Newton and Einstein - the Men: Albert Einstein

"This book outlines Einstein's image in politics and German science policy. It covers the period from his appointment as a researcher in Berlin to his fight abroad against the "boycott of German science" after World War I and his struggle at home against attacks on "Jewish physics" of which he was made a prime target. An important gap in the literature of Einstein is thus filled, contributing much new material toward a better understanding of Einstein's so rigorous break with Germany."

"In Einstein in Love Dennis Overbye has written a biography that at last separates the man, Albert, from the myth of Einstein and restores humanity and nuance to a person whom the notoriety of genius has nearly rendered an abstraction. Einstein in Love reveals the scientist as very much a young man of his time - a draft dodger, a self-styled bohemian, a poet, a violinist, and a cocky, charismatic whirlwind who left personal and professional chaos in his wake." "Drawing upon hundreds of unpublished letters and a decade of research, Dennis Overbye has written a definitive portrait of the coming-of-age of the most influential thinker of the modern era."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer, two iconic scientists of the twentieth century, belonged to different generations, with the boundary marked by the advent of quantum mechanics. By exploring how these men differed-in their worldview, in their work, and in their day-this book provides powerful insights into the lives of two critical figures and into the scientific culture of their times. In Einstein’s and Oppenheimer’s philosophical and ethical positions, their views of nuclear weapons, their ethnic and cultural commitments, their opinions on the unification of physics, even the role of Buddhist detachment in their thinking, the book traces the broader issues that have shaped science and the world.

Einstein is invariably seen as a lone and singular genius, while Oppenheimer is generally viewed in a particular scientific, political, and historical context. Silvan Schweber considers the circumstances behind this perception, in Einstein’s coherent and consistent self-image, and its relation to his singular vision of the world, and in Oppenheimer’s contrasting lack of certainty and related non-belief in a unitary, ultimate theory. Of greater importance, perhaps, is the role that timing and chance seem to have played in the two scientists’ contrasting characters and accomplishments-with Einstein’s having the advantage of maturing at a propitious time for theoretical physics, when the Newtonian framework was showing weaknesses.

Bringing to light little-examined aspects of these lives, Schweber expands our understanding of two great figures of twentieth-century physics-but also our sense of what such greatness means, in personal, scientific, and cultural terms.

Blends the brilliance of the scientific genius with the compassion, playfulness, and wit of the private figure

"A fascinating read with more interesting material about Einstein as a human being than I have ever seen before."--Robert Jastrow, astrophysicist and bestselling author

"A thoughtful and captivating account of one whom I had the joy of knowing and loving."--George Wald, Nobel Prize Laureate

His face is one of the most recognized on the planet. His very name is synonymous with genius. Yet, for all the attention and countless biographies, our images of Albert Einstein rarely go beyond the eccentric and larger-than-life scientist unraveling one cosmic mystery after another.

In this engaging popular biography, Denis Brian draws on a wealth of new information recently opened to the public to bring us a broader, more authentic portrait of Einstein than previously available. The first full-scale Einstein life published in 20 years, it is also the first to integrate Einstein's genius with his private and public life to give us a complete impression of the real person.

We meet an Einstein with a gift for friendship, a romantic with a roving eye for women. We confront a man whose countless scientific triumphs were tempered by tragic ironies in his personal life. We encounter Einstein the humanist who showed compassion for the children of others yet neglected his own sons. We learn from his former assistants how they revered Einstein, how he worked at his science, and of his warm relationships with other physicists.

Based on information drawn from new access to the Einstein archives as well as exclusive interviews with colleagues and friends, Einstein: A Life reveals an endearing and sensititve man, but one slightly detached from even those closest to him, as if he inhabited his own world of lofty thoughts and cosmic dreams.

DENIS BRIAN (West Palm Beach, Florida) is the author of The True Gen: An Intimate Portrait of Hemingway by Those Who Knew Him and Genius Talk: Conversations with Nobel Scientists and Other Luminaries.

Reveals what it was like to leave career, education & social standing behind, to risk the uncertainty of escape & exile & to start afresh in the United States, a country that had little interest & less need for these new exiles.

