past century, leaving us in awe of Einstein’s genius. Still, well into the late twentieth century, there was some skepticism that the 1919 expeditions had confirmed the theory. The physicist CWF Everitt suggested that Eddington had always intended to prove Einstein right and hence, manipulated the results. Even Stephen Hawking dismissed the 1919 results. He remarked that Eddington’s data is a case of knowing the results he wanted to get, a not uncommon occurrence in science. Yet others felt that politics and authority shaped the 1919 expeditions, and made them exemplars of socially constructed science. These are valid criticisms. We see socially constructed science in play today in the arena of Climate Change and in the debate on COVID-19 and herd immunity. The last chapter in the book, titled “The Legacy of Einstein and Eddington”, has a fascinating discussion on this question, touching on ‘what is science’. Stanley starts with the Austrian philosopher Karl Popper’s precept that an idea is scientific if it is falsifiable. We can prove a scientific idea wrong. Popper contended that the 1919 eclipse was not about demonstrating that Einstein was right. It was a test to see if General Relativity was wrong and it passed the test. Others differed saying that the problem lies in interpreting the results. An Einsteinian could see the curvature of space-time in the 1919 results. A Newtonian could see none. Thomas Kuhn argued that the framework of ideas through which one interpreted the world could change what one thought an experiment’s result was. The author says that we must leave behind the comforting myth about the dispassionate, fully rational nature of science. Humans engage in science, and hence it can be unreliable. What the story of General Relativity tells us is that science is messy and a powerful way to learn about the actual world around us.
I enjoyed reading this book. The prose is crisp, and I found the book fast-paced. The narrative shifts the scene every few pages between Einstein in Germany and Eddington in Britain to show what was happening regarding Relativity at both places. There is a substantial account of the history of the conduct of World War I and its impact on science. I would have liked the book’s title to differ from “Einstein’s War” though. Associating the word ‘war’ with a pacifist like Einstein seems out of place. By the author’s own account, Einstein did not lobby the world for its acceptance of his theory. It wasn’t a war that he carried on for four years. However, looking at the scholarship of the author Stanley, I concluded that he must have had his reasons even though I could not fathom it.
A wonderful book to read to commemorate the centenary of the greatest scientific idea in modern times.
Many of us may not be familiar with the General Theory of Relativity (referred to as ‘General Relativity’ from hereon). It may be useful to reproduce here a summary of its essence. In 1905, Einstein presented the Special Theory of Relativity, describing space, motion, and time, in sweeping, revolutionary terms. But it did not include a formulation for gravity. He took ten more years to develop General Relativity, which is one of the main pillars of our understanding of the Universe today. This theory explained how galaxies move through space, predicted black holes, and defined the immense scale of the cosmos. It showed that gravity bent light, time dilated and length contracted if you travel closer to the speed of light. General Relativity radically re-fashioned gravity as the effect of the geometry of space-time and Matter and energy as shadows of one another. As a result, we perceive only a distorted image of the true four-dimensional universe. We can grasp the truth of all this reality only through complicated mathematics and philosophical paradoxes.
With such extraordinary propositions, it was no surprise word got around that the number of people who understood General Relativity in the world was in single digits. Arthur Eddington, the premier British astronomer, was one of them. Eddington was born a Quaker and hence was a pacifist and internationalist. With the First World War already ravaging Britain, he became a conscientious objector to the war and resisted the chauvinism of nationalism and patriotism. He became familiar with General Relativity through William de Sitter, a Dutch astronomer working with Einstein. The theory captured Eddington with its beauty and vision and he became its champion in Britain, despite it being an ‘enemy theory’. Soon after the war ended in 1918, he managed two expeditions to Brazil and Principe Island to observe a total solar eclipse. He took photographs of the stars behind the eclipsed sun’s disc to document the effect of the Sun’s gravity on the light coming from these stars. It took months of analysis to check the minuscule deflection of the light. Then, Eddington announced to the world that the light ray was bent over by the small amount Einstein had predicted. The counter-intuitive nature of the bending of light, and the curvature of space-time, made Einstein an overnight celebrity and genius in the eyes of the world.
Author Matthew Stanley writes a gripping account of the struggles of Einstein over ten years to iron out all the problems in his search for General Relativity. Though he did most of his work in Berlin, his friends and fellow-scientists in Berlin, Zurich, and Leiden helped him in this effort, assisting him with the mathematics. However, it was a time of war. There were other pressures on Einstein because of his beliefs. Einstein was a socialist at heart and a pacifist and internationalist to the core. He considered nationalism more dangerous than war. Einstein did not believe God existed either. He wrote in 1915, “I see with dismay that God punishes His children for their folly, for which we can hold Him only responsible. His nonexistence alone can excuse Him”. These beliefs made him take part in opposing the frenzy of war in Germany and fighting for open borders for science. With scientists everywhere embroiled in nationalism, it left Einstein to fight his lone battle. He tried getting the world to know about General Relativity and the experiments that would prove this extraordinary theory.
In his personal life during these years, Einstein separated from his first wife Mileva. He moved in with Elsa, his first cousin in Berlin with whom he was in love. Einstein was a ladies’ man and even had sexual encounters with Ilse, the daughter of Elsa. So much so that Ilse asked him whether he wanted to marry her or her mother. Einstein replied with a disarming ease that he was okay with either! On Valentine’s Day in 1919, Einstein got his divorce from Mileva on the grounds of his adultery with Elsa. Mileva got custody of their sons with a settlement for 8000 francs per annum. Mileva executed a smart settlement by laying claims to the money that Einstein would get if he won a Nobel prize. She was sure that Einstein would get the Nobel Prize! There have been suggestions that Mileva, a physicist herself, and friends Michele Besso and Marcel Grossmann have been part of the genesis of Relativity theory. Author Stanley says that none of them ever claimed credit for the work, and that Special Relativity would have been the same even if they did not involve themselves.
During the First World War, many scientists and sociologists critiqued the conscientious objection of Eddington to the War and Einstein’s pacifism and refusal to support Germany in the War. Stanley examines the proposition that scientists should not get involved with politics, and vice versa. He believes we must acknowledge the political aspects of science so we can understand them. Saying that science and politics are unconnected is to live in illusion. We can find connections between science and democracy and also between science and anarchism. Science does not carry with it an innate political orientation. During the war, German scientists signed Manifesto 93, supporting Germany in the war. Einstein felt that socialism is the natural ally of science. Eddington argued for internationalism as innate to science. The author says there is no correct answer here. If you think science needs many viewpoints, then you should fight for liberal values in science. If you think science suffers from too much government interference, then you should fight for libertarian values in science. How we view science, how we link it to other aspects of our life, changes the way we do science.
