Conversations with Einstein

by Carlos Calle

By power of thought alone, Albert Einstein gave us a fresh conception of the universe. He showed us that space and time are elastic – shrinking or expanding, speeding up or slowing down, depending on your movement.

Beginning with an inspiring foreword by eminent Professor of Mathematics Sir Roger Penrose, the book is then divided into two parts: a biographical essay that provides a concise overview of Einstein's life, achievements, personal loves and public controversies; and a Q&A dialogue based on rigorous research and incorporating Einstein's actual spoken or written words whenever possible. Research physicist Carlos Calle brings Einstein to life through meticulously researched biographical interpretations of Einstein's revolutionary mathematical work.

Relax and chat with this genius as he tells you about his work on relativity, his quest for a grand unifying theory of the cosmos, and personal matters – from the pleasures of sailing and music to his anxieties about the nuclear bomb he had helped unleash

129 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 14, 2020

Reviews

[Cheryl Sokoloff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conversations with Einstein was a great (short)book (~75 pages), that opened a window with a view into the mind and life of the world's most famous figure in the field of physics, and quite possibly in the history of science. The book is divided into clearly titled sections, including explanations of his theories on relativity, his family life, his involvement in WW2, and, his religious beliefs. His special theory, E=mc2, was one of 5 papers that he wrote in 1905. The general theory of relativity paper was written in 1915. These were his greatest accomplishments.

Einstein was born on March 14th, 1879. He had one sister, Maja, and they grew up together in Berlin. His first marriage to fellow scientist to Mileva. They had three children, 2 boys Hans Albert and Eduard and a daughter, Lieserl. This marriage ended in divorce. His second marriage was to his cousin Elsa. This one lasted.

Einstein was a pacifist, His knowledge that the Nazi's had access to uranium led him to write a letter to president Roosevelt, encouraging the government to create the atomic bomb before the Nazis. His involvement with the atomic bomb stopped there. After the war he returned to being an absolute pacifist.

Finally, Einstein believed in a supreme being that created the universe. However, he did not believe in organized religion.

Thank you #netgalley for the e-ARC of #conversatioswitheinstein by Carlos Callie, in return for my honest review. Five stars.

[Sid Nuncius · Rating 4 out of 5]

Conversations With Einstein (a reissue of the 2008 Coffee With Einstein) is rather a good potted biography. It is both a summary of Einstein’s work and of some aspects of his personal life and beliefs.

The book begins with a brief introduction by the great Roger Penrose plus a few pages of summary of Einstein’s life and influence, both of which are good. Then there are sections based on Einstein’s publications and public statements, structured as conversations with the Great Man answering the interviewer’s questions. It’s a little stilted at times, but it works pretty well; there is a decent stab at explaining Einstein’s great discoveries in Relativity and Quantum Mechanics, all without any maths. Because it’s so condensed, this section may leave non-scientists struggling a bit and it may be as well to try one of the excellent popular accounts of his work such as Marcus Chown’s Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You for better insight. However, this does give a good feel for the extraordinary revolutions for which Einstein was responsible.

I liked the sections on how Einstein used to think about things, his politics and religious views. These are again very brief, but probably give as good an insight as some far longer accounts.

This isn’t perfect, but it’s a good introduction to the man and his work.

(My thanks to Watkins Publishing for an ARC via NetGalley.)

[Maddie O. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley.

I thought this was a good, fairly approachable introduction to Einstein including both his life and his ideas. There were definitely some paragraphs dealing with the physics that I had to read twice, but I think the author did a good job of making those parts accessible.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's never the done thing for us reviewers to merely state what a book is NOT, as opposed to what it is, but on this occasion I'll at least start that way, for I was forced to compare this with the sister book on Freud. Like that, it used to be in a series called "Coffee With…" but has been rebranded for those with a caffeine intolerance. Anyway, this one is… less witty, less well structured, less general-browser-friendly, and has less of a special occasion feel about it. But it still is a good book. I came to this series thinking the idea of a cod post mortem interview, where a specialist puts words in the subjects' mouths to convey their thoughts anew, quite a clunky idea, but they are actually pretty decent. Handy for erudition on a short flight, they pack a lot in into a small space, and you do learn both about the men and their works. So, back to my comparison, this Einstein volume is slightly awkward in that it is full of repetition – the chapter introductions only get reinforced by what follows – and loaded questions, where the Freud one seemed a more easily flowing, natural (if chronological) conversation. But by the time this finishes you do get to see Einstein allegedly discussing all his major theories, his guiding lights, the women in his life – oh, and his sailing. So it is an adult primer to his work and his biography. Comparing it to a very, very good book like the Freud sister volume is all relative – this one is still a fine little edition to your shelves.

[Γιώτα Παπαδημακοπούλου · Rating 4 out of 5]

Οι εκδόσεις Διόπτρα έφεραν στη χώρα μας μια εξαιρετικά πρωτότυπη, έξυπνη και άκρως ενδιαφέρουσα σειρά βιβλίων, την "Συζητώντας με...", όπου διάφοροι συγγραφείς συνομιλούν με μερικούς από τους εξυπνότερους, δημιουργικότερους και ευφυείς ανθρώπους της Ιστορίας της Τέχνης και των Επιστημών. Και μπορεί οι συνομιλίες αυτές να είναι φανταστικές, έχουν όμως τις ρίζες τους στη μελέτη του κάθε προσώπου, στην ανάλυση αυτών, του έργου τους, της προσωπικότητάς τους, όλων εκείνων των στοιχείων που τους χαρακτήρισαν ως μοναδικούς και εξέχουσες προσωπικότητες μέσα στο πέρασμα του χρόνου.

Ο Carlos I. Calle επιλέγει να συνομιλήσει με μια διαφορετική προσωπικότητα, αλλά εξίσου σημαντική στο πεδίο της -και όχι μόνο, αφού η θεωρία του, εκείνη της Σχετικότητας, είναι από τις σημαντικότερες στον κόσμο και από εκείνες που επηρέασαν και καθόρισαν σημαντικά την πορεία και την εξέλιξη της ίδιας της επιστήμης. Φυσικά, μιλάμε για τον Albert Einstein, τον οποίο έχουμε τη δυνατότητα να γνωρίσουμε καλύτερα όχι μόνο ως επιστήμονα αλλά και ως άνθρωπο. Μέσα απ' το βιβλίο αυτό μαθαίνουμε περισσότερα γύρω από τις θεωρίες και τις μελέτες του -που αποδίδονται όσο το δυνατόν πιο επεξηγηματικά-, τα σπουδαία επιτεύγματά του, το οικογενειακό του δέντρο, την προσωπική του ζωή, την εμπλοκή του στον Β' Παγκόσμιο Πόλεμο, τα θρησκευτικά του πιστεύω και τις πεποιθήσεις του για τη ζωή και τους ανθρώπους, σε ένα ευρύτερο επίπεδο. Ένα βιβλίο που μας μαθαίνει πολλά. Ένας διάλογος που μας κάνει να σκεφτούμε και που μας εμπνέει.