“What is ‘the American idea’? It is the fractious, maddening approach to the conduct of human affairs that values equality despite its elusiveness, that values democracy despite its debasement, that values pluralism despite its messiness, that values the institutions of civic culture despite their flaws, and that values public life as something higher and greater than the sum of all our private lives. The founders of the magazine valued these things—and they valued the immense amount of effort it takes to preserve them from generation to generation.” --The Editors ofThe Atlantic Monthly, 2006This landmark collection of writings by the illustrious contributors ofThe Atlantic Monthlyis a one-of-a-kind education in the history of American ideas.The Atlantic Monthlywas founded in 1857 by a remarkable group that included some of the towering figures of nineteenth-century intellectual life: Ralph Waldo Emerson, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and James Russell Lowell.For 150 years, the magazine has continued to honor its distinguished pedigree by publishing many of America’s most prominent political commentators, journalists, historians, humorists, storytellers, and poets. Throughout the magazine’s history,Atlanticcontributors have unflinchingly confronted the fundamental subjects of the American experience: war and peace, science and religion, the conundrum of race, the role of women, the plight of the cities, the struggle to preserve the environment, the strengths and failings of our politics, and, especially, America’s proper place in the world. This extraordinary anthology brings together many of the magazine’s most acclaimed and influential articles. “Broken Windows,” by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling, took on the problem of inner-city crime and gave birth to a new way of thinking about law enforcement. “The Roots of Muslim Rage,” by Bernard Lewis, prophetically warned of the dangers posed to the West by rising Islamic extremism. “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” by Martin Luther King, Jr., became one of the twentieth century’s most famous reflections upon—and calls for—racial equality. And “The Fifty-first State,” by James Fallows, previewed in astonishing detailthe mess in which America would find itself in Iraqa full six months before the invasion.The collection also highlights some ofThe Atlantic’sfinest moments in fiction and poetry—from the likes of Twain, Whitman, Frost, Hemingway, Nabokov, and Bellow—affirming the central role of literature in defining and challenging American society. Rarely has an anthology so vividly captured America. Serious and comic, touching and tough,The American Ideapaints a fascinating portrait of who we are, where we have come from, and where we are going.

Includes chapter "Albert Einstein, Selected Writings on Religion."

Here is a lively history of modern physics, as seen through the lives of thirty men and women from the pantheon of physics.William H. Cropper vividly portrays the life and accomplishments of such giants as Galileo and Isaac Newton, Marie Curie and Ernest Rutherford, Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr, right up to contemporary figures such as Richard Feynman, Murray Gell-Mann, and Stephen Hawking. We meetscientists--all geniuses--who could be gregarious, aloof, unpretentious, friendly, dogged, imperious, generous to colleagues or contentious rivals. As Cropper captures their personalities, he also offers vivid portraits of their great moments of discovery, their bitter feuds, their relations withfamily and friends, their religious beliefs and education. In addition, since scientists in a particular field often inspire those who follow, Cropper has grouped these biographies by discipline--mechanics, thermodynamics, particle physics, and so on--each section beginning with a historicaloverview. Thus in the section on quantum mechanics, readers can see how the work of Max Planck influenced Niels Bohr, and how Bohr in turn influenced Werner Heisenberg. By sequencing the biographies in this way, Cropper gives us an overall portrait of each field.Our understanding of the physical world has increased dramatically in the last four centuries, starting with Galileo and his telescope and stretching to Stephen Hawking's work on black holes and cosmology. With Great Physicists, readers can retrace the footsteps of the men and women who ledthe way.

An illuminating collection of essays by an award-winning scientist whom theLondon Timescalls “one of the world’s most original minds.”

From Galileo to today’s amateur astronomers, scientists have been rebels, writes Freeman Dyson. Like artists and poets, they are free spirits who resist the restrictions their cultures impose on them. In their pursuit of Nature’s truths, they are guided as much by imagination as by reason, and their greatest theories have the uniqueness and beauty of great works of art.

Dyson argues that the best way to understand science is by understanding those who practice it. He tells stories of scientists at work, ranging from Isaac Newton’s absorption in physics, alchemy, theology, and politics, to Ernest Rutherford’s discovery of the structure of the atom, to Albert Einstein’s stubborn hostility to the idea of black holes. His descriptions of brilliant physicists like Edward Teller and Richard Feynman are enlivened by his own reminiscences of them. He looks with a skeptical eye at fashionable scientific fads and fantasies, and speculates on the future of climate prediction, genetic engineering, the colonization of space, and the possibility that paranormal phenomena may exist yet not be scientifically verifiable.

Dyson also looks beyond particular scientific questions to reflect on broader philosophical issues, such as the limits of reductionism, the morality of strategic bombing and nuclear weapons, the preservation of the environment, and the relationship between science and religion. These essays, by a distinguished physicist who is also a lovely writer, offer informed insights into the history of science and fresh perspectives on contentious current debates about science, ethics, and faith.