The General Theory of Relativity has stood the test of time. The scientific community has verified its predictions repeatedly in the past century, leaving us in awe of Einstein’s genius. Still, well into the late twentieth century, there was some skepticism that the 1919 expeditions had confirmed the theory. The physicist CWF Everitt suggested that Eddington had always intended to prove Einstein right and hence, manipulated the results. Even Stephen Hawking dismissed the 1919 results. He remarked that Eddington’s data is a case of knowing the results he wanted to get, a not uncommon occurrence in science. Yet others felt that politics and authority shaped the 1919 expeditions, and made them exemplars of socially constructed science. These are valid criticisms. We see socially constructed science in play today in the arena of Climate Change and in the debate on COVID-19 and herd immunity. The last chapter in the book, titled “The Legacy of Einstein and Eddington”, has a fascinating discussion on this question, touching on ‘what is science’. Stanley starts with the Austrian philosopher Karl Popper’s precept that an idea is scientific if it is falsifiable. We can prove a scientific idea wrong. Popper contended that the 1919 eclipse was not about demonstrating that Einstein was right. It was a test to see if General Relativity was wrong and it passed the test. Others differed saying that the problem lies in interpreting the results. An Einsteinian could see the curvature of space-time in the 1919 results. A Newtonian could see none. Thomas Kuhn argued that the framework of ideas through which one interpreted the world could change what one thought an experiment’s result was. The author says that we must leave behind the comforting myth about the dispassionate, fully rational nature of science. Humans engage in science, and hence it can be unreliable. What the story of General Relativity tells us is that science is messy and a powerful way to learn about the actual world around us.
I enjoyed reading this book. The prose is crisp, and I found the book fast-paced. The narrative shifts the scene every few pages between Einstein in Germany and Eddington in Britain to show what was happening regarding Relativity at both places. There is a substantial account of the history of the conduct of World War I and its impact on science. I would have liked the book’s title to differ from “Einstein’s War” though. Associating the word ‘war’ with a pacifist like Einstein seems out of place. By the author’s own account, Einstein did not lobby the world for its acceptance of his theory. It wasn’t a war that he carried on for four years. However, looking at the scholarship of the author Stanley, I concluded that he must have had his reasons even though I could not fathom it.
A wonderful book to read to commemorate the centenary of the greatest scientific idea in modern times.
February 13, 2020
Libro profondissimo ed eclettico nel fornire un dettagliato resoconto storico, scientifico, filosofico e sociale della nascita della teoria della relatività della generale (1915) grazie alle geniali intuizioni di Albert Einstein (senza scordare David Hilber) e, soprattutto, della sua verifica sperimentale (1919) per merito dell'astronomo inglese Arthur Eddington.
Senza usare alcuna formula (tranne una) l'autore espone in dettaglio la genesi scientifica della teoria. Chiaramente al termine della lettura non si potrà dire "sì ora so cos'è la relatività generale", ma di sicuro si potranno intuire le sue idee di base come il tensore, la covarianza, lo spazio-tempo e molto altro.
Il grande merito dell'autore è calare, in modo vivido, il concepimento della teoria e della sua verifica sperimentale nel dramma della prima guerra mondiale. I due eroi, di cui seguiamo le gesta, sono Einstein ed Eddington. L'uno tedesco l'altro inglese, entrambi pacifisti seppur per ragioni diverse: Einstein perché socialista, Eddington perchè di religione quacchera. L'autore non solo ripercorre i ragionamenti scientifici dietro la teoria e i dettagli tecnici della sua sperimentazione, ma analizza anche l'influsso del clima sociale sulle motivazioni dei due. La conclusione ci ricorda che le teorie scientifiche non sono inevitabili. Senza il clima di disperazione degli ultimi anni della guerra, senza il forte credo internazionalista e pacifista di Eddington, Einstein non sarebbe probabilmente diventato la "superstar" che poi è diventata (ed è tuttora) e la sua teoria, la relatività (le cui applicazioni pratiche apparvero decenni dopo e non furono immediate come era stato per l'elettromagnetismo o la fisica quantistica) avrebbe avuto meno importanza presso la comunità scientifica.
La guerra con i suoi sconvolgimenti sociali non è un semplice sfondo ma è parte vitale del racconto, occupando almeno un terzo se non più del libro. Così, su questo "sfondo", appaiano anche le figure di Fritz Haber, il chimico inventore e organizzatore degli attacchi con i gas (si parla di uno che ha supervisionato la morte di migliaia di persone, nonostante ciò rimase sempre amico personale di Einstein). Il povero Schwarzschild che, letteralmente in trincea, tra un bombardamento e l'altro, trovò i primi risultati teorici delle equazioni di Einstein; la questione degli obiettori di coscienza in Inghilterra, che potevano esercitare la propria scelta solo ad un durissimo prezzo morale e fisico; la durezza della vita nella Germania sotto carestia e molto altro...
Il racconto non annoia mai ed è dettagliato di note. La conclusione contiene anche interessanti riflessioni di filosofia della scienza.
Lo consigli a tutti, anche ai non interessanti di storia della fisica, perché ritengo che la descrizione delle figure morali di Einstein, Eddington (e molti altri) sono interessanti di per sé e possono dire qualcosa agli uomini e alle donne di ogni epoca.
Senza usare alcuna formula (tranne una) l'autore espone in dettaglio la genesi scientifica della teoria. Chiaramente al termine della lettura non si potrà dire "sì ora so cos'è la relatività generale", ma di sicuro si potranno intuire le sue idee di base come il tensore, la covarianza, lo spazio-tempo e molto altro.
Il grande merito dell'autore è calare, in modo vivido, il concepimento della teoria e della sua verifica sperimentale nel dramma della prima guerra mondiale. I due eroi, di cui seguiamo le gesta, sono Einstein ed Eddington. L'uno tedesco l'altro inglese, entrambi pacifisti seppur per ragioni diverse: Einstein perché socialista, Eddington perchè di religione quacchera. L'autore non solo ripercorre i ragionamenti scientifici dietro la teoria e i dettagli tecnici della sua sperimentazione, ma analizza anche l'influsso del clima sociale sulle motivazioni dei due. La conclusione ci ricorda che le teorie scientifiche non sono inevitabili. Senza il clima di disperazione degli ultimi anni della guerra, senza il forte credo internazionalista e pacifista di Eddington, Einstein non sarebbe probabilmente diventato la "superstar" che poi è diventata (ed è tuttora) e la sua teoria, la relatività (le cui applicazioni pratiche apparvero decenni dopo e non furono immediate come era stato per l'elettromagnetismo o la fisica quantistica) avrebbe avuto meno importanza presso la comunità scientifica.
La guerra con i suoi sconvolgimenti sociali non è un semplice sfondo ma è parte vitale del racconto, occupando almeno un terzo se non più del libro. Così, su questo "sfondo", appaiano anche le figure di Fritz Haber, il chimico inventore e organizzatore degli attacchi con i gas (si parla di uno che ha supervisionato la morte di migliaia di persone, nonostante ciò rimase sempre amico personale di Einstein). Il povero Schwarzschild che, letteralmente in trincea, tra un bombardamento e l'altro, trovò i primi risultati teorici delle equazioni di Einstein; la questione degli obiettori di coscienza in Inghilterra, che potevano esercitare la propria scelta solo ad un durissimo prezzo morale e fisico; la durezza della vita nella Germania sotto carestia e molto altro...
Il racconto non annoia mai ed è dettagliato di note. La conclusione contiene anche interessanti riflessioni di filosofia della scienza.
Lo consigli a tutti, anche ai non interessanti di storia della fisica, perché ritengo che la descrizione delle figure morali di Einstein, Eddington (e molti altri) sono interessanti di per sé e possono dire qualcosa agli uomini e alle donne di ogni epoca.
November 1, 2023
This month, I read Einstein’s War, an intriguing, 400-page biography detailing Albert Einstein’s and Arthur Eddington’s lives, discoveries, and theories. The book describes Einstein’s process for creating his theory, how the war affected that theory, and how Eddington dispersed his ideas across nations despite the disconnections caused by the war. This book was remarkably informative; I learned a surprising amount of physics through it. The biographies’ descriptions of Einstein’s theory formulation and testing were especially interesting, although slightly confusing. Specifically, I enjoyed learning about his thought experiments and how he constructed massive theories through simple truths. Although the scientific explanations were interesting, I did not find the details of the war and political issues exciting. Additionally, I found some portions of the book describing the lives of Eddington and Einstein to be lengthy and monotonous. However, I do not feel that the organization or writing in the book was flawed; I simply do not enjoy biographies as much as other genres of books. I would recommend Einstein's War to people seeking to know more about relativity and its history, and I would rate it 3.7 stars out of 5.
January 9, 2024
Stanley is an effective writer, if not literary in the way the best historians are—but the story he’s out to chronicle is exciting and important, and it’s well-told. I especially enjoyed and appreciated his emphasis on the role of scientific internationalism: he doesn’t leave his lane for the sake of contemporary analogizing, as a lesser book perhaps would, but the implications for the 21st century are clear. This is a valuable book.
December 23, 2020
Author did a great job of blending the personal story of Einstein with war, social, and community that moved around Einstein during his quest. It's a wonderful example that no feat can happen alone or in isolation.
July 2, 2022
Matthew Stanley’s book, Einstein’s War: How Relativity Triumphed Amid the Vicious Nationalism of World War I (2019), is an excellent account of how Albert Einstein produced his general theory of relativity amid the backdrop of World War I, while Paul Eddington sought to validate his claims. Einstein’s theory predicted the bending of light which could be verified during a total eclipse of the sun. Eddington set out to prove (or disprove) this in 1919.
“Europe was still in chaos from the war” then, yet Eddington and his two eclipse-observing teams set out on “a globe-spanning expedition to catch a fleeting solar eclipse. It was a rare opportunity to confirm Einstein’s bold prediction that light has weight. It was the results of this expedition - the proof of relativity, as many saw it - that put Einstein on the front pages around the world.”
Einstein (whose theory developed through thought experiments) and Eddington (with practical astronomical observations of the predicted phenomenon) had to convince the world that relativity was not only true, but they also had to make the case that it was more true than Newton’s theory of motion. This claim had to be so overwhelmingly compelling that it “deserved to knock Newton from his pedestal.” The English scientific community bristled at the fact that a German scientist brought forward such a theory.
“Einstein’s thought experiment with the light clocks show that there is a cost to universality, writes Stanley. He adds, “The cost is that, while the law remains the same, the measurements we make - of time, space, and mass - are all malleable. Motion changes them all. And since motion is relative - thanks Galileo - time, space, and mass are themselves all relative. These categories, assumed since Newton (and demonstrated by Kant) to be immutable and absolute, were no longer so.”
Absolutism in vogue for hundreds of years was about to be replaced by relativism and such a shift in thinking about reality was jarring.
But Eddington’s results proved that light had weight by bending when passing by a heavy object such as a star. Punch captured the shock waves that the world experienced with a quatrain:
A patriot fiddler-composer of Luton
Wrote a funeral march which he played with mute on,
To record, as he said, that a Jewish-Swiss-Teuton
Had partially scrapped the Principia of NEWTON.
Through its headline, the Daily Mail headline, Light Caught Bending, placed a salacious spin on Eddington’s results.
Speaking of waves, Einstein’s theory also predicted the existence of gravity waves, however, those ripples are so small that scientific instruments of the early 20th century could not detect them. As Stanley explains, “Gravitational waves make their presence known by absurdly small deformations in space-time as they travel. To see even the largest of these deformations a physicist would need to be able to measure a change of length of 1 in 10E-21 -- vastly beyond the ability of Einstein’s colleagues.” It wasn’t until September 14, 2015, that Einstein’s prediction was validated; gravity waves do exist and can be measured.
Einstein’s theory also contained the reality of black holes. Another scientist, Karl Schwarzschild, reported to Einstein that he had found a strange feature of his mathematical solution to Einstein’s field equations. “If enough mass were packed into a small enough place, a sort of ‘closed-off’ pocket of space-time would form,” wrote Stanley. They both “thought of this as a mathematical oddity, a quirk of the equations that probably had no physical significance. Later generations of physicists would decide that this closed-off pocket was quite real and gave it a special name -- black hole. Neither [Einstein or Schwarzschild] realized the implication of this at the time.”
So Einstein’s famous theory of relativity showed that “gravity bent light, twins aged at different rates, stars were askew in the heavens, and matter and energy were strange shadows of each other.” His theory also predicted gravity waves and suggested the existence of black holes. For a great read, be sure to read Einstein’s War: How Relativity Triumphed Amid the Vicious Nationalism of World War I.
“Europe was still in chaos from the war” then, yet Eddington and his two eclipse-observing teams set out on “a globe-spanning expedition to catch a fleeting solar eclipse. It was a rare opportunity to confirm Einstein’s bold prediction that light has weight. It was the results of this expedition - the proof of relativity, as many saw it - that put Einstein on the front pages around the world.”
Einstein (whose theory developed through thought experiments) and Eddington (with practical astronomical observations of the predicted phenomenon) had to convince the world that relativity was not only true, but they also had to make the case that it was more true than Newton’s theory of motion. This claim had to be so overwhelmingly compelling that it “deserved to knock Newton from his pedestal.” The English scientific community bristled at the fact that a German scientist brought forward such a theory.
“Einstein’s thought experiment with the light clocks show that there is a cost to universality, writes Stanley. He adds, “The cost is that, while the law remains the same, the measurements we make - of time, space, and mass - are all malleable. Motion changes them all. And since motion is relative - thanks Galileo - time, space, and mass are themselves all relative. These categories, assumed since Newton (and demonstrated by Kant) to be immutable and absolute, were no longer so.”
Absolutism in vogue for hundreds of years was about to be replaced by relativism and such a shift in thinking about reality was jarring.
But Eddington’s results proved that light had weight by bending when passing by a heavy object such as a star. Punch captured the shock waves that the world experienced with a quatrain:
A patriot fiddler-composer of Luton
Wrote a funeral march which he played with mute on,
To record, as he said, that a Jewish-Swiss-Teuton
Had partially scrapped the Principia of NEWTON.
Through its headline, the Daily Mail headline, Light Caught Bending, placed a salacious spin on Eddington’s results.