The Encyclopedia of European Social History covers all aspects of European social history from the Renaissance to the present. This six-volume reference includes more than 230 articles, ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 words, on everything from serfdom and the economy, to witchcraft and public health. This reference provides a survey of hundreds of topics. Included are more than 700 photographs, drawings and maps. The sixth volume also includes biographies of prominent European figures and a comprehensive index.

"Thoroughly updated, re-written, and revised, this new edition of the 1985 standard work provides nearly 6,000 A-Z entries on the global body that has proved to be one of the great achievements of the twentieth century, and sheds light on its latest aims and initiatives at the start of the new millennium."

Includes the Einstein Doctrine of War and Peace in the Atomic Age (1948).

You will want to chose v. 65 for Einstein.

This is a classic reference work, with an informative entry for Einstein. Also see the second edition of the encyclopedia and note that while this first edition is shelved in the religion collection, the second edition is shelved in the history collection. Consider what the reasons might be for this.

Providing an exhaustive and organized overview of Jewish life and knowledge from the Second Temple period to the contemporary State of Israel, from Rabbinic to modern Yiddish literature, from Kabbalah to "Americana" and from Zionism to the contribution of Jews to world cultures, Encyclopaedia Judaica, Second Edition is important to scholars, general readers and students. With more than 22,000 signed entries on Jewish life, culture, history and religion, this second edition incorporates more than three decades of changes and the latest scholarship-such as new archaeological sites, theories and analytical methodologies. Featuring original work by top scholars representing all major universities and centres of research in Jewish studies, this invaluable set expands the scope and relevance of the original with some 2,200 brand-new entries.

"Finding peaceful solutionsto the world's increasingly complex problems will be a huge task, whichmust also be based upon knowledge, experience and research. I hope that this important newEncyclopediawill reach a global lay audience as well as policy makers and academic experts and encourage many thousands of readers to study further and work harder forthe peace on which our whole future depends."-From the Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama

This innovative, multivolume encyclopedia charts the interdisciplinary field of Peace Studies, offering a comprehensive survey of the full range of historical, political, theoretical and philosophical issues relating to peace and conflict. All major figures are covered, as well as major events, organizations, theories, and much more. Each entry is signed by a leading scholar in the field, contains a bibliography for further reading, and is cross-referenced with other useful points of interest within the encyclopedia. In addition to A-to-Z entries, theEncyclopediaalso includes a peace chronology, key documents and appendices.

Key subjects covered include: world leaders (Mahatma Gandhi, Margaret Mead, Cesar Chavez, Martin Luther King, Jr., Lucretia Mott); major events (Cuban Missile Crisis, Dayton Accords, Good Friday Agreement, Lebanon Hostage Crisis); organizations (Greenpeace, League of Nations, United Nations, Save the Children, International Committee of the Red Cross); theories (Civil Disobedience, Conscientious Objection, Feminism and Peace, Power and Nonviolence Theory, Eco-Pacifism, Gay Rights); and current events (Chemical and Biological Weapons, Human Rights, War Crimes, Terrorism).

Censorship: A World Encyclopedia presents a comprehensive view of censorship, from Ancient Egypt to those modern societies that claim to have abolished the practice. For each country in the world, the history of censorship is described and placed in context, and the media censored are examined: art, cyberspace, literature, music, the press, popular culture, radio, television, and the theatre, not to mention the censorship of language, the most fundamental censorship of all. Also included are surveys of major controversies and chronicles of resistance. Censorshipwill be an essential reference work for students of the many subjects touched by censorship and for all those who are interested in the history of and contemporary fate of freedom of expression.

The Encyclopedia of American Cultural and Intellectual History surveys the richly layered dimensions of American life in a format that clarifies the many issues, ideas, movements and places that constitute the American experience. How is the West defined as a cultural region? What did the notions of "secession" and "union" mean to Americans living in the 1860s? How does Disney pervade and influence perceptions about America today? In more than 200 articles written by scholars and enriched with illustrations, boxed biographies and documentary excerpts from primary sources, American thought and culture is thoroughly explored. The Encyclopedia covers not only historic periods such as the Colonial era and the Reagan era, but also looks at cultural groups such as the working class and cultural institutions and forms such as the university and cinema.

This four volume set, which includes 70,000 events compiled by 27 contributing editors, constitutes the most complete and current chronology of world history ever created.

v. 1. The ancient and medieval world, prehistory-AD 1491 --
v. 2. The expanding world, 1492-1775 --
v. 3. The changing world, 1776-1900 --
v. 4. The modern world, 1901-1998.

Also have print copy of earlier edition. See entry below.