Speaking of waves, Einstein’s theory also predicted the existence of gravity waves, however, those ripples are so small that scientific instruments of the early 20th century could not detect them. As Stanley explains, “Gravitational waves make their presence known by absurdly small deformations in space-time as they travel. To see even the largest of these deformations a physicist would need to be able to measure a change of length of 1 in 10E-21 -- vastly beyond the ability of Einstein’s colleagues.” It wasn’t until September 14, 2015, that Einstein’s prediction was validated; gravity waves do exist and can be measured.
Einstein’s theory also contained the reality of black holes. Another scientist, Karl Schwarzschild, reported to Einstein that he had found a strange feature of his mathematical solution to Einstein’s field equations. “If enough mass were packed into a small enough place, a sort of ‘closed-off’ pocket of space-time would form,” wrote Stanley. They both “thought of this as a mathematical oddity, a quirk of the equations that probably had no physical significance. Later generations of physicists would decide that this closed-off pocket was quite real and gave it a special name -- black hole. Neither [Einstein or Schwarzschild] realized the implication of this at the time.”
So Einstein’s famous theory of relativity showed that “gravity bent light, twins aged at different rates, stars were askew in the heavens, and matter and energy were strange shadows of each other.” His theory also predicted gravity waves and suggested the existence of black holes. For a great read, be sure to read Einstein’s War: How Relativity Triumphed Amid the Vicious Nationalism of World War I.
August 25, 2019
I love it when a writer takes pains to pull out a 'relatively' smaller episode from some historic figure's life and emphasizes its greater importance in whatever followed next. Matthew Stanley does it with aplomb in his book Einstein's War which largely isolates the period from 1914 to 1919 in Einstein's life, the time period which swung his popularity from an obscure professor in Berlin to a scientific genius recognised world over. This book though is as much about Arthur Eddington, the British physicist and astronomer, as it is about Albert Einstein. Eddington was the man who went to great lengths to give scientific evidence that would give weight to Einstein's theory of relativity. What during the normal course should have been a logical series of events to follow, where a theoretical physicist's hypothesis is proven in the field by another, became an episode worth writing a book about because of the background of the Great War. The war tore through the very fabric of the scientific community and put German and English scientists at loggerheads. Despite such an unconducive environment, Eddington - a British - chose to stick to his principles and went on in search of finding results for what Einstein - a Swiss national but teaching in Germany - had proposed, which inturn would have displaced the ideas given by Issac Newton - another British. History may have been different but for such heroes as Einstein and Eddington. Author Matthew Stanley, with the weight of his research, drags us into the murky times that prevailed during the Great War and opens us to the thoughts of Einstein and Eddington which were different from their fellowmen. He also dwells into the mysteries of Einstein's research without making the book too technical. He creates the right atmosphere, spins the right amount of mystery, and builds enough intrigue for the book to at times feel like a spy thriller. If you would love to know the science behind Einstein's thinking, then you could find them in plenty of books including this one. But if you want to learn a bit more about the men of science, then Einstein's War is a good place to begin with!
August 9, 2019
A ripping good yarn. And it's all true! A stunning defense of science.
September 8, 2022
Matthew Stanley has done an amazing job looking at the life of Albert Einstein through a lense we rarely see in books like this in his newest book Einstein’s War – How Relativity Triumphed Amid the Vicious Nationalism of World War I. Rather than break down his full life, point to point, the book drops in during one of the most trying times in the history of international science – World War I. Facing not only fears of being conscripted to fight in a war that he never believed in, Einstein struggled to get eyes on his upstart theories on general relativity due to competing mindsets such as aether theory and many not wanting to discredit Isaac Newton. When national embargoes seemingly ensure that nobody outside of the german sphere of influence would see anything written by Einstein, he finds an unlikely champion in a British man named Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington, who despite similar uphill battles in regards to his conscientious objector status and possibly being shipped off to go against his Quaker religious beliefs, was able to get the word out to many outside of Germany, and ultimately make Einstein a household name.
Einstein definitely comes across as an eccentric (possibly even on the spectrum) that had trouble making or holding relationships in any way. You always hear the old anecdotes about how “Einstein failed math class as a child, so anyone can do good at school if they try hard enough”, which is somewhat misleading. The real story is that young Albert was overtly disrespectful and disruptive in class – always questioning everything and angering his professors. He could have done quite well in his classes, but he had an ingrained aversion to any sort of authority that I’m honestly amazed he didn’t end up in a menial job for the rest of his life. This sort of attitude is what likely led to the collapse of his first marriage, something that led to he and his ex-wife going as far as only speaking through intermediaries for the rest of their lives.
To me, the real hero of the story is Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington, a man who had to fight tooth and nail to not only avoid conscription, but be labeled some kind of traitor (if not worse) for his deeply held religious aversion to war and his leaning towards being anti-nationalist at a time when even merely owning a German book would likely cause issues. He knew of the potential in Einstein’s theories, but needed a way to test some of them – a fact that led to a fateful astronomical expedition in which he assembled a team to take photographs of a solar eclipse. The plan was to use the solar eclipse in 1919 to make the first empirical test of Einstein’s theory: the measurement of the deflection of light by the sun’s gravitational field. The rest is history. Eddington risked his life, his legacy, and his deeply held values to try to change the world, and he was a great success.
This book is interesting in that it is part science book (although it never goes to far into the weeds of mathematical equations), part biography of two men in particular, and finally part war history book. By not wholly talking about JUST Einstein, or just the science behind the Theory of Relativity, the book goes to show the bureaucratic nightmares and nationalistic fervor that plagued Europe during World War I. This is a lense into the scientific community we largely don’t get in other books, and makes one really appreciate what it takes for science to move forward in stressful times. While I knew the vaguest, most cleaned-up version of Einstein’s story, having a book like this talk about the world around the man was refreshing.
Overall, this was a great book, and I highly recommend it. I was worried towards the beginning that this would be a math textbook at points, but it drops just enough of this to where a layman can grasp what relativity actually was without scaring away anyone that isn’t actually into complicated physics. This book makes me want to read more about the life of Eddington more than anything, and perhaps read some of his writings on relativity that were published for the general public. It would be interesting to have those papers as a background to reading this.
Einstein definitely comes across as an eccentric (possibly even on the spectrum) that had trouble making or holding relationships in any way. You always hear the old anecdotes about how “Einstein failed math class as a child, so anyone can do good at school if they try hard enough”, which is somewhat misleading. The real story is that young Albert was overtly disrespectful and disruptive in class – always questioning everything and angering his professors. He could have done quite well in his classes, but he had an ingrained aversion to any sort of authority that I’m honestly amazed he didn’t end up in a menial job for the rest of his life. This sort of attitude is what likely led to the collapse of his first marriage, something that led to he and his ex-wife going as far as only speaking through intermediaries for the rest of their lives.
To me, the real hero of the story is Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington, a man who had to fight tooth and nail to not only avoid conscription, but be labeled some kind of traitor (if not worse) for his deeply held religious aversion to war and his leaning towards being anti-nationalist at a time when even merely owning a German book would likely cause issues. He knew of the potential in Einstein’s theories, but needed a way to test some of them – a fact that led to a fateful astronomical expedition in which he assembled a team to take photographs of a solar eclipse. The plan was to use the solar eclipse in 1919 to make the first empirical test of Einstein’s theory: the measurement of the deflection of light by the sun’s gravitational field. The rest is history. Eddington risked his life, his legacy, and his deeply held values to try to change the world, and he was a great success.
This book is interesting in that it is part science book (although it never goes to far into the weeds of mathematical equations), part biography of two men in particular, and finally part war history book. By not wholly talking about JUST Einstein, or just the science behind the Theory of Relativity, the book goes to show the bureaucratic nightmares and nationalistic fervor that plagued Europe during World War I. This is a lense into the scientific community we largely don’t get in other books, and makes one really appreciate what it takes for science to move forward in stressful times. While I knew the vaguest, most cleaned-up version of Einstein’s story, having a book like this talk about the world around the man was refreshing.
Overall, this was a great book, and I highly recommend it. I was worried towards the beginning that this would be a math textbook at points, but it drops just enough of this to where a layman can grasp what relativity actually was without scaring away anyone that isn’t actually into complicated physics. This book makes me want to read more about the life of Eddington more than anything, and perhaps read some of his writings on relativity that were published for the general public. It would be interesting to have those papers as a background to reading this.
August 2, 2019
“Einstein’s War: How relativity triumphed amid the vicious natonalism of World War I,” by Matthew Stanley (Dutton, 2019). A lovely, elegantly written, insightful, and fascinating account of the way Albert Einstein became a saintly genius. Which doesn’t tell you anything. Stanley tells two intertwined stories. The Swiss-German-Jewish Einstein---shabby, forgetful, charming, brilliant---by dint of extremely hard work on top of that genius, over years of sustained creativity, came to the theories of special and general relativity. In a parallel story, the British astronomer Arthur Stanley Eddington----strait-laced, preternaturally handsome, also brilliant, and a devout Quaker---heard of relativity and the essentially unknown physicist who developed the theory, and then plotted to mount two complex international expeditions to prove the theory, and simultaneously to mount the publicity campaign that made relativity famous and Einstein the first superstar celebrity. I am packing a lot into these sentences, but the story itself is thick with events and explanations and biography and history. I had always heard that relativity was proved by observations during a solar eclipse that showed that light did in fact bend when it passed near a star. But I had no idea how complicated it was to get to that point. World War I almost prevented it, although Stanley finally argues that if not for the war the brilliance would never have been acknowledged. Until the war scientists worked in a community that transcended national frontiers. The war broke international science: suddenly there was German science and British science, each hateful to the other, each dedicated to proving its side was the better. Communication broke down. Eddington the pacifist had to fight to keep from being conscripted and to be permitted to continue his scientific work. Einstein the pacifist was trapped in belligerent Berlin, slowly starving as the British blockade strangled Germany, and arguing against the entire nation, against war and nationalism. Stanley is a graceful and inventive writer (at one point he speaks of Eddington’s epistle to the Newtonians, recalling Paul’s evangelical epistles). He explains Einstein’s thought experiments clearly and carefully, while recounting the density and difficulty of the equations that demonstrated their possibility. He gives brief but cogent descriptions of the fighting itself; of Einstein’s love and marital lives; of the strains on British and German society. Finally he talks about the challenges to relativity and even to the concept of scientific objectivity, but comes down on the side of science. Clear, comprehensible, and fascinating.
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April 10, 2023
“General relativity” and “nationalism” are two things I wouldn’t relate to each other. This wonderful book tells a simple story that connects them and is serves triple duty as a primer on the breakout of WWI and an overview of Einstein’s most famous non-e=mc^2 breakthrough.
The thesis of the book is that WWI destroyed how scientists communicate and collaborate. And if it weren’t for the efforts of one particularly globally-minded scientist in the UK, Einstein as we know it may not have become well-known. Basically, according to the Allied countries, Einstein = German, German = evil, therefore Einstein = evil.
This really resonates in the current geopolitical climate. If a scientist based in Russia or China had a scientific breakthrough in 2023, would Western countries really be open-minded about the breakthrough? Probably not, which suggests we haven’t learned our lessons 100+ years after WWI. There’s a certain amount of chauvinism and nationalism in science which I never thought about until this book.
And if this wasn’t enough cool stuff, there’s also a surprisingly thrilling section about … watching an eclipse (seriously). Einstein basically only had a few ways to empirically test his theory of relativity, and one such test required lugging hundreds of pounds of delicate telescope equipment to a remote African island.
The author really did a phenomenal job juggling so many different narratives and holding the reader’s hands through both general relativity and WWI. Not an easy job, and I can’t wait to read more from this author.
Side note - this book also really makes me want to read more about Einstein. The guy married his cousin and, in a particularly icky passage, was sleeping with both his cousin and his cousin’s 20-year-old daughter at the same time. He even structured his alimony to his first wife as being calculated on the assumption he will eventually win the Nobel Prize.
The thesis of the book is that WWI destroyed how scientists communicate and collaborate. And if it weren’t for the efforts of one particularly globally-minded scientist in the UK, Einstein as we know it may not have become well-known. Basically, according to the Allied countries, Einstein = German, German = evil, therefore Einstein = evil.
This really resonates in the current geopolitical climate. If a scientist based in Russia or China had a scientific breakthrough in 2023, would Western countries really be open-minded about the breakthrough? Probably not, which suggests we haven’t learned our lessons 100+ years after WWI. There’s a certain amount of chauvinism and nationalism in science which I never thought about until this book.
And if this wasn’t enough cool stuff, there’s also a surprisingly thrilling section about … watching an eclipse (seriously). Einstein basically only had a few ways to empirically test his theory of relativity, and one such test required lugging hundreds of pounds of delicate telescope equipment to a remote African island.
The author really did a phenomenal job juggling so many different narratives and holding the reader’s hands through both general relativity and WWI. Not an easy job, and I can’t wait to read more from this author.
Side note - this book also really makes me want to read more about Einstein. The guy married his cousin and, in a particularly icky passage, was sleeping with both his cousin and his cousin’s 20-year-old daughter at the same time. He even structured his alimony to his first wife as being calculated on the assumption he will eventually win the Nobel Prize.
February 18, 2022
This is an incredible book. I would definitely recommend this to everyone. I got it for my grandmother for Christmas. The book doesn't really go into the details of his theory so much as its context in the war. It was interesting to hear about how he developed his theory of general relativity and how long it took him and the collaborative effort that it took. It's interesting to see how the toppling of newton and the inability of the journalists to understand the complex mathematics is what had lead to Einstein's position as the face of genius, even though other elements which one might consider with regards to intelligence weren't shown. It highlights a particularly poor cue-dependent recall in his constant forgetting of his keys. Clearly, Einstien was a very clever man but I think his position as the definition of genius has come more from the media hype around his toppling of the great newton than specifically because of an extreme position on the IQ scale. The book highlights the help Einstine got in understanding the mathematics of non-euclidean topologies for the universe whereas Edington had far less help and far less information.
In reading this book it did make me think about how we view intelligence. How we view mathematics as this high level of intelligence because it is something so many people find so challenging. I think the reason for this is that it is an endeavor which can engage in for which we have the least specialist computational hardware. Our abilities in being able to decode visual and auditory information is, by all means, a far greater accomplishment but because we have large areas of our brain dedicated to it the task seems to be simplicity itself. Mathematics seems to be the lowest hanging fruit for which we don't already have a ledge in which access.
In reading this book it did make me think about how we view intelligence. How we view mathematics as this high level of intelligence because it is something so many people find so challenging. I think the reason for this is that it is an endeavor which can engage in for which we have the least specialist computational hardware. Our abilities in being able to decode visual and auditory information is, by all means, a far greater accomplishment but because we have large areas of our brain dedicated to it the task seems to be simplicity itself. Mathematics seems to be the lowest hanging fruit for which we don't already have a ledge in which access.
May 22, 2020
A Collaborative Effort to Give Experimental Proof of Einstein’s General Relativity Theory
During WWI, Einstein developed the General Theory of Relativity. He was isolated from most scientific interaction by his residence in Germany. He was even separated from his sons, who were in Switzerland with his wife. The war devastated the scientific community as well as the rest of the country. The book gives us a grim perspective of what it was like. With his ability to concentrate, Einstein was able to complete the General Theory of Relativity and work with some other mathematicians like Grossman who were still in Germany.
For Einstein, the most important aspect of a theory was experimental confirmation. Photos taken during an eclipse were the way to prove that gravity deflected light the same way as if it had mass. The first attempt failed. However, Einstein learned of a British astronomer, Eddington, who might be convinced to make another try. After much study, Eddington felt he understood the complex theory and arranged for two teams, one in Brazil, the other in Africa, to attempt the observation. The shift observed by the team in Africa, which included Eddington, was able to verify the shift that supported Einstein’s theory.
This book covers the lives of both Einstein and Eddington during WWI. It gives a detailed picture of the suffering and waste crated by the war. It also highlights the problems of scientists who wanted to work together across national boundaries. In the aftermath of the war, Britain wanted to close it’s doors to anything German. It’s a remarkable story of how Einstein and Eddington were able to work across national prejudices to accomplish a great scientific feat.
I received this book from Dutton for this review.
During WWI, Einstein developed the General Theory of Relativity. He was isolated from most scientific interaction by his residence in Germany. He was even separated from his sons, who were in Switzerland with his wife. The war devastated the scientific community as well as the rest of the country. The book gives us a grim perspective of what it was like. With his ability to concentrate, Einstein was able to complete the General Theory of Relativity and work with some other mathematicians like Grossman who were still in Germany.
For Einstein, the most important aspect of a theory was experimental confirmation. Photos taken during an eclipse were the way to prove that gravity deflected light the same way as if it had mass. The first attempt failed. However, Einstein learned of a British astronomer, Eddington, who might be convinced to make another try. After much study, Eddington felt he understood the complex theory and arranged for two teams, one in Brazil, the other in Africa, to attempt the observation. The shift observed by the team in Africa, which included Eddington, was able to verify the shift that supported Einstein’s theory.
This book covers the lives of both Einstein and Eddington during WWI. It gives a detailed picture of the suffering and waste crated by the war. It also highlights the problems of scientists who wanted to work together across national boundaries. In the aftermath of the war, Britain wanted to close it’s doors to anything German. It’s a remarkable story of how Einstein and Eddington were able to work across national prejudices to accomplish a great scientific feat.
I received this book from Dutton for this review.
August 9, 2019
Einstein’s War is a comprehensive account of the many factors influencing Einstein’s theory of relativity. At times, it’s difficult to wrap your head around the science and mathematics involved, but this historical account breaks down some of the mystery.
This is the history of relativity you’ve never seen. By detailing the early life of Einstein, we see what inspired him to develop this complicated concept that would ultimately change the face of science. We also get a deep history of Arthur Stanley Eddington, an important figure you might not know much about. Eddington is potentially the reason why you’ve heard about relativity and why you know anything about this incredibly complex bit of science.
There are many layers to this deeply researched narrative. We have the history of Einstein’s scientific journey, detailing his school years, his early days of discoveries, and the eventual path that led him to study relativity. We have brief histories of the other figures who revolved around the theory. We also get a deeper understanding of the tense political climate and subsequent war that greatly influenced European advances on all fronts. It’s a fascinating history, with so many factors. The fact that Einstein’s theory ever came to fruition is astounding given the explosive world events.
Overall, Einstein’s War is a well-researched, deeply intellectual guide to the science and politics of the early twentieth century. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of relativity and how it shaped the scientific community for decades to come.
NOTE: I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.
This is the history of relativity you’ve never seen. By detailing the early life of Einstein, we see what inspired him to develop this complicated concept that would ultimately change the face of science. We also get a deep history of Arthur Stanley Eddington, an important figure you might not know much about. Eddington is potentially the reason why you’ve heard about relativity and why you know anything about this incredibly complex bit of science.
There are many layers to this deeply researched narrative. We have the history of Einstein’s scientific journey, detailing his school years, his early days of discoveries, and the eventual path that led him to study relativity. We have brief histories of the other figures who revolved around the theory. We also get a deeper understanding of the tense political climate and subsequent war that greatly influenced European advances on all fronts. It’s a fascinating history, with so many factors. The fact that Einstein’s theory ever came to fruition is astounding given the explosive world events.
Overall, Einstein’s War is a well-researched, deeply intellectual guide to the science and politics of the early twentieth century. You’ll gain a deeper understanding of relativity and how it shaped the scientific community for decades to come.
NOTE: I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for my honest, unbiased review.
February 6, 2024
Who knew Einstein was an anti-war activist and a womanizer? Today Einstein is portrayed as a genius with messy hair who found the theory of General Relativity. This book follows young Einstein, a patent office clerk, in his discovery of the theory in the midst of World War I Europe.
What this book unveiled is how non-linear the path is Einstein’s march toward theory of general relativity and the many rabbit holes that Einstein found himself in before finally getting out on the other side. His journey was made more difficult by 1) how abstract the theory is and difficulty in proving it, 2) war censorship between the warring factions and 3) general resistance for a new theory to dethrone Newtonian classical physics, especially among the British academics. Furthermore, Einstein was also distracted with the politics of war and even got semi-involved politically to protest against the war, when many of his German peers toed the nationalist line.
Against these challenges, in come the lesser known Arthur Eddington, a British scientist who because of his Quaker background, resisted getting himself enlisted on pacifist grounds. Eddington took it upon himself to keep abreast of Einstein’s development of the theory and convinced the British government to arrange two teams to travel to Brazil and Africa to observe an eclipse to prove Einstein’s theory that light can bend in the presence of significant gravity. The ensuing data proved Einstein’s theory and demonstrated to the world how science transcend political ideologies.
Beyond the main storyline of how Einstein and Eddington brought the theory to the fore, this book also shone light onto the human side of Einstein. How he changed his nationality to Swiss to evade national service, his adulterous affair with his cousin Elsa, while still married to his first wife Mileva and how he was one of the founding members of German Democratic Party in his opposition to war. It shows that behind the genius, there’s a person with his own flaws and quirks.
Overall an entertaining read that weaves science, history and biography of one of the most important discoveries in the last century.
What this book unveiled is how non-linear the path is Einstein’s march toward theory of general relativity and the many rabbit holes that Einstein found himself in before finally getting out on the other side. His journey was made more difficult by 1) how abstract the theory is and difficulty in proving it, 2) war censorship between the warring factions and 3) general resistance for a new theory to dethrone Newtonian classical physics, especially among the British academics. Furthermore, Einstein was also distracted with the politics of war and even got semi-involved politically to protest against the war, when many of his German peers toed the nationalist line.
Against these challenges, in come the lesser known Arthur Eddington, a British scientist who because of his Quaker background, resisted getting himself enlisted on pacifist grounds. Eddington took it upon himself to keep abreast of Einstein’s development of the theory and convinced the British government to arrange two teams to travel to Brazil and Africa to observe an eclipse to prove Einstein’s theory that light can bend in the presence of significant gravity. The ensuing data proved Einstein’s theory and demonstrated to the world how science transcend political ideologies.
Beyond the main storyline of how Einstein and Eddington brought the theory to the fore, this book also shone light onto the human side of Einstein. How he changed his nationality to Swiss to evade national service, his adulterous affair with his cousin Elsa, while still married to his first wife Mileva and how he was one of the founding members of German Democratic Party in his opposition to war. It shows that behind the genius, there’s a person with his own flaws and quirks.
Overall an entertaining read that weaves science, history and biography of one of the most important discoveries in the last century.
January 1, 2020
I kept re-reading the first few chapters, thinking I really needed to better understand relativity before proceeding. I have no background whatsoever in physics and little in most of the other sciences. So I might have just given up and put the book down. But Matt Stanley is my son-in-law, and there was a time - a couple of decades ago - when I pointed out to him that his degree in optical engineering would be far more lucrative than becoming a professor. He responded, “But I want to teach.” A teacher myself, I remember replying, “Well then, that’s the right answer.”
So what was Matt trying to teach here? I began again, knowing he would not expect all his readers to “get” relativity. And while the biographical info about Enstein is interesting, I decided to focus on the history part from this History of Science professor. And that changed everything. The book lays out the impact of war on the march of science – and just how that impact actually happens in war time. Matt surprises with just a bit of his sly sense of humor from time to time. There was a point in the book where I found joy, even. Einstein’s personal war was against WWI’s impact on science and, however improbably, at least one scientist on the other side helped him win it. For that, it is very much worth a read.
So what was Matt trying to teach here? I began again, knowing he would not expect all his readers to “get” relativity. And while the biographical info about Enstein is interesting, I decided to focus on the history part from this History of Science professor. And that changed everything. The book lays out the impact of war on the march of science – and just how that impact actually happens in war time. Matt surprises with just a bit of his sly sense of humor from time to time. There was a point in the book where I found joy, even. Einstein’s personal war was against WWI’s impact on science and, however improbably, at least one scientist on the other side helped him win it. For that, it is very much worth a read.
September 16, 2019
When I first picked up Matthew Stanley's book "Einstein's War - How Relativity Triumphed Amid the Vicious Nationalism of World War I," I was expecting to read an explanation of how Einstein was able to overcome the disaster of World War I to promulgate a new scientific theory. But by the time I came to the end of the book, I had a completely different conception of what actually happened.
What I learned, was that Einstein must share the credit with British scientist Arthur Eddington, who handled the "marketing" of the theory in the scientific community during and after the war. Stanley goes so far as to maintain, "Relativity's sudden explosion and Eddington's zealous evangelism for it, would never have happened in quieter times. Without the war, relativity would have been just one more theory, true but obscure. Without the war, Einstein would be just one more name for bored schoolchildren to memorize."
While I'm fully aware that a book with Einstein's name will always sell better than a book with the name of relatively obscure English scientist, it seems apparent at least to this reader that Eddington deserved equal billing in this interesting. well-written story. Eddington made all the difference and that's the real story told here.
What I learned, was that Einstein must share the credit with British scientist Arthur Eddington, who handled the "marketing" of the theory in the scientific community during and after the war. Stanley goes so far as to maintain, "Relativity's sudden explosion and Eddington's zealous evangelism for it, would never have happened in quieter times. Without the war, relativity would have been just one more theory, true but obscure. Without the war, Einstein would be just one more name for bored schoolchildren to memorize."
While I'm fully aware that a book with Einstein's name will always sell better than a book with the name of relatively obscure English scientist, it seems apparent at least to this reader that Eddington deserved equal billing in this interesting. well-written story. Eddington made all the difference and that's the real story told here.
June 30, 2019
I thought I knew this story but, wow, I learned so many new amazing details from Stanley’s research, and he made the entire story more accessible, entertaining, educational, and downright thrilling than any book about Einstein, or science for that matter, I’ve ever read. The vividness of a movie, the clarity and rigor of the best science literature. Einstein and Eddington and many more essential men and women who have otherwise been forgotten from most tellings, come to life with such personality, humanity and unsentimentality that I feel like have now travelled with them. There is also a fierce, full blooded accounting of the Great War, and a spectacular portrait of the shockingly wide range of the morality spectrum on which scientists of all nations conducted their lives and their work. Stanley has a gift for rigorous reportage skillfully woven with honesty, solemnity, humor and joy. Highly recommended for young and old... lovers of history, science, adventure, intrigue, excitement and the deepest mysteries of nature and the human mind.
September 30, 2021
This was fascinating. I studied relativity to a limited extent at university but never got to grips with the underlying concepts of general relativity until I'd left, and was reading up on it out of personal curiosity rather than necessity. This book has a good generalist introduction and summary, but that is not the point of it at all. This is more about the difficulty of sustaining scientific collaborative effort in the context of a world war that has cut off international communications. I was aware (vaguely) of Eddington as an astronomer (my degree was in Astronomy) but more or less ignorant of the connection between Eddington and Einstein concerning experimental proof of general relativity. Eddington's observations of the 1919 total solar eclipse provided firm evidence in support of Einstein's predicted bending of light by gravity, and he undertook to publicise and promote that result against a backdrop of anti-German sentiment and isolationism both during and immediately after the First World War.
October 11, 2022
The title, and the especially the subtitle, seem to be designed to sell copies of the book and they are both trying to hard. The adjective really is over the top.
Overall, the book is well-written but somewhat sloppily edited. I enjoyed reading this, and am glad that I spent the time on it. The earlier parts in which Einstein developed the theory was more interesting and the author provided some good examples of the effects of the theory to illustrate it. I am not a lot wiser than before with regards to the theory itself but it is clearer to me now that the flash of insight took years to develop.
I think that it would have been more accurate to call this book "Einstein's and Eddington's War". It would have been fairer to Eddington who played a huge role in bringing Einstein and the theory of relativity to world attention, but I suppose it would have confused some potential buyers.
The final chapter in which the author discusses the nature of science and scientific thought is well written and provides a good finish to the story.
Overall, the book is well-written but somewhat sloppily edited. I enjoyed reading this, and am glad that I spent the time on it. The earlier parts in which Einstein developed the theory was more interesting and the author provided some good examples of the effects of the theory to illustrate it. I am not a lot wiser than before with regards to the theory itself but it is clearer to me now that the flash of insight took years to develop.
I think that it would have been more accurate to call this book "Einstein's and Eddington's War". It would have been fairer to Eddington who played a huge role in bringing Einstein and the theory of relativity to world attention, but I suppose it would have confused some potential buyers.
The final chapter in which the author discusses the nature of science and scientific thought is well written and provides a good finish to the story.
October 22, 2024
The general public knows that Einstein revolutionized the field of physics in the early 20th century. "Einstein's War" tells the story of this revolution in physics, including how it came about, and interweaves Einstein's story with someone less well known, Arthur Stanley Eddington. Eddington was crucial in establishing relativity in - as one is reminded - the period of World War I between Britain and Germany. I learned a lot about Einstein's and Eddington's life, including Einstein was a brilliant, mercurial, impish, man, with a penchant for cheating on his wife, and Eddington was, most likely, a closeted gay man. Fascinating stuff.
The critical moment of relativity was Eddington's trip to the African island of Principe to take photos of an eclipse to prove relativity. Sadly, this moment comes as the last chapter of the book. Though Stanley covers some of it, I would have liked to read more about the reaction to relativity and how it actually revolutionized physics.
Still, a wonderful book.
The critical moment of relativity was Eddington's trip to the African island of Principe to take photos of an eclipse to prove relativity. Sadly, this moment comes as the last chapter of the book. Though Stanley covers some of it, I would have liked to read more about the reaction to relativity and how it actually revolutionized physics.
Still, a wonderful book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 31, 2020
This book offered me a completely different angle from which to understand the path general relativity (and Einstein) took. It’s an incredibly important angle, too. I wonder- as I always had- if we could quantify the stagnation of scientific progress due to our incessant appetite for war, how shocked would we be? It is “miraculous” , the fact Einstein, along with his allies, was able to carry out this theory from its birth to eventual vindication. But the horrors of war were just absolutely devastating to this work.
The most important aspect of this book is its addressing the scourge that is nationalism and by extension- patriotism. They’re the most dangerous sides of one coin. Science, along with many things, is its collateral.
And above all, this book cements my belief that we humans are a sorry lot indeed, and it beautifully portrays the fact that as far as our intellectual evolution is concerned, we’re still crawling on the bottom of a bellicose, muck- saturated pond.
The most important aspect of this book is its addressing the scourge that is nationalism and by extension- patriotism. They’re the most dangerous sides of one coin. Science, along with many things, is its collateral.
And above all, this book cements my belief that we humans are a sorry lot indeed, and it beautifully portrays the fact that as far as our intellectual evolution is concerned, we’re still crawling on the bottom of a bellicose, muck- saturated pond.
May 15, 2025
I’ve been on a non-fiction, physics hype lately and this book caught my eye. The audiobook - read by the narrator, was easy to get into and easy to listen to (which can sometimes be difficult with non-fiction audio).
I enjoyed learning about Einstein’s life and it felt more personable than often dryly quotes textbooks. It starts by building up a picture of his earlier life and his first dive into the science world. With his relationships, his work, his contributions to science and more. I also liked this it have spotlight to other characters for example, Eddington.
It also expertly lays out technical science terms, concepts, theories and physics which is a great indication of a great popular science book. It’s been researched really well too which always wins extra points. Well worth a read/ listen.
I enjoyed learning about Einstein’s life and it felt more personable than often dryly quotes textbooks. It starts by building up a picture of his earlier life and his first dive into the science world. With his relationships, his work, his contributions to science and more. I also liked this it have spotlight to other characters for example, Eddington.
It also expertly lays out technical science terms, concepts, theories and physics which is a great indication of a great popular science book. It’s been researched really well too which always wins extra points. Well worth a read/ listen.
October 22, 2019
If you enjoy reading histories and have interest in Einstein and relativity, this book is for you. Mr. Stanley has provided a fascinating account of Arthur Eddington's attempt to confirm Einstein's general theory of relativity with the solar eclipse of 1919. His efforts are impacted by World War I and the rejection of German science and scientists by the West.
The book bogs down at times and, if you are not interested in history, I doubt the reader will survive to the end of the book. But, it is a good book, well documented, with great insight into not only the theory of relativity but, more importantly, into the lives of Eddington and Einstein. While it required me over two months to read the complete work, I am glad I made the effort.
The book bogs down at times and, if you are not interested in history, I doubt the reader will survive to the end of the book. But, it is a good book, well documented, with great insight into not only the theory of relativity but, more importantly, into the lives of Eddington and Einstein. While it required me over two months to read the complete work, I am glad I made the effort.
May 19, 2021
How a German and and an English scientist used the Theory of Relativity to reintegrate Germany into the international community following the War to End All Wars, thereby staving off . . . oh well, hell of an effort fellas.
On a slightly more serious note, includes an interesting discussion of Einstein's struggles with developing the Theory of Relativity amidst the chaos and carnage of the First World War as well as the effect of the war on European science and scientists. I had no idea how many prominent scientists were wasted as cannon fodder.
The discussion of the start of the war is a little lacking, focusing almost exclusively on Germany as the aggressor. While there's no excuse for invading Belgium, France was just as eager to go to war, and just as confident, as Germany.
On a slightly more serious note, includes an interesting discussion of Einstein's struggles with developing the Theory of Relativity amidst the chaos and carnage of the First World War as well as the effect of the war on European science and scientists. I had no idea how many prominent scientists were wasted as cannon fodder.
The discussion of the start of the war is a little lacking, focusing almost exclusively on Germany as the aggressor. While there's no excuse for invading Belgium, France was just as eager to go to war, and just as confident, as Germany.
February 28, 2024
Audio. A fascinating and many times hard to comprehend look at the development of the theory of relativity with particular focus on the global backdrop of the First World War. This context set the stage for a remarkable partnership between two pacifists from enemy nations. Enlightening and enjoyable but definitely parts with hard to grasp science (especially in audio form). My primary complaint is the narration in this recording. I can’t believe they approved it as is. The narrator has the unbelievable (for a professional) habit of ending nearly every other sentence with an upward lilt making half of this nonfiction book sound like a question. Very annoying.
October 15, 2019
This was a truly fascinating book about Einstein and Eddington, the British Astronomer who worked tirelessly both during and immediately after WWI to prove that Einstein's theory of General Relativity was a fundamental scientific law of physics, even slogging through and learning all of the complex tensor calculus necessary to understand General Relativity (which I think was a tremendous feat in and of itself). I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it to anyone interested in the history of physics in the 20th Century.
March 2, 2023
I confess that I did not understand most of the theoretical material, even with the author trying to simplify it for me. However, this book was fascinating and educational. Learning about the world at this time period, mostly surrounding WWI. The prejudice against women in science and Jews taking up space at all. The national militarism and the anti war movement clashing. I had not known anything about Eddington, an astronomer in England, who knew Einstein's theory of relativity had importance and how he worked to make the rest of the world listen.
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